Roadblocks to the access of devices: Do children get the device when they really need it?

 A study was conducted by the Muttha Foundation in Nov 2020 across Maharashtra to understand the roll-out of the tech-based distance education across the state during the school closures due to COVID-19. The study was conducted on 1254 primary school students and 1260 parents. According to this study, the access to devices on which classes were conducted, was determined from the point of view of ‘consent to use devices when required’. Only 53 percent of the students reported that they were always allowed to use the devices by their parents/guardians. Work-related use of the device by someone in the family was the biggest reason for denying access. This was reported by both the students (46%) and the parents (43%). Only 22 percent of the parents said that they had bought a device for their child specially for accessing online classes. 78 percent households still managed with the resources they had. Limited number of devices as compared to the number of users, and discrediting the importance of learning for the younger children within the family were some of the main reasons why students were denied access to TECH BASED DISTANCE EDUCATION.

This study was conducted to understand the approach, challenges and implications of tech-based distance education for the primary school students from the government and budget private schools across Maharashtra.

Also, download our research reports here: https://bit.ly/3x5a27A