Last Updated on November 22, 2021 at 9:31 pm
During the Covid-19 pandemic, online learning and education has become the most prominent one. The most effective tool for online learning and education is the smart phones but it is not available to everyone in Jammu and Kashmir which is a cause of concern.
A survey conducted to know about the children having access to smart phones has revealed a digital divide across J&K.
A national level survey “Annual Status of Education Report (ASER)-Rural 2021” conducted in September-October this year has revealed that around 72 per cent students in J&K have a smartphone at home but only 40 per cent students have access to it for their studies.
But to an utter surprise, the survey has revealed that around 15.6 per cent of students in J&K do not have any access to smartphones at home for their studies.
As per the report, survey was conducted to find out the patterns of enrollment and dropout among 5-16 year-olds in rural India besides trends in children taking paid tuition classes to aid their studies.
“The survey was done to explore whether households have smart phones and if so, whether children have access to them. The survey also examined how families support children at home as schools begin to reopen,” the survey reads.
Though schools were closed for offline education for past two years, the survey has revealed that the majority of the students were receiving education through traditional methods. Around 55 percent students did learning activities at home through traditional means, 13 percent of the students availed the facility of broadcast classes while 28.9 percent students studied online.
Due to the covid-19 pandemic, this year the survey was conducted by external organisations and independent local volunteers with the support of Pratham and ASER state teams, reaching 581 districts in 25 states and 3 Union Territories, 76,706 households and 7,299 schools in 17,184 villages across India
