Parliament Question: Implementation of National Education Policy 2020 in Assam

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- 1379 ANSWERED ON – 27.07.2026 Implementation of National Education Policy 2020 in Assam 1379. Shri Parimal Suklabaidya: Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has reviewed the progress made in the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in Assam particularly with regard to foundational literacy and numeracy, multidisciplinary education and the use of mother tongue/local languages in the foundational stage, if so, the details thereof; (b) the details of schools selected under the PM SHRI Scheme and the number of Eklavya Model Residential Schools sanctioned and operational in Assam, district-wise along with the steps taken to strengthen infrastructure, teacher training and vocational education; (c) the present status of digital education initiatives, including DIKSHA, SWAYAM and other online learning platforms in Assam, indicating teacher enrolment, student participation, internet connectivity, and availability of digital devices in rural, tea garden, tribal and flood-affected areas; and (d) the details of Central funds allocated, released and utilized for NEP implementation in Assam during the last three years, along with the major achievements, challenges and the roadmap for ensuring equitable and quality education across the State? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY) (a): The Central Government continuously reviews the performance of the States. Accordingly, it may be informed that after the announcement of National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020), a number of transformative changes have taken place in school education for its implementation. Several initiatives have been taken and the centrally sponsored schemes namely, Samagra Shiksha, PM Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI), Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN)and Understanding Lifelong Learning for All in Society (ULLAS) have been aligned with the objectives and vision of NEP 2020. NEP 2020 gives the highest priority to achieving universal Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) for all children by Grade 2 and accordingly, the Department launched National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat Mission) under the aegis of the NEP and aligned with centrally sponsored scheme of Samagra Shiksha for early learning across States and Union Territories. Implemented across the country, a range of interventions have been undertaken under the Mission. These include nationwide implementation of Vidya Pravesh, a three-month school- readiness module for all Grade 1 students; large-scale teacher and school head training through NISHTHA (National Initiative for School Heads' and Teachers' Holistic Advancement); FLN focusing on activity-based and child-centric pedagogy; provision of play-based and digital learning resources such as DIKSHA (Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing); Jaadui Pitara- a collection of Learning Teaching Material (LTM) & e-Jaadui Pitara for children in the 3–8 age group; Primers developed in 121 Local Languages for foundational literacy and numeracy in mother tongue and teaching learning material for students. Further, guidelines on co-location of Anganwadi Centres with primary schools, released on 3rd September 2025, ensure convergence between school education and Anganwadis, supporting smoother transition from pre-school to Grade 1. NEP 2020 stresses upon providing multidisciplinary and a holistic education across the sciences, social sciences, arts, humanities, and sports for a multidisciplinary world in order to ensure the unity and integrity of all knowledge. The State of Assam has informed that following major initiatives have been under taken for active implementation of NEP:  Development of FLN focused textbooks and Workbooks/Activity books under NIPUN Axom.  Integration of NCF-FS framework 2022 and experiential & play based learning methods into pre-primary and primary grades.  Teacher Training on FLN pedagogy and assessment under NIPUN Bharat.  Contextualization and translation of TLMs(Teaching Learning Materials) from the list of JaduiPitaara into 12 regional languages for effective classroom transaction.  Provision and orientation of Bal Vatika Teachers on contents of the e-JaduiPitaara.  Notification of the age of admission as six years for class I.  Development of six months certification course on ECCE for the Anganwadi workers/pre- primary teachers having educational qualifications of 10+2 and above.  Alignment of medium of instructions across all four stages of education as per NEP 2020.  Introduction of local languages such as Mising, Deori, Tiwa, etc. as medium of instruction in select schools from the academic year 2025. A total of 38390 schools in Assam offer education in the mother tongue up to at least grade V.  Emphasis on formative assessment through the use of Holistic Progress Cards (HPCs) at the foundational level. For this purpose, HPCs have been contextualized as per local needs, by the SCERT.(b): Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) schools are being set up as NEP 2020 exemplar schools and are expected to become the template for other schools. As of now, a total of 13,092 PM SHRI schools has been selected from 33 States/UTs, based on prescribed minimum benchmark through UDISE+ data. This includes 382 PM SHRI schools(associated with the State Government) selected in the State of Assam. The details of district-wise PM SHRI schools are at Annexure-I. