Smart classrooms, ordinary problems: Is Rajasthan’s digital push reaching the last classroom?

Jaipur: A smart board on a classroom wall looks impressive. But the more important question is what happens after the inauguration — does the teacher actually use it, does the internet work and, most importantly, are children learning better because of it?

Rajasthan has made a significant push towards digital education. The state’s 2025-26 Economic Review says there are 13,976 ICT lab-enabled government upper-primary and secondary schools and 13,018 smart classrooms. Digital content is also being provided through platforms such as e-Gyan and DIKSHA.

But the picture is not quite as complete on the ground. UDISE+ 2024-25 data shows that 69.9% of Rajasthan’s schools have internet facilities and 53.3% have computer facilities. Even more tellingly, computers were being used for teaching purposes in only 47% of schools.

That gap is worth looking at.

Having a computer is one thing. A teacher using it to explain a difficult science concept, show a map in a geography class or help children practise mathematics is something else.

The problem becomes more visible in schools away from the bigger cities. A digital lesson can depend on something as basic as whether the internet is working that day, whether the equipment has been maintained and whether the teacher has been trained to use it.

Rajasthan’s own Gyan Sankalp programme recognises that technology alone cannot improve learning. Teachers and school heads need training and must actually integrate digital tools into classroom teaching.

This is where the state’s next phase of digital expansion needs to be judged differently. The government has announced 9,000 smart classrooms, 7,000 ICT labs and 80,000 tablets as part of its latest school-infrastructure plan.

The questions now are fairly simple: Who will use them? How often? Who will repair them when they stop working? And how will the government measure whether they are improving learning?

There is also a danger in getting carried away by technology numbers. Rajasthan still has schools struggling with basic requirements. A smart classroom cannot compensate for a teacher shortage, unreliable electricity or poor internet.

For parents, the difference is ultimately very simple. They do not care how many smart classrooms appear in a government release. They want to know whether their child is understanding the lesson.

The real measure of Rajasthan’s digital education push, therefore, should not be the number of screens installed.

It should be the number of classrooms where those screens are actually helping a teacher teach and a child learn.

Image Used In Article: ET Government