Page 177 - Kaleidoscope Academic Conference Proceedings 2024

Innovation and Digital Transformation for a Sustainable World

relative to student enrolment. These statistics highlight the
Table 2 illustrates the current status of schools in rural areas infrastructure challenges that rural schools face in fully
regarding essential facilities necessary for online education. embracing online education. While progress has been made
As per the latest data from the portal, over 87% of these in providing basic amenities like electricity, there is a
schools have access to electricity. However, there is a pressing need to expand access to computers and Internet
notable gap in computer facilities, with only 42.15% of connectivity to enable effective online learning experiences
schools having computers, and an even lower percentage, at for rural students and educators. Addressing these
28.96%, having Internet connectivity. This deficit directly infrastructure gaps is essential for ensuring equitable and
impacts the utilization of computers and online educational inclusive education in rural India’s digital age.
tools by both teachers and students within these schools. The
availability of these facilities appears to be insufficient
Table 2: Schools in Rural India with basic facilities
Total No. of Functional Computer
Location Electricity Internet
Schools Electricity Available
Andaman & Nicobar Islands 357 327 327 143 222
Andhra Pradesh 49810 49109 48600 25762 22528
Arunachal Pradesh 3234 2051 1596 628 951
Assam 57473 43733 42556 6058 9700
Bihar 84040 73987 72935 7920 13063
Chhattisgarh 50168 47824 45387 17512 44760
Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu 393 393 393 203 343
Delhi 226 226 226 226 225
Goa 1185 1185 1185 648 592
Gujarat 41439 41419 41418 38121 40638
Haryana 18008 17818 17513 8050 16689
Himachal Pradesh 17171 16929 16772 5647 6654
Jammu & Kashmir 25555 19116 18126 7047 7616
Jharkhand 40780 38721 37355 14538 34683
Karnataka 54918 54358 54044 10432 26335
Kerala 12917 12849 12842 12226 12671
Ladakh 914 850 839 389 402
Lakshadweep 38 38 38 37 38
Madhya Pradesh 104010 76648 73974 23226 19153
Maharashtra 81903 76658 66631 31299 63915
Manipur 3989 2545 2031 811 1311
Meghalaya 13545 3191 2930 2061 2121
Mizoram 2646 2050 1879 143 1176
Nagaland 2182 1584 1353 1022 1112
Odisha 57186 47676 43104 7031 13348
Puducherry 394 394 394 387 394
Punjab 21675 21672 21669 11892 21622
Rajasthan 88362 75778 74767 50425 40755
Sikkim 1142 1137 1122 368 1030
Tamilnadu 43180 43180 43180 13276 33038
Telangana 28547 26274 24857 2881 8546
Tripura 4527 2484 2368 743 1360
Uttarakhand 19206 17315 16663 4274 10307
Uttar Pradesh 221117 183762 176008 39986 49715
West Bengal 82551 80288 79333 12121 13398
Total 1234788 1083569 1044415 357533 520411

Apart from the necessary facilities for online education at 3. GOVERNMENT’S INITIATIVES TO
school, the socio-economic factors also play a crucial role. PROMOTE DIGITAL/ONLINE EDUCATION
The economic status of students notably shapes their access IN RURAL INDIA
to technology, level of engagement, and academic
achievements, exacerbating a digital divide that surpasses The Indian government has undertaken several initiatives to
mere access challenges [15]. promote digital and online education in rural India,

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