Online Schooling Has Taken off in Big Way during COVID-19 Pandemic: Economic Survey 2020-21

New Delhi: The Economic Survey 2020-21 presented by the Union Minster for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament today states that online schooling took off in a big way during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Quoting the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2020 Wave-1 (Rural), released in October 2020, the Survey states that the percentage of enrolled children from government and private schools owning a smartphone increased enormously from 36.5 per cent in 2018 to 61.8 per cent in 2020 in rural India.

The Survey recommends that if utilized well, the resultant reduction in the digital divide between rural and urban, gender, age and income groups is likely to reduce inequalities in educational outcomes.

To facilitate learning during COVID-19 pandemic, the Government is implementing several initiatives to make education accessible to children.