With the Covid-19 pandemic forcing K-12 to higher education institutions to move their teaching-learning processes online, Learning Spiral, one of India’s leading online examination solution providers, recently conducted an online survey that found that more than 50 percent of Indian students including both urban and rural areas don’t have access to the Internet for online studies. Only 27 percent of Indian households have access to the Internet while only 47 percent of the households have any access to the Internet own a computing device (including a smartphone).
While 51 percent of rural households in Kerala have access to the internet, only 23 percent of rural households have access at home. States like Andhra Pradesh where 30 percent of rural households have access to the Internet but only 2 percent have access at home. In states like West Bengal and Bihar, only 7-8 percent of rural households have any access to the Internet while only 18 percent and 21 percent (respectively) of urban households have any access to the internet.
While 85 percent of urban household’s children who study in universities have access to the internet, only 41 percent are likely to have access at home. Only 28 percent of rural households children have Internet access at home. While 48 percent of remote university-level students do not have internet access at home, only 42 percent of students who reside in rural areas have home access to the web and 69 percent of students who reside in urban areas can get online from home.
Commenting on the findings of the survey, Manish Mohta, MD – Learning Spiral said, “The major challenge of remote learning is the disparity in access – from electricity and internet connections to devices like computer or smartphones. Access to electricity is crucial for digital education, both for powering devices as well as for connecting to the Internet. Lack of access to the Internet and devices has also created a gap in digital literacy’’.
Learning Spiral is a leading online examination solution provider that focuses on leveraging information technology and AI to deliver solutions and services to educational institutes, universities, schools, colleges, recruitment bodies and assessment bodies.
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