Parliament Question: Expansion of PM SHRI Scheme in Jharkhand

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO - 2121 ANSWERED ON – 11/03/2026 Expansion of PM SHRI Scheme in Jharkhand 2121 Shri Deepak Prakash:

Will the Minister of Education be pleased to state:

(a) whether Government is contemplating to expand the PM SHRI schools scheme throughout the country;

(b) if so, the details of schools approved and funded by Government in the State of Jharkhand;

(c) the steps Government has taken or proposed to take to strengthen teacher training and digital learning for students particularly in the State of Jharkhand; and

(d) the criteria adopted for selection of schools under PM Shri scheme? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

(a) & (b) Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) is a centrally sponsored scheme which aims to strengthen more than 14,500 schools from amongst the existing schools managed by Central Government/State/UT Government/local bodies. As per the PM SHRI guidelines, a maximum of two schools per block/Urban Local Body (ULB) are selected with an upper limit on the total number of schools across India. Till date, a total of 13,091 schools have been selected from 33 States/UTs along with KVS, NVS, and NCERT out of which 363 PM SHRI schools are from the State of Jharkhand. The number of PM SHRI schools selected in the State of Jharkhand, district -wise is attached as Annexure. Further, the details of PM SHRI schools may

be accessed on the website of PM SHRI scheme at the link: https://pmshri.education.gov.in/state.

(c) Under the PM SHRI Scheme, strengthening of teacher training is done through District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs). There is financial provision of up to ₹3.00 lakh per DIET for capacity-building programmes of PM SHRI schools, along with assistance of up to ₹2,500 per teacher for training of subject teachers, principals, special educators, ICT teachers, and master trainers. School principals are trained in leadership, management, and competency- based pedagogical planning. Teachers are also trained on the Holistic Progress Card, school safety and security, mental health and well-being, first-level counselling, and integration of ICT in teaching- learning practices thereby enhancing overall teaching quality and school leadership in PM SHRI schools.

PM SHRI scheme has a provision to incorporate digital learning in PM SHRI schools by establishing ICT labs, smart classrooms, computer labs, internet facility and digital libraries along with digital educational content. Platforms like DIKSHA are being utilized to provide a repository of high-quality digital learning resources, enabling resource- sharing among educators and students.Further, as informed by the State of Jharkhand, the following steps have been taken to strengthen

teachers training and digital learning for students:

For Teachers: i. Training Need Assessment (TNA) has been conducted in April & November 2025 to understand the training need of teachers in which all 4227 teachers of PM SHRI schools participated. ii. 50 hours mandatory continuous professional development (CPD) has been introduced in blended mode (20 hrs. online and 30 hrs. offline). All 4427 teachers have been trained.

iii. J-Guruji app has been developed for providing opportunities to learn through online contents. The app is accessible free of cost by teachers and students of Jharkhand. This app provide access to Digital Repository (E-contents) for class 1-12. All PM SHRI school teachers are registered on app and using the digital contents.

iv. Teachers of Schools covered under ICT and Digital Initiatives are being provided training on ICT (5 days/10 days). The objective of this training is to equip the teachers on how to use smart class equipment, ICT tools, Digital/Smart Board, including basics of computers, software, office tools, internet etc. The training is provided in schools ICT Lab/Computer Lab. Hands on training is also provided in smart classes established in Schools.

For Students: i. Out of 349 PM SHRI Schools having class between 6-12, 325 Schools have been provided ICT Lab benefitting 1.7 Lakhs students of Class VI-XII. ii. The ICT lab is made in such a way that the Lab can also be used as digital library. Students can access the Digital e-Contents for Self-study.

iii. Schools are provided smart class facility where teacher use smart boards/digital boards/panels to teach their lesson. Students get befitted from the Digital Pedagogy / Audio -Video Class/ Assessment etc.

iv. Out of 349 Schools having class between 6-12, 278 Schools have been provided smart class facility with a total of 543 smart classes. v. Under PM SHRI scheme, a provision has been made for 698 additional smart classes in 349 schools.

vi. ICT Championship (E-Shiksha Mahotsav 2025) Program is organized in year 2025-26 to promote digital education and provide honors and prize to best performing students. The program is organized in 4 Levels – School, Block, District and State. All students of class 9-12 participated in the event.

(d) The criteria adopted by the Government for selecting the schools under the PM SHRI scheme are provided under “Selection Methodology” of the PM SHRI Framework, available at

the link: https://pmshri.education.gov.in/assets/pdf/part1_pmshri.pdf. *****Annexure ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) & (b) OF THE RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2121 ANSWERED ON 11.03.2026 ASKED BY SHRI DEEPAK PRAKASH, HON’BLE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT REGARDING “EXPANSION OF PM SHRI SCHEME IN JHARKHAND” The number of PM SHRI schools selected in the State of Jharkhand, district -wise is as follows:

S. No. District Number of PM SHRI schools 1 Bokaro 14 2 Chatra 15 3 Deoghar 12 4 Dhanbad 16 5 Dumka 13 6 East Singhbum 19 7 Garhwa 26 8 Giridih 20 9 Godda 16 10 Gumla 11 11 Hazaribagh 19 12 Jamtara 9 13 Khunti 8 14 Koderma 11 15 Latehar 12 16 Lohardaga 9 17 Pakur 12 18 Palamu 28 19 Ramgarh 8 20 Ranchi 26 21 Sahebganj 15 22 Saraikela Kharsawan 10 23 Simdega 11 24 West Singhbhum 23 Total 363 *****