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More than 40% of Indian students have never used technology for learning, a survey conducted in six states by the Central Square Foundation has found. YouTube was the most popular tool among students who accessed the internet, according to the Bharat Survey for EdTech released on Tuesday. (ALSO READ: India and the G20: Prioritizing education technology for global growth)
As many as 51% of the children surveyed were present users of education technology, while 8% had discontinued using it at the time of the survey. “Urban households had a higher prevalence of ‘present users’. The secondary (72%) and middle (55%) grades had the highest proportion of ‘present users’ compared to primary grades (39%),” the survey report said.
The survey covered 9,867 children in over 6,000 households in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Odisha, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh between November and January. Its report was released during a day-long conclave conducted by the foundation in New Delhi. The non-profit works to improve learning outcomes of children, especially from low-income communities.
ALSO READ: Use of tech like AI and ML has the potential to transform higher education
YouTube was the most popular tool used for learning, with 89% students who used education technology accessing it. “It was followed by WhatsApp (62%) and Google (52%),” the survey found. “Overall, the prevalence of low-tech tools was low, which included text messages (8%), TV (7%), and IVRS (7%).” IVRS is short for interactive voice response system.
English (84%) and mathematics (76%) were the most studied subjects using EdTech tools. “Further, with increasing grades, higher usage of EdTech tools to study Science/ EVS, English, Language, Coding, and GK (general knowledge) was reported,” it said.
Students used technology for ease of understanding of complicated topics (53%), self-paced learning using education technology (47%) and doubt clarification (42%), the report stated.
Among children who were currently not using technology for learning, 61% cited schools reopening after the pandemic lockdown as the most prominent reason.
The survey was conducted to explore the extent of access to technology and enabling infrastructure such as electricity, smartphones, and the internet, as well as the extent of smartphone use by children.
