In Kohima district (Rural), 41.6 percent males between the ages 14-18 had their own smartphone as compared to 25.5 percent of their female counterparts, the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2023 ‘Beyond Basics’ states. In total, 94.5 percent had a smartphone at home, it says.
The ASER report, a nationwide citizen-led household survey that provides a snapshot of the status of children’s schooling and learning in rural India, was released in New Delhi on Wednesday. The ASER 2023 ‘Beyond Basics’ survey was conducted in 28 districts across 26 states, reaching a total of 34,745 youth in the age group 14-18 years.
In Nagaland, the ASER 2023 survey was conducted in Kohima by volunteers from Department of Education and Department of Teacher Education, Nagaland University, Meriema Campus and also from Kohima Science College, Jotsoma.
Among those who could use a smartphone, 69.3 per cent did at least one education related activity in the week prior to the survey as compared to 93.4 per cent who used any social media. The report highlights that while a high proportion of youth used social media in the reference week, few knew how to access its safety features like blocking a profile, making a profile private, etc.
The survey shows that 77.7 per cent knew how to do digital tasks on smartphones such as setting an alarm and browse the internet to find information. Only 12.5 per cent could use Google Maps but 86.9 per cent could find a YouTube video.
The ASER report also informs that 82.8 per cent of Kohima youth were enrolled in some formal education institutions while 17.2 per cent youth in the 14-18 age bracket were not enrolled anywhere. Among the youth aged 17-18, 23.2 per cent males were not enrolled in any formal education institutions as compared to 12.1 per cent females, the report says.
It also indicates that that only 1.5 per cent were enrolled in some form of vocational training and 29.8 per cent were engaged in some work (other than household work) for at least 15 days in the month prior to the survey.
78.9 per cent could read at least a Std II level text in the ASER reading test, 32.3 per cent could do at least division in the ASER arithmetic test and 90.6 per cent could read at least sentences in the ASER English test. Overall, approximately 30 per cent could do the tasks of everyday calculations, the survey highlights.
Further, of those who could read at least a Std I level text (ASER reading test), 54.8 per cent could read the text on a medicine packet and answer at least 3 out of 4 questions about it. Of those who could do at least subtraction (ASER arithmetic test), 64.1 per cent could do a task for managing a budget, 25.5 per cent could apply a discount and 3.1 per cent could calculate repayment.
The ASER 2023 report says that across most of these application-based tasks, males outperformed females.
