Officials in the state say running these facilities, without adequate funds from the Centre, has been a challenge.
Chennai: Across the past five years, Tamil Nadu has had the highest number of information and communication technology (ICT) labs sanctioned under the Centre-sponsored Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) among the southern states, revealed a reply to a question raised in the Lok Sabha.The state has also been sanctioned the highest number of smart classrooms over the past two years under the scheme, which aims to enhance digital and technology-enabled learning in govt schools across the nation.For ICT labs, the state’s numbers are exponentially higher than its neighbours — 2,166 labs — followed by Telangana with 1,242 labs for 2025-26 academic year. In total, the state has received 9,432 labs in the past five years — nearly four times more than Telangana, which is ranked second among southern states.As for smart classrooms — sanctioned for the state from 2024-25 — the number (8,967) is double that of Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala and Telangana which had the facility for the past four years.The replies were provided by Union minister of state for education Jayant Chaudhary to a question raised by Andhra Pradesh MPs Kadiyam Kavya and Appalanaidu Kalisetti, seeking details of central grant sanctioned for digital learning infrastructure under SSA.Tamil Nadu also topped the financial approval granted for these schemes, but disbursals, including ₹167 crore for 2025-26 and ₹655.25 crore from 2021-22 to 2025-26, have been delayed. Officials in the state say running these facilities, without adequate funds from the Centre, has been a challenge. “The state has been spending out of its pockets as the funds have not been disbursed for the past three years. Paying salaries for lab instructors alone runs into tens of crores,” said M Aarthi, project director, SSA, TN. The Centre has not released funds required by the centre for the non-implementation of the national education policy (NEP).
