Over 98% students in Kangra use smartphones: Annual education report

The “Beyond Basics” survey was conducted by the Pratham Foundation, one of the largest non-government organisations (NGO) in the country to collect the data

The Annual Status of Education Report 2023 reveals that about 98.4% students in the age group of 14- 16 years in Kangra district use a smartphone at their homes.

From Himachal, Kangra district was chosen and around 1,360 youths from 1,202 households in 60 villages were chosen as samples (HT File)

The accessibility to a smartphone is almost equal among both genders students. While 98.8% males have smartphones, 93.2% use them for digital tasks, according to the report.

The “Beyond Basics” survey was conducted by the Pratham Foundation, one of the largest non-government organisations (NGO) in the country to compile the data.

The survey report was released on Wednesday in New Delhi and it has been conducted in about 28 districts across 26 states of the country, except Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, where two rural districts were surveyed.

From Himachal, Kangra district was chosen and around 1,360 youths from 1,202 households in 60 villages were chosen as samples.

It revealed s that affordability of the mobile phones was quite low among the youth in different age groups.

Only 36.8% of males and 21.7% of females have their phones in the age group of 14 to 16.

The report reveals that about 98.5% students between the age group of 14 to 18 use social media platforms on their smartphones.

As many as 99% of males in the 17-18 age group used social media in reference, while there is a marginal difference with 985 females using social media.