33% households believe in-school education not sufficient: CSF Schools Survey

Across the surveyed households, 66% of the fathers were the primary possessors of smartphones, followed by 36% of mothers and 20% of children. 

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Nearly 33 percent of the households in India believe that in-school education is not sufficient for performing well in studies. The respondents reported that the smartphone was primarily used by children and usage frequency was either daily or at least 4-5 days a week. The remaining use cases were referred to as ‘shared access’.

The survey was undertaken by Central Square Foundation (CSF) between November 2022 and January 2023, with parents and guardians of children attending government schools and affordable private schools. It covered 6030 households across 6 diverse states of India. The 6 states were Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Odisha, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh. A multi-stage sampling technique was adopted to achieve a representative sample within the states. Within these states, the survey was conducted in 6030 households, covering 9867 children.

Access to technology at the household level

The households reported near-universal (99%) access to electricity across states, however, urban households (23 hours per day) had electricity access for a longer duration compared to rural households (19 hours per day).

Ownership of smartphones: 85% of the surveyed households reported ownership of at least one smartphone, with nearly one-third of the households owning more than 1 smartphone. Urban households reported a per capita smartphone ownership of 1.5, compared to 1.3 smartphones within rural households.

Across the surveyed households, 66% of the fathers were the primary possessors of smartphones, followed by 36% of mothers and 20% of children. Among the surveyed households that did not own a smartphone, 97% of the respondents reported the ‘cost of the device’ as the most prominent reason. It was noted that the average annual income of a family that owned a smartphone was INR 1.20 lakhs, whereas, for a family without smartphone ownership, the average annual income was INR 0.81 lakhs.

Access to technology at the child level

72% of all children from all the surveyed households had access to smartphones. 66% of the children had ‘shared access’ to smartphones, and 6% had ‘dedicated access’ A higher proportion of children with ‘dedicated access’ were from rural households (7%) compared to urban households (3%).

Further, children in secondary grades (16%) had greater ‘dedicated access’ to smartphones compared to middle (5%) and primary (1%) grades. In households where both mothers and fathers possessed a

smartphone, 86% of children used their mother’s smartphone, and 23% used their father’s smartphone.

Internet was reported to be accessible to nearly all children within households, However, around 50% of the children had intermittent access to the internet. This intermittent access was primarily due to the exhaustion of internet recharge, as reported by 93% of respondents.

Primary grades refer to grades 1-5, middle grades refer to grades 6-8, and secondary grades refer to grades 9-12. ‘Intermittent access to the internet’ refers to situations in which the child could access the internet sometimes due to slow speed of internet, connectivity issues, and others.

Odisha reported the highest proportion of households that believed in-school education was insufficient (65%), whereas households in Telangana reported the lowest proportion (9%). Additionally, a greater proportion of households in urban areas believed that in-school education was insufficient (38%), compared to households in rural areas (32%).

At-home learning support

70% of children in the surveyed households received some learning support from household members. 40% of these children received support from their mothers. 23% of children who received learning support at home were supported by their fathers and 17% of children by their older sibling(s). Children in primary grades required relatively more at-home learning support (80% of children in the primary grades, compared to 70% of children in middle grades, and 52% of children in secondary grades).

More than 75% of household members kept track of what was done in the child’s school and supported them in completing their homework.

Some of the key takeaways to improve monitoring for the NIPUN Mission in Haryana were summarized by Dr Anshaj Singh, IAS (State Project Director, Samagra Shiksha, Dept. of Education, Govt. of Haryana) said: “The key to the success of any mission is monitoring, be it a government organisation or a non-government one. In this regard, we have adopted some specific measures to improve governance including systematised monitoring at the school level, block level, district level and state level. We have also designed a specific framework like weekly assessments to measure the competency, mentors visit, capacity building of teachers and ensure the attendance of students and teachers.

Voicing the opinion of parents and children from across the country, the survey comes as a stepping stone for policymakers, educators, and technology innovators to create a conducive environment for edtech and work towards enhancing the quality of education for all.

Demystifying the adoption of EdTech in India, Dr Sahana Murthy, Professor of Education Technology, IIT-Bombay said, “The first thing which institutions, schools, governments, and parents should do is to get clarity on what they are using the technology for. For instance, are they using it for access and inclusion or to gain efficiency? Are we talking about problem-solving in mathematics? or experimentation in science? Individuals who are in the position to select and use the technology need to have this kind of clarity for procuring the appropriate tech.’’

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