Over 50% of students don't have access to internet: Survey

Learning Spiral, an online examination solution provider, in an online survey has found that over 50 per cent of Indian students, including those from urban areas, do not have access to the internet for online studies.

The survey revealed that only 27 per cent of Indian households have access to the internet while only 47 per cent of the households have any access to the internet or a computing device (including smartphone).

In Kerala 51 per cent of rural households have access to the internet, but only 23 per cent of rural households have access at home.

In Andhra Pradesh 30 per cent of rural households have access to the internet, but only 2 per cent have access at home.

In West Bengal and Bihar, only 7-8 per cent of rural households have access to the internet while only 18 per cent and 21 per cent (respectively) of urban households have access to the internet.

While 85 per cent of children in urban household who study in universities have access to the internet, only 41 per cent are likely to have access at home.

The study further noted that only 28 per cent of children in rural households have internet access at home, while 48 per cent of remote university-level students do not have internet access at home.

Furthermore, only 42 per cent of students who reside in rural areas have home access to the web, while 69 per cent of students in urban areas can go online from home.

Commenting on the survey, Manish Mohta, MD - Learning Spiral, said in a statement: ‘’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.”