Meghalaya is preparing to roll out a statewide digital learning system in about 700 government schools and 65 Community Multi‑facility Youth Centres. The ambition is clear, but the harder question is whether students in remote pockets will have reliable connectivity to use it.
The Meghalaya Basin Management Agency has invited bids to implement and manage the Meghalaya I‑Learning Project under the World Bank‑supported MPOWER programme. The tender, issued on September 25, covers supply, installation, commissioning, operation and maintenance of smart classroom infrastructure, digital teaching and learning systems, network connectivity, technical support, teacher assistance, helpdesk services and capacity building. The contract is planned for 48 months.
In its 2025‑26 Budget the state said nearly 89 percent of Meghalaya’s villages were connected through at least one telecom technology, while conceding that the rest still needed coverage and that bandwidth had to improve. Parliamentary data from June 2025 showed that of 7,100 villages listed, 6,424 had mobile connectivity and 6,394 had 4G, leaving 676 villages without reported mobile connectivity and 706 without 4G. Coverage varied sharply across districts, making statewide averages a poor guide to classroom reality. The tender treats network connectivity as a core component; a smart classroom with digital material, livestreaming or online support cannot work consistently on unreliable bandwidth or intermittent mobile coverage.
The Education Department released the Meghalaya School Performance Grading Index 2025‑26, which assessed 11,443 schools across 12 districts on 43 indicators, including digital education, infrastructure and accessibility. A pilot digital and interactive learning programme in Mathematics and Science began on September 25, with 31 government and government‑aided schools in East Khasi Hills selected for ICT infrastructure and connectivity support. The statewide project therefore poses a larger question: can digital education narrow the rural‑urban learning gap if the digital divide itself remains open? The government says 98 percent of planned telecom towers have been built and that it will improve bandwidth and reach the remaining uncovered villages, but 2025 figures show coverage is still incomplete, especially when the requirement is dependable broadband for sustained digital learning. The four‑year I‑Learning project may succeed or stall on that last mile, as much as on the quality of content, equipment and teacher training now being procured.
