Half the students in rural India can access smartphones, but most use it for entertainment: Report

livemint.com:

State of Elementary Education in Rural India - 2023,' was officially unveiled during the India Rural Colloquy - A Rural Renaissance in Delhi on August 8, 2023. The survey, a collaboration between Transform Rural India and Sambodhi Research and Communications highlights the progress towards gender-neutral education in rural India.

The study encompassed 6 to 14-year-old children in rural areas across 20 states in India, and the findings showed that 82 percent of parents of girls and 78 percent of parents of boys aspire to educate their children to graduation and beyond. The report emphasizes on the importance of recognising and supporting these common and progressive aspirations of parents to foster an inclusive environment in education.

Acknowledging and nurturing this positive trend can lead to sustainable opportunities for both boys and girls in rural India. "We hope that our policymakers, educational institutions, and other stakeholders will acknowledge these common aspirations to establish an inclusive environment that ensures growth and development for every child in rural India," said Javed Siddiqui, the Lead for Education at Transform Rural India.

Also read: Cost of education in India: Exploring expenses and inflation rates The survey gathered responses from 6,229 parents, including those with school-going students, dropouts, and children who had never enrolled in school. In addition to the encouraging aspirations towards education, the survey also shed light on other important factors in rural education: Increased access to smartphones: Nearly half, 49.3 percent of students in rural India have access to smartphones.