Parliament Question: Implementation gaps in digital initiatives under Samagra Shiksha

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2921 ANSWERED ON 18/03/2026 Implementation gaps in digital initiatives under Samagra Shiksha 2921 Smt. Jebi Mather Hisham: Will the Minister of Education be pleased to state: (a) whether any independent audit has reviewed governance and implementation gaps in digital initiatives under Samagra Shiksha, the details thereof and actions taken; (b) whether Government records actual student usage of digital learning platforms in Government schools, State-wise/UT-wise details thereof; (c) whether teacher training for digital pedagogy has been evaluated for impact on classroom practice, if so, details thereof, if not, whether such an evaluation is proposed within a specified time frame; and (d) whether disparities in digital learning outcomes across regions and social groups have been assessed, details thereof, if not, whether such an assessment is proposed? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY) (a) to (d): 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 to enhance digital learning in Government schools across the country. The initiatives aim to enhance the quality of education by integrating technology into teaching and learning processes. A study conducted by NITI Aayog under the Title “Evaluation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes in Education Sector” in the context of Samagra Shiksha highlighted that Samagra Shiksha places a strong emphasis on digital education through deployment of ICT labs, SMART classrooms and digital platforms like DIKSHA for teacher training, while promoting convergence with initiatives such as Digital India. The report also notes certain areas of improvement like infrastructure deficits including digital learning tools, technological barriers including poor internet connectivity, lack of digital devices and also provided ways to balance them.Continued efforts are being directed towards strengthening infrastructure and digital access, especially in rural and remote areas, alongside enhancing teachers’ digital capacities. In this regard, focused investments in digital infrastructure, affordable devices and digital literacy, along with accelerated development and regular monitoring of school infrastructure, is being done for effective implementation and improved educational outcomes. Digital content has been made available to teachers and students through a platform called Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing (DIKSHA). It is the Nation’s digital infrastructure for providing quality e-content for school education in States/UTs and QR coded Energised Textbooks (ETBs) for all grades (One Nation, One Digital platform). State/UT wise usage of DIKSHA can be accessed from https://diksha.gov.in/data/. States/UTs monitor their usage separately through their Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK). The Ministry of Education is implementing Integrated Teacher Training Programme called NISHTHA (National Initiative for School Heads' and Teachers' Holistic Advancement) to strengthen teacher training. NISHTHA courses cover Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN), Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), Elementary and Secondary Education. These courses are conducted in offline mode as well as in online mode through the DIKSHA platform. Additionally, 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. *****