Govt aims to expand access to higher education in ₹650-crore digital push
New Delhi: India has drawn up an ambitious plan to digitize higher education, aiming to expand online learning and strengthen research facilities under the Mission
New Delhi: India has drawn up an ambitious plan to digitize higher education, aiming to expand online learning and strengthen research facilities under the Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT), two government officials aware of the matter said. The government also wants universities and colleges to increasingly use technology to manage their day-to-day operations more efficiently. According to the Department of Expenditure's (DoE) proposal for 2026-27, reviewed by Mint, the education ministry has been allocated ₹650 crore for the programme, with targets spanning digital learning platforms, research tools, innovation initiatives and institutional governance. "A key focus of the mission is to expand access to online education through the SWAYAM platform. The ministry aims to develop 390 Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and deliver 2,840 courses during the year," said the first of the two officials cited above, both speaking on condition of anonymity. "It has set targets of 80 lakh student enrolments, 16 lakh examination registrations and issuance of 12 lakh certificates through SWAYAM," the official added.
Free education SWAYAM, which stands for Study Webs of Active-learning for Young Aspiring Minds, is a government-run massive open online course platform that offers free educational and skill-based courses spanning class 9 to post-graduation. Under SWAYAM Plus, which offers industry-oriented courses, the government plans to develop and deliver 40 courses and enrol 1.5 lakh learners. "The SATHEE (Self-Assessment, Test and Help for Entrance Exams) platform, designed to support competitive examination preparation, is expected to add 105 course modules, with targets of 3 lakh student enrolments, 30,000 examination registrations and issuance of 15,000 certificates," the second official said. The initiative assumes significance as the Centre seeks to expand the use of digital platforms to improve access to quality higher education, strengthen research capabilities and equip students with industry-relevant skills. Also Read | PM internship scheme gets new performance metrics after pilot review Queries sent to the ministries of finance and education remained unanswered till press time. Welcoming the government's push to expand digital learning, experts said that the initiative should place greater emphasis on industry-relevant skills and regional language content to maximize its reach and impact.
"It is a great move to improve access. Care should be taken to include the latest industry-oriented and vocation-oriented courses, such as AI skills, and to offer them in local languages. India already has a large pool of teachers who can contribute to this initiative. The ministry should look at bringing them on board as well," said Arjun Mohan, chief executive officer (CEO) of EdStart Startup, a consulting firm, and former CEO of Byju's India and upGrad. Robotics initiative To strengthen innovation and digital skills, the ministry plans to cover 100 institutions under the e-Yantra robotics initiative and train 1,000 students. It also plans to organise 4,000 internships, hackathons and workshops under the Free/Libre and Open-Source Software for Education (FOSSEE) initiative, training 1.2 lakh students and faculty members in open-source software. e-Yantra is an IIT-Bombay initiative, supported by the ministry of education under NMEICT, that promotes hands-on learning in robotics, embedded systems, artificial intelligence, automation and the Internet of Things (IoT) among engineering students and faculty.
The BriefWire