AHMEDABAD: In Gujarat, 71% teachers went an extra mile to reach out to their students during the trying times of Covid-19 pandemic as schools remained shut, according to the Annual State of Education Report (ASER) 2020 survey conducted in September, sixth month of the Covid lockdown in schools. This was the highest outreach of teachers in India.
The survey revealed that 74% teachers in government schools and 68% in private schools personally reached out to students and their parents at their homes to ensure education did not suffer. The ASER 2020 survey also revealed that Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh each saw a 39% surge in smartphone ownerships among families between 2018 and 2020, a scale not witnessed in any other state in the country. The ASER survey involved 5,303 households across 759 locations in Gujarat.
The survey revealed that 54% schools across Gujarat ensured children were kept busy with assignments and small activity based project works. State ranked third after Kerala and Punjab.
As a medium of reaching out to students, broadcast TV, emerged as a popular choice for Gujarat teachers. Gujarat was second to Telangana with 58% teachers and students across the state relying on TV for education. Another interesting fact that emerged from the survey was that 53% teachers had prepared special videos and powerpoints to teach children over smartphones.