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has informed that 17 Eklavya Model Residential schools have been sanctioned to be set up across various districts of Assam. The details of EMRSs sanctioned and operational in Assam are at Annexure-II. To improve infrastructure, PM SHRI schools across the country including Assam are saturated with components such as Building as Learning Aid (BaLa) feature, Jaaduipitara, child friendly furniture, outdoor play materials, additional class room etc. in primary and elementary schools and furniture, fully equipped integrated science lab/physics lab/chemistry lab/ biology lab, smart classrooms, computer lab/ ICT Lab, skill lab, playground with well- equipped sports facilities additional class room etc. for secondary and senior secondary schools. 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. Further, PM SHRI scheme, aligned with NEP 2020, has a provision to integrate vocational education into the mainstream curriculum at the secondary and senior secondary levels, equipping students with essential skills for the future. There is a provision of setting up of vocational and skill labs by providing tools & equipment, raw materials, trainers, in-service and induction trainings for trainers, hands on training for students, linkages with sector skill councils etc. Students gain hands-on experience through internships with organisation/companies. (c): Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing (DIKSHA) is the one nation, one digital education infrastructure. All states/UTs have been onboarded in DIKSHA. This digital infrastructure is artificial intelligence based and is highly scalable. This infrastructure is also being utilized for creating Energized Textbooks (ETBs) and presently 7754 ETBs are published and a total of 3.67 lakh e-contents are available on DIKSHA. Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds (SWAYAM) hosts content curated by premier institutions and is available free of cost with the approach of “Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime” Learning. There have been more than 20,000 deliveries of courses on the platform, with cumulative enrolments exceeding 6 crores since its inception. During 2025, a total of 1,11,322 students from the State of Assam were enrolled on the SWAYAM Portal. Under the PM eVIDYA initiative, the existing 12 DTH Channels of SWAYAM PRABHA for School Education have been expanded to 200 PM eVIDYA DTH TV channels to providecurriculum-based educational content, particularly for learners who do not have access to internet connectivity. A total of 1,12,822 video contents, equivalent to 32,763 hours of telecast has been produced by States/UTs and Autonomous Bodies in 45 languages, thereby facilitating equitable and inclusive access to quality education. As informed by the State Government of Assam, under the PM eVIDYA initiative 5 DTH TV channels has been allotted catering to students of KaShreni to class-XII and Teacher Education. ICT and Digital Initiatives component of Samagra Shiksha covers Government Schools having classes VI to XII. Under this component financial assistance is provided for establishing ICT Labs and Smart Classrooms in schools. The non- recurring/ recurring grant under ‘ICT and Digital Initiatives’ is available to the States and UTs as per norms of the scheme. As informed by the State Government of Assam, ICT labs, Tele-education and Smart Classrooms have been established across 10033 Upper Primary, Secondary and Senior Secondary Schools, effectively covering rural, urban, tea-garden and flood-affected areas. A total of 21,04,755 students and 1,11,946 teachers have been covered under this initiative. (d): Under Samagra Shiksha, financial assistance is provided to States and Union Territories, based on their Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWP&B), for strengthening school education infrastructure and improving access, retention and quality. The States/UTs follow different approaches specific to different regions or communities based on various factors responsible for dropouts. The need for schools and also the infrastructural facilities in schools, to ensure retention, are worked out every year by the respective State/Union Territory on incremental basis depending on their need and priority and reflected in their Annual Work plan & Budget (AWP&B). The details of funds allocated, released and utilized under Samagra Shiksha to Assam during the last three financial years is as given below: (Rs. in Crore) Total available funds(Opening Expenditure including State share as per Year Balance+Central Share+State Share) Audited UC 2023-24 2169.85 1865.20 2024-25 3039.69 2284.91 2025-26 3829.61 2785.25* *As per provisional UC 2025-26 *****Annexure-I ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (b) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1379 ANSWERED ON 27.07.2026 ASKED BY SHRI PARIMAL SUKLABAIDYA, HON’BLE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT REGARDING “IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY 2020 IN ASSAM” The District-wise number of PM SHRI Schools is as follows: Name of District Number of School Baksa 9 Barpeta 24 Biswanath 9 Bongaigaon 10 Cachar 27 Charaideo 7 Chirang 5 Darrang 11 Dhemaji 9 Dhubri 25 Dibrugarh 11 Dima Hasao 6 Goalpara 13 Golaghat 15 Hailakandi 11 Hojai 8 Jorhat 10 Kamrup-Metro 4 Kamrup-Rural 21 Karbi Anglong 8 Kokrajhar 14 Lakhimpur 13 Majuli 2 Morigaon 10 Nagaon 22 Nalbari 9 Sibsagar 12 Sonitpur 12 South Salmara-Mankachar 4 Sribhumi 13 Tinsukia 14 Udalguri 9 West Karbi Anglong 5 Grand Total 382Annexure-II ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (b) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1379 ANSWERED ON 27.07.2026 ASKED BY SHRI PARIMAL SUKLABAIDYA, HON’BLE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT REGARDING “IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY 2020 IN ASSAM” The district wise status of EMRSs sanctioned and operational in Assam is as under: S.No. Name of District Sanctioned Functional/ Operational 1 Baksa 3 2 2 Barpeta 1 1 3 Dhemaji 1 1 4 Dima Hasao 4 1 5 Goalpara 1 - 6 Kamrup 1 - 7 Karbi Anglong 3 1 8 Kokrajhar 1 - 9 Udalguri 1 - 10 West Karbi Anglong 1 - Grand Total 17 6