SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir has emerged as one of the major beneficiaries of the Centre’s flagship PM SHRI school programme under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, with 396 schools selected across the Union Territory enrolling more than 90,000 students, according to data tabled in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
The figures were released by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in response to a starred question on the implementation of NEP 2020, providing the latest status of reforms in school education, digital learning, teacher training and funding across the country. The data also shows that Jammu and Kashmir has received substantial central assistance under multiple education schemes while expanding digital infrastructure and vocational education.
According to the statement, Jammu and Kashmir has 396 PM SHRI schools with a total enrolment of 90,338 students, making it one of the larger PM SHRI networks among Union Territories and several states. Nationally, 13,092 PM SHRI schools have been selected with nearly 6.85 million students enrolled. These schools are being developed as model institutions incorporating 21 components of the NEP, including smart classrooms, ICT laboratories, vocational education, science laboratories, career counselling, libraries, sports facilities and environmentally sustainable infrastructure.
The Centre also informed Parliament that Jammu and Kashmir has six sanctioned Eklavya Model Residential Schools with an enrolment of 1,185 students. Across India, 728 such schools have been approved to improve educational access in tribal and remote areas.
Digital education has also expanded significantly in the Union Territory. The Lok Sabha reply states that Jammu and Kashmir recorded 49,693 enrolments on the SWAYAM online learning platform during 2025. The Centre said SWAYAM has crossed six crore cumulative enrolments nationally since its launch, while DIKSHA now hosts over 3.67 lakh digital learning resources and 7,754 energised textbooks.
School digitisation has progressed as well. Jammu and Kashmir currently has 3,036 functional ICT laboratories and 1,352 smart classrooms established under the Samagra Shiksha programme, according to the Ministry.
Financial support to the Union Territory has continued under various centrally sponsored schemes during 2025-26. The Ministry informed Parliament that Jammu and Kashmir received Rs 516.92 crore under Samagra Shiksha, Rs 124.68 crore under the PM SHRI scheme, Rs 1.64 crore under ULLAS and Rs 276.69 crore under PM POSHAN.
The Centre said implementation of NEP 2020 has been aligned with major education schemes including Samagra Shiksha, PM SHRI, PM POSHAN and ULLAS. It highlighted nationwide initiatives such as the NIPUN Bharat Mission for foundational literacy and numeracy, Vidya Pravesh for early learners, NISHTHA teacher training, multilingual learning materials and the National Professional Standards for Teachers as key components of the reform agenda.
The Ministry told Parliament that NEP implementation remains a continuous process being carried out jointly by the Centre and states and Union Territories through regular consultations, funding support and policy coordination aimed at improving enrolment, learning outcomes and the overall quality of school education.
