QR-linked textbooks expand access but struggle to sustain engagement

As India expanded digital studying by means of QR-enabled textbooks and on-line platforms, the shift was seen as a sensible approach to bridge school rooms and know-how at scale. To help this, the DIKSHA platform—launched by the federal government as a nationwide repository of digital content material for lecturers and college students—hosts QR-linked movies, classes and coaching modules.

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This studying initiative integrates digital assets with bodily textbooks, making a “phygital” mannequin of schooling at scale. Under this effort, over 7,576 energised textbooks—together with these from NCERT and varied State Boards—are linked to almost 3.66 lakh digital content material items comparable to movies, classes and assessments. The initiative goals to make curriculum-aligned assets simply accessible to college students and lecturers throughout various studying environments.

Under this initiative, college students, lecturers and fogeys can enrol on DIKSHA to access structured classes, quizzes, assignments and completion certificates, whereas registered customers are those that have created an account. Across India, almost 1.11 lakh customers are lively every day, with complete enrolments reaching 18.56 crore and registered customers standing at 2.13 crore. The numbers recommend broad access, but restricted sustained engagement.

An evaluation of utilization patterns on the platform reveals that whereas Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Gujarat account for the best variety of registered customers and enrolments, every day lively utilization stays comparatively low. Among all States and Union Territories, Uttar Pradesh has recorded 11,805 every day lively customers, with enrolments crossing 5 crore and registered customers at 26.39 lakh (as of March 26, 2026).

Among the southern States, Karnataka stands out with 1.04 crore enrolments and 9.52 lakh registered customers. Across States, an identical sample emerges: after peaking round 2020–22, engagement declined sharply in 2023 and has since plateaued.

“Technology took a concrete shape in India’s education system during the pandemic. The sudden spike in usage during 2020 and the following year reflects an ‘emergency response’ to the crisis. It has also shown that the essence of teaching remains in-person, while technology can only supplement it,” says Aishwarya Sharma, Assistant Professor at Manav Rachna University, who has been working within the subject of edtech for over a decade..

She attributes early traction in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat to smartphone distribution and stronger instructor coaching in digital applied sciences.

The PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024, carried out by NCERT and CBSE, discovered that 67% of Class 9 college students don’t have access to a laptop computer, desktop or pill at dwelling, highlighting persistent access gaps.

First QR-code-enabled instructing in India

Ranjitsinh Disale—winner of the Global Teacher Prize 2020—pioneered the usage of QR-enabled textbooks in Indian school rooms.

He says, “In 2014, I designed those QR-coded textbooks for my Class 4 students. I continued the teaching with those energised textbooks in the following year. And then in 2016, I submitted a proposal to the Government of Maharashtra to use QR-coded textbooks for students across the state. It was rolled out across Maharashtra in 2016, and then in 2019, it was rolled out across India through NCERT books.”

As the mannequin scaled nationally, questions round its design, utilization and influence have come into sharper focus.

Assessing India’s QR-based schooling mannequin

Syaamantak Das, Assistant Professor, Centre for Educational Technology at IIT Bombay, says the mannequin builds on probably the most accessible classroom useful resource—the textbook—whereas adapting to India’s various infrastructure.

“This ‘phygital’ model, where physical and digital elements complement each other, is well-aligned with what educational technology research suggests: that effective technology integration works with existing classroom practices rather than demanding a complete overhaul of how teaching and learning happen. DIKSHA’s open-source foundation (Sunbird) further strengthens this approach by allowing states and educational bodies to contribute and customize content for their specific needs,” he says.

Sridhar Chimalakonda, Head of Department of Computer Science and Engineering and Lead in Research in Intelligent Software and Human Analytics Lab in IIT Tirupati, calls it a realistic strategy. “The blend of physical and digital can potentially support cognitive learning, especially for early learners. With advances in generative AI, there is immense scope to drive personalized learning.”

The components behind QR-based studying’s scalability

“The scalability of this model rests on several practical strengths. The incremental cost of adding QR codes is minimal. It meets learners where they already are,” says Prof. Das.

He explains that the mannequin leverages textbook distribution, rising smartphone access and DIKSHA’s open structure, enabling States to localise content material and align it with their curricula.

