Smartphone predominant source of teaching-learning; ownership doubled from 36.5% to 67.6%: ASER Report

ASER 2021 Report states that enrollment in private schools has decreased from 32.5% in 2018 to 24.4% in 2021.

Smartphones became the predominant source of teaching-learning when schools shut down and moved to a remote model of teaching-learning last year, states sixteenth Annual Status of Education Report (Rural) 2021. As per ASER Report, smartphone ownership has almost doubled since 2018. “The availability of smartphones has increased from 36.5% in 2018 to 67.6% in 2021,” states the report.

However, more children in private schools have a smartphone at home (79%) as opposed to government school-going children (63.7%).

The sixteenth Annual Status of Education Report (Rural) 2021 was released today reporting on the schooling status of children in the 5-16 age group across rural India and their ability to do basic reading and arithmetic tasks.

Private school Enrollment falls

The report states that at an all-India level, there has been a clear shift from private to government schools. For children in the age group of 6-14, enrollment in private schools has decreased from 32.5% in 2018 to 24.4% in 2021. “This shift is seen in all grades and among both boys and girls. However, boys are still more likely to be enrolled in private schools than girls,” it states.

On the other hand, the proportion of children not currently enrolled in school increased from 1.4% to 4.6% in 2020. This proportion remained unchanged between 2020 and 2021.

While there are more older children in school than ever before, as, among older children in the age group of 15-16, an increase in government school enrollment from 57.4% in 2018 to 67.4% has been driven by a marked decline in the proportion of out of school children in this age group, from 12.1% in 2018 to 6.6% in2021, as well as by decreasing private school enrollment.

North-East: Govt School enrollment falls

There is a fair amount of variation in enrollment at the state level. The national increase in government school enrollment is driven by large northern states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana and southern states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. In contrast, in many northeastern states, government school enrollment has fallen during this period, and the proportion of children not enrolled in school has increased.

ASER Report says: “Time will reveal if these patterns constitute a transitory phase, as schools reopen cross states; or whether they will become a permanent feature of schooling in rural India.”

ASER 2021 was conducted in 25 states and 3 Union Territories. It reached a total of 76,706 households and 75,234 children in the age group of 5-16 years, as well as teachers or headteachers from 7,299 government schools offering primary grades.

Lockdown increases Tuition

In 2018, at an all-India level, less than 30% of children took private tuition classes. In 2021, this proportion has jumped to almost 40%. This proportion has increased across both sexes and all grades and school types.

The incidence of tuition has increased across all states except Kerala.

“Increase in tuition-taking highest among the less advantaged: Taking parental education as a proxy for economic status, the proportion of children with parents in the 'low' education category who are taking tuition increased by 12.6 percentage points, as opposed to a 7.2 percentage point increase among children with parents in the 'high' education category. Some differences are visible in the proportion of children taking tuition by school reopening status, with tuition classes more common among children whose schools were still closed at the time of the survey.

Access to Smartphones

Smartphones became the predominant source of teaching-learning when schools shut down and moved to a remote model of teaching-learning last year, giving rise to concerns about the most marginalised being left behind.

The Report highlights that the availability of smartphones has increased from 36.5% in 2018 to 67.6% in 2021. However, more children in private schools have a smartphone at home (79%) as opposed to government school-going children (63.7%).

Household economic status makes a difference in smartphone availability, as parents' education level increases (a proxy for economic status), the likelihood that the household has a smartphone also increases. In 2021, over 80% of children with parents who have studied up to Std IX or higher had a smartphone available at home, as compared to just over 50% of children whose parents had studied till Std V or less.

However, even among children whose parents are in the ‘low’ education category, over a quarter bought a smartphone for their studies since March 2020.

Smartphone availability does not translate into access

Although over two-thirds of all enrolled children have a smartphone at home (67.6%), over a quarter of these have no access to it (26.1%). There is also a clear pattern by grade, with more children in higher classes having access to a smartphone as compared to children in lower grades.

Learning support at home has decreased over the last year: The proportion of enrolled children who received learning support at home has decreased from three-quarters of all enrolled children in 2020 to two thirds in 2021, with the sharpest drops visible among children in higher grades.

School reopening is driving decreasing support: Among both government and private school-going children, those whose schools have reopened get less support from home. For example, 75.6% of private school going children whose schools have not reopened receive help at home as opposed to 70.4% whose schools have reopened. The reduction in help is driven largely by less support from fathers.

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