Kerala tops survey in students having access to mobiles at home
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New Delhi: Kerala has emerged as the leading state in student digital literacy, with impressive statistics highlighting the state's access to mobile devices. According to the latest Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) by Pratham, a non-governmental organization, 98.1% of students in Kerala have access to a mobile phone at home, the highest in India.
Mizoram follows closely with 97.9% mobile phone penetration among students.
80% for studies, 90% for social media
The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2024 is a nationwide rural household survey that reached 6,49,491 children in 17,997 villages across 605 rural districts in India. Facilitated by an NGO, "Pratham", in each surveyed district, a local organisation or institution conducted the survey.
For the first time, the nationwide household survey had a section on digital literacy, which applied to older children in the 14-16 age group. It included self-reported questions on access, ownership and use of smartphones, as well as a one-on-one assessment of some basic digital skills.
The report said "82.2 per cent of all children in the 14-16 age group reported knowing how to use a smartphone. Of these, 57 per cent reported using it for an educational activity in the preceding week, while 76 per cent said that they had used it for social media during the same period. While the use of a smartphone for educational activities was similar among girls and boys, girls were less likely than boys to report using social media (78.8 per cent boys as compared to 73.4 per cent girls)".
"Kerala stands out in this respect, with over 80 per cent children who reported that they used a smartphone for educational activities and over 90 per cent using it for social media," the report said.
Reading skills improved, math skills go down
The report also highlights Kerala’s success in improving reading abilities among students. Currently, 44.4% of Class 3 students can read Class 2 textbooks, a significant jump from 31.6% in 2022. This also marks an improvement over the 43.4% reported in 2018, placing Kerala second in the country in this regard. Himachal Pradesh, with a reading ability ratio of 46.6%, remains at the first position.
However, Kerala’s performance in mathematical skills has declined. The percentage of Class 3 students in government schools who can perform basic subtraction has dropped to 26.9% from 32.7% in 2022. In 2018, this figure stood at 44.3%. This decline is notable, especially as the national average has improved from 20.2% in 2022 to 27.6% in the latest report.
Similarly, the number of Class 5 students in Kerala who can perform division has also decreased, from 20.2% in 2022 to just 12.4% in the latest assessment. In 2018, this figure was 33.3%. Meanwhile, the national average in this category has shown an upward trend.