Digital push under NEP sparks concerns on funding, access and autonomy
Centre uses funding as a carrot to push the 'stick' of digital products SWAYAM, SAMARTH and ABC, drawing resistance from states on connectivity and federal rights
Having traced how NEP 2020 has been implemented from the top down, first through centralised review meetings, then via centrally funded institutes mentoring state universities, the Federal now turns to the programmes and digital backbone of the policy, and the surrounding questions of funding and connectivity.
RTI papers reveal the Union Ministry of Education’s (MoE) push for nationwide adoption of SAMARTH, SWAYAM, and the Academic Bank of Credits (ABC).
SWAYAM is a government e-learning platform that offers free online courses at the school and university levels. SAMARTH is a digital platform designed to automate and streamline administrative, academic, and examination processes in universities and colleges. ABC, on the other hand, is a digital repository that stores academic credits earned by students, which can be transferred, among other features.
Part 1 | RTI reveals top-down push in NEP 2020, Centre sidelining states' concerns
Part 2 | How Modi regime used central institutes to enforce NEP on state varsities
Per RTI documents received by The Federal, the MoE has been urging all states and higher education institutions (HEIs) to adopt these three central programmes. In a consultation-cum-review meeting held on March 24, 2023, with states/UTs of the East and Central Zone, Gourav Khare, National Co-Ordinator, Digital India Corporation, “requested all states to mandate ABC IDs in admit cards, examination forms and admission forms”.
In another such meeting, dated June 9, 2023, Sanjeev Singh, Joint Director, SAMARTH, said: “About 1,500 HEIs are to be integrated in SAMARTH, converting every campus to a digital campus with the integration of SWAYAM, virtual labs, Academic Bank of Credit, etc”.
States raise concerns
States like Sikkim, Mizoram and Jharkhand flagged issues with these moves. In a review meeting for the northeastern states held on May 11, 2023, the MoE conducted a “progress check” of “key pillars”, viz. “Learner Centric Education (ABC, multidisciplinary, multiple entry and exit system, Credit Framework), Online/Digital adoption (SAMARTH/SWAYAM), Accreditation and Ranking (NAAC, NIRF, QS etc.), Internships, Academia collaboration, R&D and Indian Knowledge System”.
Per the minutes of the meeting, the representative from Sikkim, Ujwal Rai, pointed out: “Forty per cent of the courses are being taken from SWAYAM, but the major problem is with connectivity in rural areas.”
In the same meeting, Mizoram’s representative Ms Atel flagged several issues, including:
1) Challenges due to infrastructural gaps and a limited number of HEIs offering MDE (multidisciplinary education)
2) Challenges in industry-institute collaboration due to the presence of very few micro and small industries
3) Research output being minimal because just three HEIs offer master's degrees
In another meeting, Rahul Purwar, Secretary, Higher & Technical Education, Government of Jharkhand, is said to have “highlighted specific challenges i.e. limited digital infrastructure, limited availability of textbooks and learning materials in local and regional languages, etc.”
Universities flag issues
At the university level, too, these programmes remain a cause for concern.
“The SAMARTH platform, though a multipurpose digital system, was implemented only in central universities. In Kerala, there was real potential for collaborative and joint courses—for instance, the History Department of Sree Sankara Sanskrit University, Kalady, runs a joint course with some North European universities. Yet, the fear of losing institutional autonomy remained a major concern,” Professor MH Illias of Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala told The Federal.
“Another major worry is that platforms like SWAYAM could eventually lead to large-scale unemployment among teachers. Several foreign countries that had tried similar experiments during the COVID era have since discontinued them after realising their adverse impacts,” he added.
The funding for these programmes also remains unclear. In the minutes of the May 11, 2023, meeting, Sanjeev Singh of SAMARTH is recorded as saying that the programme’s “software cost is zero, but it has an operational cost – in terms of cloud infra and manpower requirement”.
“Customisation required by state institutions requires extra efforts from SAMARTH’s end," the minutes read. On average, it would cost Rs 3-5 lakh per annum for cloud infra, customisation on the basis of number of students, number of modules, size of the institution, etc, it notes, but it doesn’t say who will bear this cost.
'Budget for education dwindled'
The only indication is in the minutes of a meeting held on February 28, 2023, when the Principal Secretary of the Uttar Pradesh government “requested RUSA (Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan) funding to implement targets of NEP, 2020”. The Higher Education Secretary “informed that the Centre is already funding the implementation of ABC and the state only needs to onboard its HEIs and students on the same”.
NV Varghese, former Vice-Chancellor of the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), points out that the question of funding lies at the heart of the NEP’s implementation challenges.
Also Read: Dharmendra Pradhan in TN: 'Centre not imposing any language on states'
“In July 2020, the policy was launched. And the first budget after that was in February-March 2021. The allocations for education declined. It did not go up with all the promises that were made in the policy. It’s only in 2023-24 that it marginally increased. So there is a gap between the statements ministers give on TV and the implementation,” he told The Federal.
Varghese also said that, per the NEP, the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) was to be set up as a single regulatory body for higher education. But five years later, it's still not in place.
“It was supposed to have separate arrangements for budgets, allocation, quality control and also for the curriculum development, etc. Five years have passed, but that has not taken shape. Even today, it is 16 regulatory bodies operating in higher education,” he said.
Politics influences fund allocation
Funding has also become a politically charged issue, with non-BJP states, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Jharkhand, publicly accusing the Centre of using funding as leverage. They allege that delays or denials of funds for other higher-education programmes are linked to their reluctance to implement NEP fully.
Most recently, the Kerala government signed an MoU on the PM-SHRI scheme after resisting it for a long time (it again froze the plan on October 29). It claimed that the Union government was withholding funds under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), pushing it into a corner.
Also read: Why signing PM SHRI does not mean ceding ideological ground
“Kerala has no funds. They have not had money for one-and-a-half years to pay teacher salaries. So, they (Centre) are arm-twisting them,” said educationist Anita Rampal.
Withholding of funds
A Parliamentary Standing Committee (PAC) also noted this in its report of March 26, 2025, where it said that there were dues of over Rs 4,000 crore to be given to Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
“The withholding of funds is severely impacting teachers’ salaries, RTE reimbursements, and transportation for students in remote areas. The Committee further observes that withholding the funds under SSA to states for not entering into MoUs for separate schemes like PM SHRI is not justifiable,” it said.
Viewed alongside the Standing Committee’s report, the RTI documents reveal a clear trajectory — a centralised model of governance where monitoring and mandates flow from Delhi. Yet, the success of such a centralised system remains uncertain, as it rests on states that lack both resources and full political buy-in.
(With inputs from Rajeev Ramachandran in Kochi.)
