With the Covid-19 pandemic exposing a digital divide in education, the HRD Ministry has projected use of Rs 60,000 crore over the next five years to give digital devices to four crore students in higher education.
The HRD Ministry made this projection in a presentation to the fifteenth Finance Commission Monday. The Commission had assembled the conference to discuss education “in the hour of Covid-19”.
The department of higher education has proposed to give devices such as PC and tablet computers, cell phones, and television sets to almost 40% of the students who took a crack at colleges and universities by 2025-26.
As of now, there are about 3.75 crore students tried out higher education institutions. In the first year, that is 2021-22, it plans to cover 1.5 crore students, trailed by 55 lakh in 2022-23, 61 lakh in 2023-24, 67 lakh in 2024-25 and 73 lakh in 2025-26. The ministry has assumed a normal cost of Rs 15,000 for each digital gadget.
Of the Rs 60,000 crore, the association government’s share is pegged at Rs 36,473 crore more than five years. The remaining is proposed to be borne by the state governments, as per the ministry’s presentation.
Given that much after it is esteemed safe to come back to the classroom, it won’t be arrival to what in particular was considered ordinary, the ministry has also sought funds to grow progressively content for web-based learning. An extra Rs 2,306 crore has been asked to create courses for the ministry’s educational channel (SWAYAM Prabha) and MOOCs stage till 2025-26.
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