The Uttar Pradesh government has approved a Rs 300 crore initiative to convert 14,429 government primary schools under the Basic Education Council into smart schools. The project, cleared at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow, will be implemented in phases.
The selected schools will receive smart classrooms, ICT labs, digital books and digital library facilities. Teachers will also use tablets to support technology-enabled teaching. Shri Tron India Limited has been designated as the implementing agency, with installation work to be carried out through competitive tendering.
The approved benchmark is Rs 2,07,910 per school, including sanitation charges and GST. If bidding results in lower costs, the remaining funds can be used to extend the programme to additional schools, within the Rs 300 crore allocation.
Uttar Pradesh already has smart classes in more than 32,000 schools, while over 15,000 schools have ICT labs and 1,129 have digital libraries. Tablets have also been distributed to more than 2.61 lakh teachers across the state.
Smart classes in primary schools were introduced in 2021 and formally became operational from the 2022-23 academic session. The latest expansion will be prioritised according to student strength and enrolment, with the government aiming to widen access to technology-based education in its primary schools.
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