Jammu: Even though significant work has been done over the past decade to provide electricity to schools across the country, hundreds of schools in many states, including Jammu and Kashmir, still lack electricity. According to Niti Aayog’s Government School Education & Infrastructure Report, only 87.2 percent of schools in Jammu and Kashmir will have electricity by 2024-25, while approximately 12.8 percent of schools still lack electricity.
The findings of Niti Aayog’s new report, titled “School Education System In India”, reveals that electricity is a basic necessity for any school. It provides lighting and ventilation in classrooms, enables digital education and smart classes, and helps ensure continued learning even during inclement weather. Without electricity, a modern, technology-driven education system is unimaginable.
According to data, only 25.1 percent of schools in Jammu and Kashmir had electricity in 2014-15, which increased to 87.2 percent in 2024-25. This is considered a major improvement over the last ten years. The report lists Jammu and Kashmir among the states that have made significant progress in providing electricity to schools. However, despite this, the state still lags behind nationally.
The report states that states and union territories such as Haryana, Goa, Delhi, Chandigarh, Lakshadweep, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, and Puducherry have achieved 100% electricity coverage in schools. However, the situation remains relatively weak in Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Ladakh, and Jammu and Kashmir.
Education experts say providing electricity to the mountainous and remote areas of Jammu and Kashmir is a major challenge. Many schools are located in areas where weather and geographical conditions make it difficult to develop infrastructure. This directly impacts children’s education and digital learning.
Experts said the government has improved the situation through rural electrification schemes and investments in education infrastructure, but the final stage has yet to be reached. They said the goal of digital and technology-based education will not be fully achieved until all schools have access to electricity.
Education experts believe that until all schools have 100% electricity access, it will be difficult to fully achieve the goals of digital and modern education. Access to electricity is considered an essential part of educational infrastructure. Overall, the report indicates that the country has made progress in providing electricity to schools, but some areas remain in need of improvement to ensure equitable and quality education for all students.
Parakh (or Performance Assessment, Review, And Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development) is the national assessment regulator created in 2023 under the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT), as mandated by the National Education Policy 2020.
