Chapter 19: National Policies and Practices on ICT in Education: India

Education in India is under the jurisdiction of individual states. Each of the 28 states and six union territories (and the National Capital territory of Delhi) pursues its own policies on education for which the central government has little influence (see Figure 19.1).

In parallel to the state-level education systems, the Government of India also runs a few school systems. Two of these are prominent. The first are the kendirya vidyalayas or KVs, which literally means central schools, numbering almost 900, for children of the central government staff. The second are the navodaya vidyalayas or NVs, popularly known as model schools, close to 400 in number, and intended for talented rural children. The total number of schools under the Government of India is about 1,500, which is very small compared to the number of schools across the country. The education policies of the Government of India apply only to the school systems under central government’s jurisdiction and have little influence on schools run by the states.