Prof. Chimalakonda says India has made affordable progress in constructing scalable edtech methods. “The next step from a software engineering perspective could be a layered architecture, something like a ‘Bharat AI Edu Stack,’ where foundational layers handle content management, localization, and offline access through well-engineered non-AI approaches, while upper layers could leverage AI for personalization. A combination of both approaches may be what India’s scale and diversity requires,” he says.

Ground actuality

However, platform-level knowledge doesn’t totally seize classroom realities.

Tamil Nadu launched energised textbooks in 2018, recording over 2 crore scans initially. It now stories among the many lowest utilization metrics, moreover northeastern states and UTs, on the DIKSHA portal, with 1,264 every day lively customers, 5.42 lakh registered customers and 11.10 lakh enrolments.

A authorities college instructor in Madurai says, “I have never undergone any formal training to handle digital interventions. I still use the blackboard to teach my students as it is more convenient to complete portions on time. I have to handle various other administrative tasks related to teaching on a daily basis.”

A Class 10 pupil in Coimbatore says the codes labored properly earlier. “They have stopped functioning now,” he provides.

Integrating QR assets into classroom apply

Content high quality and instructor preparedness stay key gaps. “Much of the available content is basic and repetitive. We need to evolve, especially in the use of visuals and examples, to better engage students. It is important to update the content regularly,” says Prof. Sharma.

“The potential for integration is significant. The most effective integration happens when digital resources are designed as companions to the teacher’s instructional plan. Resources that actively engage the learner tend to integrate more naturally into classroom pedagogy,” says Prof. Das.

He notes that QR-linked content material works finest when it helps classroom instructing—by means of simulations or fast assessments—quite than functioning as standalone materials.

“Research, including work at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, shows that interactive and engaging resources are more effective than passive content,” he provides, noting that higher design and instructor help are key to influence.

“The QR-linked content model provides a starting point, and there is scope to further strengthen alignment with specific teaching sequences. At our research group at IIT Tirupati, we have built tools like TAnnotator for enriching programming e-textbooks and explored game-based learning approaches like G4D and ML-Quest. From that experience, the key insight is that good interactive design, even without AI, can significantly improve engagement. AI-assisted adaptation could be a useful complement, but well-crafted non-AI interactive elements remain foundational,” says Prof. Chimalakonda.

Does access to digital content material enhance studying outcomes?

The PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 highlights persistent gaps in foundational abilities, broad inter-State variation and declining studying ranges in greater courses.

“There is also a lack of granular data—we need insights from students’ experiences to understand what is working and what is not. In my experience, many teachers enrol in courses but are unaware of frameworks like TPACK used in DIKSHA. Without this understanding, improving pedagogy becomes difficult. Certification courses are often completed for formality, with limited value addition. Strengthening teacher training is crucial in the current scenario,” says Prof. Sharma.

“Access to quality digital content is an important foundation. Learning outcomes depend on multiple factors, including content quality, active engagement, feedback, and the teacher’s role. There is an opportunity to enrich the ecosystem with more interactive and formative resources,” says Prof. Das.

He provides that enhancing outcomes requires greater than access, together with instruments that assist learners assess understanding and determine gaps.

Acknowledging access is a vital first step, Prof. Chimalakonda says, “The next frontier may be strengthening the link between access and learning outcomes by improving content design with established pedagogical principles, structured interactivity, and meaningful assessments. AI-driven personalization could further add value, but the basics of good educational design arguably need to come first.”

Key challenges in making QR-based studying efficient

“In order to make this a sustainable model, we need to answer a key question: what constitutes meaningful learning? While learning outcomes show positive trends, are they sufficient to represent the entire country? We must examine what kind of transformation we are aiming for, how teachers are trained, and the level of access available to students,” she provides.

“As with any large-scale initiative, continued refinement is essential. Expanding content beyond video and text to include interactive and adaptive resources can deepen engagement. Teachers are the most critical variable and robust learning analytics can help understand what is working,” says Prof. Das.

He factors to the necessity for extra inclusive, multilingual content material and stronger instructor coaching.

“Building on the foundation that already exists, there is scope to enhance feedback mechanisms and interactivity in QR-linked content. From a software engineering perspective, the system could benefit from better modularity, offline-first design, and robust content pipelines. AI-powered interactivity can complement this foundation, and sustained collaboration between technologists, educators, and policymakers could help take these systems to the next level,” says Prof. Chimalakonda.

For now, the QR code stays a bridge—one which will depend on how successfully it’s used inside school rooms.