The latest Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) survey has revealed that even though there has been an increase in the number of smartphones in rural Odisha, accessibility to the gadgets for online classes continues to be a burning issue.
On November 17, the 16th ASER report was released which stated that the percentage of children with a minimum of one smartphone available at home was at 64.6% this year against 26.1% in 2018. Only 46.5% of children had access to a smartphone at all times, while 34.3% had interrupted access. At least 19.2% of the children surveyed had smartphones in their homes, but the device was not available to them for classes.
The report also highlighted other learnings around school admissions and the education system in Odisha:
The number of children who received learning support at home remained low for government schools, with the most significant drop evident in higher grades.
Two-thirds of children from government schools who were interviewed stated that they received family support in learning at home, and the percentage was 77.2% in the case of those in private schools.
In 2020, about 88.6% of students in both government and private schools had access to textbooks. The percentage of textbook holders have increased to 98.3 in the current year.
About 66% of children from government schools had access to traditional learning materials like books and worksheets. Approximately 18.5% attended the classes broadcasted through radio, and 28.2% attended online classes.
This year, the percentage of children in the age group of 6 to 14 enrolled in government schools is 83.7 as compared to 81.5 last year.
In 2018, over 50% of children of school-going age in Odisha were receiving some form of tuition classes. In 2021, this figure crossed 60%.