When Schools Closed, Education Came Home
The Story of Shiksha Darshan
Shiksha Darshan Rajasthan: the state government’s bold response to the COVID-19 crisis – bringing free, structured education to every child in Rajasthan through the power of television.
INTRODUCTION
When COVID-19 forced the shutdown of every school in Rajasthan in March 2020, millions of students, particularly those in rural and remote areas without internet access, faced an education crisis with no easy solution. Online learning was out of reach for families who could not afford smartphones or reliable connectivity. For these children, the closure of schools meant the closure of their only gateway to learning.
The Rajasthan government’s response was swift and determined: if children could not come to school, school would come to them through their television sets. On 1 June 2020, the Rajasthan Education Department launched Shiksha Darshan, a landmark broadcast education programme on DD Rajasthan channel. Covering Classes 1 through 12, the programme brought structured, curriculum-aligned virtual classes to students across the state, free of charge, every single day.
SARAS contributed to this mission supporting content reach, community mobilisation, and field coordination to ensure that the programme’s impact was felt not just on screens but in the lives of the students it was designed to serve.
BACKGROUND & NEED
Rajasthan is India’s largest state by area, with a school-age population spread across desert plains, forested hills, and remote rural communities. While urban Rajasthan has good internet penetration, vast swathes of the state’s rural hinterland remain outside the reach of reliable digital connectivity. For these communities, smartphones, tablets, and internet-based learning apps were luxuries — not tools.
When the COVID-19 lockdown was announced in March 2020, Rajasthan’s schools closed overnight. The immediate consequence was stark: approximately 7.4 million children enrolled in government schools (Classes 1–12) suddenly had no structured learning environment, no teachers, and no academic continuity.
Television — particularly the DD Rajasthan channel, which reaches 79% of Rajasthan’s population — offered a viable, reach-maximising alternative. A child who could not access the internet could still sit in front of a television set at home. Shiksha Darshan was designed to meet children exactly where they were: at home, with a TV.
The programme was designed and launched in collaboration with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting under Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasra — representing one of India’s most thoughtful public responses to COVID-19’s impact on education.
A Statewide Learning Network During Crisis
Ensuring Learning Never Stops
Shiksha Darshan was launched to ensure uninterrupted education for students across Rajasthan during the COVID-19 lockdown. The initiative provided structured, curriculum-aligned lessons for Classes I–XII, helping students continue learning despite prolonged school closures.
Expert-Led Classroom Experience
Lessons were designed by the Rajasthan Education Department, SCERT Rajasthan, and subject experts, ensuring alignment with the RBSE curriculum. Experienced teachers delivered engaging sessions across core subjects, creating a structured at-home learning experience.
Reaching Every Household
To bridge the digital divide, lessons were broadcast free of cost through DD Rajasthan, enabling students in rural and low-connectivity regions to access quality education through television. This ensured learning remained accessible even where internet access was limited.
Learning Beyond the Broadcast
Recorded sessions were made available through YouTube and digital platforms, allowing students to revisit lessons anytime. With support from SARAS and local communities, awareness campaigns and shared viewing arrangements helped maximize student participation across the state.
Our work in numbers
7.4 Lakh+
Students Covered
79%
Population Reach
2.5 Lakh+
Daily Viewers
F.A.Q.
Frequently Asked Questions
Shiksha Darshan is an educational broadcast programme launched by the Rajasthan Education Department on 1 June 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It delivers free, curriculum-aligned virtual classes for Students of Classes 1 to 12 on DD Rajasthan channel.
Students can watch live on DD Rajasthan TV channel (12:30 PM to 4:15 PM, weekdays). Episodes are also available on YouTube and through the Shiksha Vani mobile app, making the programme accessible even to students without a television.
The programme was launched in response to school closures during COVID-19, but its broadcast infrastructure and content library continue to be valuable educational resources for students in underserved areas of Rajasthan.
SARAS provides community-level support, making families aware of the programme, facilitating access for students without TV sets, collecting feedback, and ensuring the programme reaches the most vulnerable students in coverage areas.