Government has made an outlay of Rs.6000 crores in the XI five year plan for the centrally sponsored scheme for information and communication technology (ICT) in schools, this was stated by the Minister of State for Human Resource Development, D. Purandeswari, in a written reply to a question, in the Lok Sabha yesterday.

The sharing pattern between the central government and states is in the ratio of 75:25 for general category states and 90:10 special category under the scheme.

The centrally sponsored scheme is being implemented since December 2004 to promote the usage of ICT in government and government aided secondary and higher secondary schools for enriching the teaching learning process and to enable the students to acquire skills needed for the digital world.

Financial assistance is provided for ICT infrastructure, including internet connectivity, capacity building of teachers and development of appropriate e-content for ICT – aided teaching and learning.

The schools are selected based on the computer education plans received from the states/UTs, stated the MoS.