69.9% Schools Have Computers, 67.4% Have Internet: UDISE+ 2025-26 Data Shows Learning Gap

The news

On National Education Day, November 11, the Ministry of Education's UDISE+ 2025-26 data shows that 69.9 per cent of India's 14.67 lakh schools have a computer and 67.4 per cent have internet. Yet NITI Aayog's May 2026 report on school education reveals that only 57.9 per cent of schools had computers available for teaching and learning in 2024-25, exposing a 6.8 percentage point gap between ownership and classroom use.

The data, released by the Ministry via PIB on July 7, 2026, also shows that 95 per cent of schools had an electricity connection in 2025-26, but NITI Aayog found that 1.19 lakh schools lacked functional electricity in 2024-25. State-level disparities are stark: Bihar has internet in 84.8 per cent of schools but computers in only 25.2 per cent, while West Bengal (25.1 per cent computers, 18.6 per cent internet) and Meghalaya (19.7 per cent computers, 26.4 per cent internet) trail on both counts. Delhi and Kerala achieve near-universal access.

Which policy drives school digital infrastructure data?

The Unified District Information System for Education Plus, or UDISE+, is the Ministry of Education's annual school census that collects data on school infrastructure, enrolment and teachers, and it has been the basis for tracking digital access in schools. The National Education Policy 2020 emphasises the use of technology in education and calls for investment in digital infrastructure, which has shaped the push to expand computer and internet access in schools. The Samagra Shiksha scheme, launched in 2018 by merging the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan and Teacher Education schemes, provides funding for ICT and digital initiatives in government schools. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, under Section 19, requires schools to have certain infrastructure, though it does not explicitly mandate computers or internet. The Digital India campaign, launched in 2015, has also influenced the expansion of connectivity in public institutions, including schools.

How has digital infrastructure in schools improved?

The share of schools with computers has risen from 47.7 per cent in 2022-23 to 69.9 per cent in 2025-26, and internet connectivity from 49.7 per cent to 67.4 per cent over the same period. In 2021-22, only 24.2 per cent of government schools had internet, against 59.6 per cent of private schools, the Ministry told the Lok Sabha in the winter session of 2024. UDISE+ figures before 2022-23 are not strictly comparable with later years.

What does the gap between ownership and use mean?

NITI Aayog's report found that in 2024-25, 64.7 per cent of schools had computers but only 57.9 per cent had them available for teaching and learning, a gap of 6.8 percentage points. The data does not explain why a school's computer is unavailable for teaching. In government schools with Class 6 and above, 66 per cent had internet in 2024-25, but only 34 per cent had a computer or ICT lab, indicating that connectivity is running ahead of devices.

Which states show the sharpest disparities?

Bihar shows the most paradoxical pattern: internet in 84.8 per cent of schools, up from 18.5 per cent a year earlier, but computers in only 25.2 per cent, suggesting mobile-based internet without devices. West Bengal has 25.1 per cent schools with computers and 18.6 per cent with internet, while Meghalaya has 19.7 per cent with computers and 26.4 per cent with internet. Delhi and Kerala achieve near-universal access on both counts.