According to Unified District Information System for Education plus (UDISE+) data for 2024-25, over 23 per cent of schools in Maharashtra do not have any functioning computers.
As per the UDISE+ data, out of the 1,08,250 schools in Maharashtra, 25,258 do not have functional computers. In addition to this, of the total 1.8 lakh schools in Maharashtra, 30,166 do not have an internet connection. The above-mentioned figures include all schools, like private schools, government, and government-aided.
Moreover, the UDISE+ data that was released in August also shows that across the country, only 57.9 per cent of schools have functional computers, while the state-wise variations are huge. In Kerala, almost all schools, ie, 15,618 out of 15,757, have functional computers.
In Tamil Nadu, 91.6 per cent of schools have functional computers. In Uttar Pradesh, only 51 per cent of schools have operational computers. Among the leading states, Karnataka, despite being called the IT hub of India, is worse than Maharashtra, with only 50 per cent of the total schools having computers.
IAS officer Sanjay Yadav, who is the State Project Director of Samagra Shiksha at Maharashtra Prathmik Shikshan Parishad, told The Indian Express that many of the state’s schools without computers are smaller schools with a low number of students. “We don’t close schools even where the children count is low. We have schools with one, two, or ten students, and these are younger kids. The schools without computers are possibly these schools,” Yadav said.
“If there are more than 50 students, an attempt is made to provide computers. It is the government’s responsibility to provide these facilities, and we are trying, but we are now also trying to get CSR (corporate social responsibility) funds to these smaller schools,” he added.
