Samagra Shiksha Assam signed six agreements on 4 September 2026 to bring AI in education and digital technology into government schools across the state. Education Minister Ranoj Pegu attended the signing ceremony in Guwahati with Google AI, IIT Madras Bodhan AI and four other partners. The move aims to build intelligent, inclusive and student centric classrooms with AI tools for teachers, personalised learning for children and support for out of school girls.
What Is AI in Education and What Is Digital Education?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) in simple words means computer systems that can learn from data and perform tasks like reading, speaking, translating and solving problems. AI in education means using these systems in schools to help teachers plan lessons, check student work and understand where each child needs help. AI tools include chatbots that answer questions, apps that listen to a child read and software that creates worksheets, quizzes and lesson plans in Indian languages.
Digital education means learning with the help of digital technology such as smart classrooms, online lessons, learning apps and digital content in place of only chalk and textbooks. In India, this effort is supported by national platforms like DIKSHA (Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing), PM eVIDYA and SWAYAM, which provide e-books, video lessons and courses. The Assam move combines both ideas. It uses digital devices and internet based content for access, and AI on top of it for personal attention to each student.
Six Partners Signed by Samagra Shiksha Assam
The agreements were signed between Samagra Shiksha Assam and six organisations. Samagra Shiksha is the central government’s integrated school education scheme for classes from pre school to Class 12. It was launched on 1 April 2018 and now supports the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. In Assam, it is the main agency for teacher training, school infrastructure and quality improvement.
Each partner will handle a separate area of work, from teacher skills to reading tests to design learning. The division of roles is designed to avoid overlap and to cover the full learning cycle of teaching, practice, testing and bringing dropouts back.
| Partner | Main Role in Assam Schools |
|---|---|
| Google AI | AI powered teaching tools, digital skills and professional development for teachers |
| IIT Madras and Bodhan AI | AI proficiency training for about 1 lakh teachers of Classes 6 to 12 by May 2027 |
| LEHS and Wadhwani AI | AI based assessment of oral reading fluency to strengthen foundational literacy |
| EkStep and AXL | Open source, personalised AI assisted learning for foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) |
| Canva Education | Digital literacy, creativity, design thinking and innovation in classrooms |
| Educate Girls | Identification, enrolment and retention of out of school adolescents, especially girls |
How AI Tools Will Help Teachers and Students
The first use is direct support for teachers. Under the Google AI partnership, teachers will get access to AI assistants for lesson planning, digital content in local languages and training in safe use of generative AI. Generative AI means AI that can create new text, images or lesson material from a simple instruction. This is expected to cut time spent on routine work and improve classroom teaching.
The second use is large scale teacher training through Bodhan AI. Bodhan AI is the Centre of Excellence in AI for Education set up at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras with support from the Ministry of Education. It is building the Bharat EduAI Stack, which is an open digital public system for multilingual learning tools in Indian languages. In Assam, it will train teachers of Classes 6 to 12 to use AI as a daily classroom assistant for explanations, practice questions and checking handwritten work. It recently launched a Student Tutor Bot and a Teacher Assistant Bot that work in 22 Indian languages and follow NCERT and SCERT curricula.
The third use is better measurement of basic reading. The LEHS and Wadhwani AI tool listens to a student read aloud and checks speed, accuracy and pronunciation. Wadhwani AI is a non profit institute for AI for social good and it functions as the AI unit of the Lords Education and Health Society (LEHS). This oral reading fluency check for Classes 3 to 8 will help teachers find children who struggle with reading and give them extra help early. The EkStep and AXL platform will then give each child a personal learning path for reading and maths, so children learn at their own speed instead of following the same lesson for all.
The change in classroom practice can be understood from this simple comparison.
| Classroom Task | Traditional Method | AI Assisted Method in Assam Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Lesson planning | Teacher prepares notes manually | AI creates lesson plans, worksheets and quizzes in minutes |
| Reading check | Teacher listens to one child at a time | AI listens and scores reading for many children at once |
| Learning speed | Same lesson for the whole class | Personal path based on each child’s level |
| Dropout tracking | Manual attendance registers | Data based tracking to flag irregular attendance |
Assam’s Wider Push for Future Ready Classrooms
These six agreements follow a wider AI roadmap announced by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in August 2026. The roadmap proposed AI powered attendance and student tracking systems to study attendance patterns and flag students at risk of dropping out. It also proposed AI assisted lesson support, AI based reading fluency tests and an AI chatbot for regular student assessment.
The state school system that will adopt these tools is managed by the Assam State School Education Board (ASSEB). ASSEB was formed on 13 September 2024 under the Assam State School Education Board Act, 2024 by merging the Assam Board of Secondary Education and the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council. It is headquartered in Guwahati and works under the state Education Department led by Minister Ranoj Pegu. The board now handles school board tests from Class 9 to Class 12 as a single structure in line with NEP 2020.
Why This Move Matters for Foundational Learning and Inclusion
The strongest link of this plan is with foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN). FLN means the ability of a young child to read with understanding and do basic maths. NEP 2020 set FLN as the highest priority and the central government launched the NIPUN Bharat Mission on 5 July 2021 to ensure every child attains FLN by the end of Grade 2. Assam’s AI reading tests and personalised learning paths directly support this national goal by finding gaps in Classes 3 to 8 and correcting them on time.
The second link is with inclusion of girls. Educate Girls is a non profit body that uses village surveys and data tracking to find out of school girls and bring them back to school. In Assam, this work will help reduce dropouts among adolescent girls and improve retention. The partnership with Canva Education, a free visual design platform for schools, will add digital literacy, visual expression and creative problem solving for both teachers and students.
Together, the six partnerships try to solve three old problems at once. They give teachers modern skills, they give children learning suited to their level, and they give the system data to act before a child leaves school. If implemented well, this can make Assam’s classrooms more learner centric and technology enabled without replacing the role of the teacher.
Key Takeaways
- Samagra Shiksha Assam signed MoUs with six organisations on 4 September 2026 to integrate AI and digital technology in school education.
- Google AI will provide AI powered teaching tools, digital skills and professional development for teachers.
- IIT Madras and Bodhan AI will train about 1 lakh teachers of Classes 6 to 12 in AI proficiency by May 2027.
- LEHS and Wadhwani AI will use AI to assess oral reading fluency of students to strengthen foundational literacy.
- EkStep and AXL will offer personalised AI assisted learning for foundational literacy and numeracy, while Canva Education will promote creativity and design thinking.
- Educate Girls will help identify, enrol and retain out of school adolescent girls in Assam.
