More students using smartphones for entertainment than study: survey

Source: The post is based on the article “More students using smartphones for entertainment than study: survey”  published in The Hindu on 9th August 2023.

What is the News?

The Union Education Minister has released the State of Elementary Education in Rural India report.

What is the State of Elementary Education in Rural India Report?

The report is based on a survey conducted by the Development Intelligence Unit(DIU), a collaboration between Transform Rural India and Sambodhi Research and Communications.

The survey was conducted on 6,229 parents of schoolchildren aged six to 16 in rural communities across 21 States.

What are the key findings of the report?

Increased access to smartphones: Around 49.3% of students in rural India have access to smartphones. 

– However, a significant portion, 76.7% of these students primarily use their phones for entertainment purposes, such as playing video games and watching movies. 

– Only 34% of smartphone-accessible students use their devices for study-related downloads, while 18% access online learning through tutorials.

Higher Education: At least 78% of the parents of girls and 82% of the parents of boys wanted to educate their children to the level of graduation or above.

Reasons for dropout and out-of-school children: Among the parents of 56 students who dropped out of school, 36.8 percent mentioned that their daughters’ dropout was due to the need to contribute to the family’s earnings. 

– For boys, the primary reason cited for dropping out was lack of interest in studies.

Learning environment at home: The survey revealed that 40% of parents have age-appropriate reading materials available at home, beyond school books. Additionally, only 40% of parents engage in daily conversations with their children about their school learning, while 32% have such discussions a few days a week.

Parental participation: A positive aspect observed was that 84% of parents regularly attend parent-teacher meetings, demonstrating their active involvement in their children’s education.