Lok Sabha Question No. 385 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-02
Subject: Effect of Digital Divide on Students in Rural and Remote Areas of Assam
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Amarsing Tisso, Md. Rakibul Hussain

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 385

ANSWERED ON 02/02/2026

## Effect of Digital Divide on Students in Rural and Remote Areas of Assam

3 85. Md. Rakibul Hussain:

Shri Amarsing Tisso:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

(a) the status of internet connectivity in schools of Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao district in the  State  of  Assam  along  with  the  implementation  status  of  digital  education  initiatives  in these hilly districts;

- (b)  whether  the  digital  divide  has  also  adversely  affected  students  from  rural,  tea  garden, minority and economically weaker sections in Assam during online education and if so, the details  of  the  number  of  students  who  lacked  access  to  digital  devices  and  internet connectivity;
- (c) whether special provisions exist for providing digital devices to students from economically weaker sections of above State and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether the Government has assessed learning gaps caused by digital exclusion, if so, the details of the steps taken to provide devices, connectivity or offline learning support; and

(e) the details of the measures taken by the Government to bridge the digital divide affecting tribal  students  in  remote  areas  of  the  said  State  including  students  from  rural,  tea  garden, minority and economically weaker sections?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

(a) to (e): The National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) announced on 29.07.2020 is the first education policy of the 21st century and aims to address  the  many  growing developmental imperatives of our country. The Policy proposes the revision and revamping of all aspects of the education structure, including its regulation and governance, to create a new system that is aligned with the aspirational goals of 21st century education, including SDG-4, while building  upon  India's  traditions  and  value  systems.  Education  is  part  of  the Concurrent  List  of  the  Constitution  and  most  of  the  Government  schools  are  under  the administration of the State Government  and  its bodies. The  Ministry of Education implements  ICT  and  Digital  initiatives  under  Samagra  Shiksha  and  digital  learning  in Government schools across the country, including rural areas. The initiatives aim to enhance the  quality  of  education  by  integrating  technology  into  teaching  and  learning  processes. Under  the  initiatives,  funds  are  provided  for  setting  up  ICT  Labs  and  Smart  Classrooms according  to  the  requirements  of  the  State  submitted  in  the  Annual  Work  Plan  &  Budget (AWP&B). The ICT scheme offers two options:

1.  Option  I:  Schools  without  prior  ICT  facilities  can  choose  ICT  labs  or  smart  classrooms. Schools  with  over  700  students  may  get  an  additional  ICT  lab.  States/UTs  can  procure hardware, software, tablets,  laptops,  and  training  resources,  supporting  digital  boards,  virtual classrooms, and DTH channels.

2. Option II: Schools with existing ICT facilities can access smart classrooms or tablets under the scheme norms.

A comprehensive initiative called PM eVidya was initiated as part of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan'  on  17th  May,  2020,  which  unifies  all  efforts  related  to  digital/online/on-air education  to  enable  multi-mode  access  to  education  across  the  country  under  the  aegis  of National  Education  Policy  (NEP)  2020.  States/Union  Territories  (UTs)  collaborate  with NCERT to  utilise,  monitor  and  evaluate  the  effectiveness  of  these  initiatives  as  per  their requirements in mother tongue/local/regional languages. PM eVidya includes 200 DTH TV Channels allotted to States/UTs/Autonomous Bodies (ABs)/Other Ministries in Government of India and 400 Radio channels, including PM eVidya PM mobile app, to enable them to provide  supplementary  education  as  per  their  requirement  in  various  Indian  languages  for classes 1-12. The State of Assam has been allotted 5 channels (DD PM eVIDYA 58 to 62), disseminating 3,300+ video contents equaling 670+ hours.

Digital  Infrastructure  for  Knowledge  Sharing  (DIKSHA)  is  the  Nation's  One  Nation,  One Digital platform for providing quality e-content for school education in States/UTs along with QR coded Energised Textbooks (ETBs) for all grades. Assam as a tenant in DIKSHA, has 3.49  lakh  registered  users,  7.82  crore  learning  sessions  and  74.69  crore  learning  minutes. Additionally, Assam hosts 472 digital textbooks and 11,000+ e-content. The total number of course enrolments from Assam stands at 16.62 lakhs, with 13.23 lakh completions till 22nd January 2026. DIKSHA Offline supports areas with limited or no internet connectivity. The stakeholders have access to more than 450+ Virtual Labs and 100 Virtual skill labs (50 each in Hindi and English) on DIKSHA.

In Assam, digital education facilities, devices and infrastructure have been provided across the State in a phased and inclusive manner, covering rural, urban, tea garden and minority areas without any discrimination. At present, out of 10,783 Upper Primary, Secondary and Senior  Secondary  Schools,  10,099  schools  are  covered  under  various  digital  initiatives.  In Karbi Anglong district, out of 266 Upper Primary, Secondary and Senior Secondary schools, 243  schools  are  provided  with  internet  connectivity,  181  schools  are  saturated  with  Smart Classrooms and all 10 Secondary and Senior Secondary schools are saturated with Computer Labs. In Dima Hasao district, out of 188 Upper Primary, Secondary and Senior Secondary schools, 91  schools  have  internet connectivity, 71  schools are saturated  with  Smart Classrooms and all 5 Secondary and Senior Secondary schools are saturated with Computer Labs.

To  assess  performance,  the  PARAKH  Rashtriya  Sarvekshan  2024  (formerly  National Achievement  Survey)  was  undertaken  by  the  National  Assessment  Centre-PARAKH, NCERT under  the  aegis  of  the  Department  of  School  Education  &  Literacy,  Ministry  of Education to  understand  the  baseline  performance  in  development  of  competencies  among the students at the end of the Foundational, Preparatory, and Middle stages (Grades 3, 6, and 9 respectively) of schooling.

Insights  from  the  Sarvekshan  with  regards  to  the  State  of  Assam  may  be  accessed  at https://dashboard.parakh.ncert.gov.in/en/dashboard/IND18?tab=foundation.

The  Government  of  India,  in  the  Budget  2025,  has  announced  provision  of  broadband connectivity  to  all  Government  Secondary  schools  in  rural  areas,  under  the  'BharatNet' project to enhance digital infrastructure in remote areas by BSNL in a phased manner.

Based on feasibility, BSNL has identified 415 schools that are less than 500m from Optical Line Terminal (OLT) which are eligible in Phase-1 for high-speed internet connectivity in the State of Assam.

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