Bengaluru: Nearly one in every two schools in Karnataka still lacks internet connectivity, placing the state significantly behind the national average and most of its southern neighbours, according to the latest UDISE+ 2025–26 data released by the Union Ministry of Education.The report shows that only 51.7% of Karnataka’s 74,578 schools have internet access, well below the national average of 67.4%. Of the state’s schools, 38,584 are connected to the internet, while nearly 36,000 schools continue to function without connectivity.The digital gap is most pronounced in the government school system. Of Karnataka’s 48,527 government schools, only 18,007 (37.1%) have internet facilities, far below the national average of 63.1% for government schools. Government-aided schools perform better, with 63.3% reported to have internet access, though they too trail the national average of 79.7%.Private unaided schools continue to lead in digital infrastructure. Of the state’s 19,351 private unaided schools, 16,338 (84.4%) have internet connectivity, exceeding the national average of 79.2% for private schools.Compared with neighbouring states, Karnataka ranks among the weakest performers in southern India. Tamil Nadu (99%) and Andhra Pradesh (99.2%) have connected virtually all their schools to the internet, while Kerala (92.6%) and Telangana (76.5%) also report substantially higher coverage. While almost all schools in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have internet access, Kerala has connected over nine in ten schools. Even Telangana has internet in more than three-fourths of its schools.Across the country, 9.89 lakh of India’s 14.66 lakh schools have internet connectivity, translating to a national average of 67.4%. The data underscores that Karnataka’s overall lag is driven primarily by poor connectivity in government schools, even as private institutions in the state outperform the national average.
