Government schools have significantly improved their digital infrastructure over the past three years, making the sharpest gains in internet connectivity and narrowing the gap with aided and private schools, according to the latest UDISE+ report.
Internet access in government schools rose from 46.2% in 2023-24 to 63.1% in 2025-26, reducing the gap with aided and private institutions from nearly 28 percentage points to about 16 percentage points.
Government schools also recorded notable progress in smart classroom infrastructure, with the share of functional smart classrooms increasing from 21.2% to 32.2% during the same period. However, they continue to trail aided schools, where 41% have smart classrooms, and private unaided schools, where the figure stands at 39.9%.
Internet access improves across schools
Overall, 67.4% of schools across the country had internet connectivity in 2025-26, up from 63.5% in 2024-25 and 53.9% in 2023-24, the report showed.
Goa achieved 100% internet connectivity, making it the only state with complete coverage. Among states, Andhra Pradesh followed with 99.2%, ahead of Tamil Nadu (99%), Gujarat (96.8%) and Kerala (92.6%).
West Bengal ranked last, with internet access available in only 19.7% of schools. It was followed by Arunachal Pradesh (36%), Meghalaya (36.4%), Manipur (38.8%) and Tripura (42.5%).
Goa improved from 87.6% coverage in 2023-24 to full connectivity, while Andhra Pradesh rose from 93.9% to 99.2%. Among the lowest-performing states, Meghalaya recorded an improvement of nearly 12 percentage points and Tripura gained more than seven points, while West Bengal saw only a marginal increase from 17.5% to 19.7%.
Across different school management categories, internet connectivity in government-aided schools increased from 73.3% to 79.7%, while private unaided schools improved from 74.3% to 79.2%.
Computer access and smart classrooms
The report found that 69.9% of schools had computers in 2025-26. The share stood at 66.9% in government schools, 76.6% in aided schools and 80% in private unaided institutions.
The availability of computers specifically used for teaching was lower, at 59.4% in government schools, 73.7% in aided schools and 74% in private unaided schools.
Nationally, the proportion of schools with smart classrooms increased from 24.4% in 2023-24 to 33.9% in 2025-26.
Government schools registered the largest improvement, recording an increase of around 11 percentage points. In comparison, smart classroom coverage in aided schools rose from 31% to 41%, while private unaided schools improved from 34.6% to 39.9%.
Despite these gains, digital libraries remain limited. Only 7.1% of schools reported having one, including 5.7% of government schools, 10.4% of aided schools and 11.2% of private unaided institutions.
The report noted that the National Education Policy (NEP) envisions schools equipped with “computing devices, internet, libraries” and other essential infrastructure to create “a safe, inclusive and effective learning environment.”
