Government Schools having internet connections and smart classes State / UT wise

646. SHRI RAJIV PRATAP RUDY

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has data regarding the number of Government schools in the country, which have access to internet connections and smart-classes, State-wise;

(b) if so, the details thereof, UT-wise and district-wise especially at Saran in Bihar;

(c) the number of students per computer and the number of science lab facilities in Government schools, State-wise, UT-wise and district-wise especially at Saran in Bihar;

(d) the steps taken by the Government and to ensure universal internet connectivity in public schools in India; and

(e) the estimated time period by which this goal is likely to be achieved?

(a) & (b): The details of Government Schools having internet connections and smart classes State / UT wise are at Annexure – 1 (may be accessed at link: https://www.education.gov.in/en/parl_ques). The district wise details of Government Schools which have internet connections and smart classes in the State of Bihar including Saran are at Annexure–2 (may be accessed at link: https://www.education.gov.in/en/parl_ques).

(c): Education is in the Concurrent list of the Constitution and majority of the school are under the administrative control of respective State Government and UT Administration. The Department of School Education and Literacy with effect from 2018-19 has launched an Integrated Centrally Sponsored Scheme for School Education- Samagra Shiksha. Under the scheme, financial assistance is provided to States and UTs for undertaking various activities for universalisation of school education including setting up of ICT Labs and Smart Class rooms.

 

The ICT and Digital Initiatives component of Samagra Shiksha covers Government Schools having classes VI to XII. The provisions regarding the same are as under:

The non- recurring/recurring grant under ‘ICT and Digital Initiatives’ for schools is available

to the States and UTs for following two options:

• Option I: Under this option schools which have not availed the ICT facility earlier can either opt for ICT or smart classrooms as per their requirement and need. In case of more than 700 enrolments, an additional ICT lab can also be considered.
• Option II: Under this option schools which have already availed the ICT facility earlier can avail smart classrooms/tablets as per the norms of the scheme.

ICT Lab: A non-recurring grant of up to Rs. 6.40 lakh per school and recurring grant of upto Rs. 2.40 lakh per school per annum for a period of 5 years.

From 2023-24, the scheme also offers step-wise funding based on school enrolment. (Strength < 100  Rs. 2.5 Lakhs, Strength between 100 – 250 Rs. 4.5 Lakhs, Strength between 250 – 700 Rs. 6.4 Lakhs)

Smart Classrooms: The non-recurring grant for Smart Class rooms is of Rs. 2.40 lakh and the recurring grant is Rs. 0.38 lakh

The details of Science Lab facilities in Government Schools State / UT wise are shown at Annexure – 3 (may be accessed at link: https://www.education.gov.in/en/parl_ques). The district wise details of Science Labs in Govt. Schools in Bihar State including Saran are shown at Annexure – 4 (may be accessed at link: https://www.education.gov.in/en/parl_ques).

(d) & (e): An advisory has been issued by the Dept. of School Education and Literary, Government of India to all the States and UTs to enter into an MoU / Agreement with BSNL and provide FTTH Internet connection to all the Government Schools which have computing devices. States / UTs have been advised that the Internet Charges can be met from the following:

• For ICT Labs / Smart Class rooms sanctioned under Samagra Shiksha,  internet charges can be met from the recurring charges being released under Samagra Shiksha.
• For Schools in which ICT/ Smart Class room are not sanctioned under Samagra Shiksha and which have computing devices, internet charges can be met from the Management Monitoring Evaluation  and Research  (MMER) funds being released under Samagra Shiksha or can be met from any other State/UT Govt. funds.

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