Punjab has secured the top position across India in providing online learning material to students of government schools in rural areas during the Covid lockdown.

According to a survey, the state Education Department had successfully provided study material to around 87.1 per cent children of government schools when schools were shut for six months.

• As per the Annual Survey of Education Report (ASER)-2020 (Rural), Punjab is followed by Himachal Pradesh wherein 85.4 per cent students of government schools got the study material.
• The survey explored the provision of and access to remote education mechanisms and material in rural parts of the country.
• WhatsApp had been, by far, the most popular mode of sending learning material to the students, revealed the survey.
• The survey also highlighted that there were two major reasons behind many students not receiving the study material: Lack of smartphones and some teachers not doing as much as they should have.
• However, the survey highlighted that 83.3 per cent of children enrolled in government schools had access to smartphones.
• Education Minister Vijay Inder Singla said, “It is an outcome of the efforts of our teachers who went the extra mile to impart education during the lockdown. The outcome of the survey is a testimony to our ongoing efforts to improve the quality of education in government schools.”

About ASER

• ASER is a nationwide survey of rural education and learning outcomes in terms of reading and arithmetic skills.
• It has been conducted by the NGO Pratham for the last 15 years.
• This year, the survey was conducted via phone calls.