Annual Status of Education Report for Rural India: Key Facts

October 31, 2020

The Annual Status of Education Report for Rural India was recently released by Pratham Education Foundation. The survey was conducted in 26 states and four Union Territories.

Key Findings

According to the survey, only one-third of the surveyed children had access to online learning. Only 11% of the surveyed children had access to live online classes. Around 24.3% of children did not receive learning material from the school.

3% of rural children were not enrolled in school in 2020. Around one in three children were not involved in learning activity.

State Wise Findings of the report

Only 47.4% of surveyed children had access to smartphones in West Bengal. Around 77.1% of children in Jammu and Kashmir had access to smart phones. It was 88% in Punjab, 90% in Himachal Pradesh, 82.3% in Haryana. The children in Kerala topped the list. Around 94.3% children in Kerala had access to smart phones.

In East India, more than 98% of children had access to text books. Less than 35% had access to text books in Andhra Pradesh.

Parental Involvement

The report says that more than the parents, the role of siblings in higher grades was higher. In Class IX and above more than 24% children received education support from fathers. Around 21% had support from their siblings and only 15% got help from their mothers. This says that the first generation school learners in the country are falling in India.

Role of WhatsApp

WhatsApp was the most common medium of communication to send learning materials according to the survey. Around 23.4% learnt about assignments using WhatsApp in someone else’s phone. The children from families that did not use smart phones availed study materials by physically visiting their school.