Parl panel red flags rise in student mobile addiction; Also seeks bridging of digital divide

New Delhi: Taking note of the ‘alarming rise in mobile phone addiction’ and the harmful effects of social media on the ‘emotional well-being and physical health’ of the students, a Parliamentary panel has strongly urged the Education ministry to accelerate the launching of online Cyberspace Safety for class 9 to 12 students as well as for teachers.

The Committee of Estimates in its latest report reviewing the Education budget and policies and CBSE, has said that courses on mobile phone addiction, safety in cyberspace, safe internet, danger of cyber bullying and fraud, etc be integrated in the curriculum and teachers be properly trained to ‘identify early signs of social media addiction and mental distress in classrooms’.

“The Committee feel that there is a need for inclusion of the mandatory teaching on the Cyber safety guidelines for school children as they are the most vulnerable section to be affected by fraudulent cyber portals”, it said.


At the same time, the panel has observed that a major digital divide still exists across India which deprives the students in villages and far-flung areas easy and equal access to digital education. Only 58.6% of government schools have an internet connection- often with patchy connectivity and lack of access to desktops, tablets or laptops at home.

The panel has asked the ministry to consider amending the rules of the Samagra Shiksha scheme to allow States to buy and distribute low-cost tablets or laptops directly to poor students, prioritizing those students from villages and far-flung areas.

Strongly red flagged in the report is the high drop out rate at secondary education levels and ‘severe regional disparities’ in Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER)- which remains below 50% at the higher secondary level in several regions including northeastern States.

The panel has referred to the Ministry’s own data which shows Madhya Pradesh at GER of only 45% and Bihar dropping to an alarming 38.1%. In the Northeastern region, where Meghalaya stands at 39.7%, Nagaland at 39.8%, Assam at 43.9%, and Sikkim at 49.6%. It has pointed to multiple possible reasons for high drop outs, such as shortage of senior secondary and secondary schools, economic pressures on families, lack of localized student retention strategies and lack of proper career guidance.

It has also emphasised on the need to increase the public expenditure on education sector to 6% of GDP as also enunciated in the New Education Policy 2020- up from the current combined spending by the Centre and States stands at only 4.1% of the GDP, reflecting a ‘persistent shortfall’.

The panel has recommended that to bridge the GDP gap, the Ministry should move away from marginal incremental budgeting and ensure a mandatory annual baseline increase of 10% in the education budget to gradually converge with the 6% GDP target. It has also sought the creation of a specialised, non-lapsable education fund to secure long-term infrastructure creation, digital expansion and inclusive education across consecutive fiscal years without the risk of budget expiration.