Parliament Question: Lack of Smart Classes in Kasaragod

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3581 ANSWERED ON 11/08/2025 Lack of Smart Classes in Kasaragod

3581. Shri Rajmohan Unnithan:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

(a) the number of Government schools in Kasaragod district of Kerala still lack functional smart classrooms or reliable internet;

(b) whether any NEP-2020 bridge grants have been earmarked for such border districts; and

(c) the measures taken by the Government to ensure Malayalam–Kannada bilingual e-content for students in intercultural zones? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

(a): Under Samagra Shiksha, financial assistance is provided to States/UTs, for setting up of Smart Classrooms in Government and Government Aided Schools having classes VI to XII, besides other components. As per UDISE+ 2023-24, 92.13% schools in Kerala have internet facility. As informed by State Government of Kerala, 43 schools in Kasaragod district lack reliable internet.

(b): The Samagra Shiksha scheme has been aligned with the recommendations of NEP 2020 to ensure that all children have access to quality education with an equitable and inclusive classroom environment which should take care of their diverse background, multilingual needs, different academic abilities and make them active participants in the learning process. Samagra Shiksha is implemented in partnership with all the States and UTs, and financial assistance is provided to them for various components based on proposals submitted in the Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWP&B). These plans are then appraised/approved by PAB in consultation with the States and UTs as per the programmatic and financial norms of the Scheme and availability of budgetary resources.

(c): Education is in the concurrent list of the Constitution and majority of the schools are under domain of the respective State and UT Governments. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 emphasizes multilingualism and recommends that children be taught in their home/local language or mother tongue at least until Grade 5, preferably till Grade 8. The NEP 2020, inter-alia, at para4.13, provides that the three-language formula will continue to be implemented while keeping in mind the Constitutional provisions, aspirations of the people, regions, and the Union, and the need to promote multilingualism as well as promote national unity. The three languages learned by children will be the choices of States, regions, and of course the students themselves, so long as at least two of the three languages are native to India.

A comprehensive initiative called PM eVidya was initiated as part of Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan on 17th May, 2020, which unifies all efforts related to digital/online/on-air education to enable multi-mode access to education. There are 200 PM eVidya DTH TV Channels to enable all States/UTs to provide supplementary education in various Indian languages including for classes 1-

12. DIKSHA (Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing) is a national platform for school education. DIKSHA can be accessed by learners and teachers across the country and currently supports 108 languages. DIKSHA currently hosts 7,383 textbooks energized with QR codes, including 403 NCERT textbooks and Energized Textbooks (ETBs). There are more than 3.75 lakh+ digital contents on DIKSHA, including audio-visual content, reading and practice material, interactive resources, and lesson plans. These e-contents are available in 133 languages (126 Indian and 7 foreign languages). Besides, there are 1,740 and 22,952 e-content in Malayalam and Kannada respectively.

******