MORE THAN 50% OF INDIAN STUDENTS BOTH IN RURAL AND URBAN AREAS DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO INTERNET: REVEALS SURVEY

February 2021: As we all know that COVID-19 pandemic has affected all the sectors in an unexpected way. Amongst all, one of the most affected sectors was the Education Sector. The fear of Covid-19 outbreak has shut down schools and universities in India. Online teaching is something many institutions are contemplating.

Learning Spiral, one of India's leading online examination solution providers, in a recent online survey found that above 50% of Indian students including both Urban and Rural areas don’t have access to the internet for online studies. Only 27% of Indian households have access to the internet while only 47% of the households have any access to the internet own a computing device (including a smartphone).

While 51% of rural households in Kerala have access to the internet, only 23% of rural households have access at home. States like Andhra Pradesh where 30% of rural households have access to the internet but only 2% have access at home. In states like West Bengal and Bihar, only 7-8% of rural households have any access to the internet while only 18% and 21% (respectively) of urban households have any access to the internet.

While 85% of urban household’s children who study in universities have access to the internet, only 41% are likely to have access at home. Only 28% of rural household’s children have internet access to their home. While 48% of remote university-level students do not have the internet access at home, only 42% of students who reside in rural areas have the home access to the web and 69% of students who reside in urban areas can get online from home.

Commenting on this, 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 computers 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’’.