Shillong: Meghalaya is moving to bring digital learning to 700 government schools and 65 Community Multi-facility Youth Centres. The Meghalaya Basin Management Agency issued a tender on September 25 for the Meghalaya I-Learning Project. This four-year contract covers everything from hardware installation to teacher training under the World Bank-supported MPOWER programme. The state hopes to close the learning gap. It might fail.
Digital education needs more than just screens. It requires stable broadband, yet 706 villages across the state still lack 4G access. Parliamentary data from June 2025 shows that 676 of the 7,100 listed villages have no mobile connectivity at all. While the government claims 98 percent of planned telecom towers are standing, the difference between basic mobile access and the high-speed data required for sustained classroom streaming is vast.
The Education Department is already tracking school performance through an index that examined 11,443 schools across 12 districts. Officials also launched a smaller pilot on September 25 for 31 schools in East Khasi Hills. This trial covers Math and Science instruction with integrated ICT support. The state government admits that bandwidth requires major improvements to make this initiative viable. Officials noted that the state is working to improve "last-mile connectivity and broadband" to reach the remaining uncovered areas.
The project’s success hinges on whether the hardware can actually function in remote pockets. Reliability is the only real metric. A smart classroom cannot operate on intermittent signals. Teachers and students face an uncertain path as the state attempts to bridge its deep digital divide.
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