Digital divide: Govt approves 10,778 ICT labs, 42,311 smart classrooms in 2021-22

In an attempt to bridge India's digital divide, 10,778 Information Communication Technology (ICT) labs and 42,311 smart classrooms were approved at the cost of Rs 1,003.8 crore in 2020-21 and Rs 956.8 crore in 2021-22.

There are a total of 65,356 ICT labs and 29,178 digital classrooms in India, and 1,19,581 schools have internet facilities, the education ministry informed the Lok Sabha.

The central government has given the highest financial approval to Assam of Rs 155 crore for 1,859 ICT labs, followed by Tamil Nadu of Rs 149 crore for 1,893 labs. 

Further, the central government has offered the highest financial approval to Odisha worth Rs 107 crore to set up 4,471 smart classrooms, followed by Gujarat of Rs 104 crore for 4,335 smart classrooms. 

The Indian education system has long struggled with unequal access to technology which was aggravated by the school shut down during the pandemic.  

Only one-third of India's school children could pursue online education during the pandemic, and of this, only 32.5 per cent are doing live online classes, according to the Annual Status of Education Report emphasising the prevailing digital divide. DO YOU HAVE THIS REPORT?

"BharatNet program, CSC e-governance Services india ltd of MeitY has been assigned the task of providing Fibre to the Home (FTTH) connectivity to government institutions and schools," the minister said in the Parliament. 

The total approvals for smart classrooms have more than doubled -- from 16,223 in 2020-21, to 42,311 in 2021-22. Similarly, the government has increased its approvals for ICT labs too, from 4,090 in 2020-21 to 10,778 in 2021-22. 

Under the Samagra Shiksha scheme, 14,868 ICT labs and 58,534 smart classrooms have been approved as part of the government's digital initiatives from 2020-21 and 2021-22, the Ministry further stated in its written statement to the Lok Sabha.

The cabinet committee on economic affairs approved the extension of Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) 2.0 for school education. For this scheme, a financial outlay of Rs 2,94,283.04 crores was made to implementation from the period April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2026. The Centre's share is Rs 1,85,398.32 crore. 

According to the Ministry of Education, the scheme is likely to benefit 1.16 million schools, over 156 million students, and 5.7 million teachers of government and aided schools from pre-primary to senior secondary level.