In rural Karnataka, as online classes became inevitable amidst the pandemic, the percentage of students who have smartphones at home has seen a sharp increase.

In 2018, only 43.1% students had smartphones available in their homes. In 2020, after the pandemic hit, it rose to 68.6%. In 2021, it further rose to 71.6%. This was one of the findings in the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2021 which was released on Wednesday.

Of the rural students in Karnataka, who reported that they had at least one smartphone available at home, 35.6% said they had access to it at all the time, while 52.7% said they had access to it sometime, and 11.7% said although it was available at home, they had no access.

The smartphone availability in Karnataka was significantly higher than the national average. Nationally, in 2021, as many 67.6 % students enrolled in schools had smartphones at home. This is sharp increase compared to 2018 when only 36.5% percent of students had them.

The ASER survey was facilitated by the NGO, Pratham.

Rural Karnataka saw a sharp increase in the percentage of students taking private tuitions in 2021.