Context:
Recently, the Ministry of Education has released the State of Elementary Education in Rural India – 2023 report, highlighting the Prevalence of Smartphone Usage among students.
Relevance:
GS II: Education
Dimensions of the Article:
- State of Elementary Education in Rural India – 2023 Report
- Key Findings of the Survey
- Recommendations
State of Elementary Education in Rural India – 2023 Report
- Released by the Ministry of Education.
- Highlights the state of elementary education in rural India in 2023.
- Focuses on the prevalence of smartphone usage among students.
Survey Conducted by Development Intelligence Unit (DIU):
- The survey was conducted by the Development Intelligence Unit (DIU).
- DIU is a collaboration between NGO Transform Rural India and Sambodhi Research and Communications.
Scope of the Survey:
- The survey gathered responses from 6,229 parents.
- Participants were parents of schoolchildren aged 6–16.
- Responses were collected from rural communities across 21 States in India.
Key Findings of the Survey:
Smartphone Usage Patterns:
- 49.3% of students in rural areas have access to smartphones.
- 76.7% of parents indicated that their children use smartphones primarily for playing video games.
- 56.6% of students use smartphones to download and watch movies.
- 47.3% of students use smartphones to download and listen to music.
- Only 34% of students use smartphones for study-related downloads, and 18% access online learning via tutorials.
Smartphone Access by Class Levels:
- Students in higher classes (Class VIII and above) have greater smartphone access (58.32%).
- Younger students (Classes I–III) also show significant smartphone access (42.1%).
- Entertainment usage of smartphones is prevalent across age groups.
Parental Engagement and Aspirations:
- 78% of parents aspire for their children to attain graduation-level education or above.
- 40% of parents have daily conversations with their children about school learning.
- 32% engage in such conversations a few days a week.
Reasons for Dropout:
- For girls, 36.8% of parents mentioned contributing to family earnings as a reason for dropout.
- 31.6% attributed dropout to lack of interest in studies for girls, while 21.1% cited household responsibilities.
- For boys, the primary reason for dropout was a lack of interest in studies (71.8%), followed by the need to contribute to family earnings (48.7%).
Attendance and Learning Resources:
- 84% of parents reported regular attendance.
- Main reasons for non-attendance: short notice and lack of willingness.
- 40% of parents reported availability of age-appropriate reading materials other than textbooks.
Recommendations:
- Promote a balanced use of smartphones for entertainment and learning.
- Enhance the educational environment at home.
- Focus on increasing parental engagement.
- Provide additional learning resources and materials.
- Address factors leading to dropout, particularly for girls and boys contributing to family earnings.
- Targeted efforts to bridge the gap between parental aspirations and engagement.
-Source: The Hindu
