Kerala ahead of other states in providing online education: CM Pinarayi Vijayan

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala is much ahead of other states in providing online education to children during the COVID-19 pandemic as 91 per cent of those in rural areas were able to continue their studies with the help of technology, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Thursday.

While 91 per cent of children in rural Kerala had access to online classes, for the entire nation the figure stood at 24.2 per cent, the CM said in a Facebook post by referring to Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2021. Vijayan said according to ASER 2021, Kerala has implemented the best online education in the country.

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Kerala is far ahead of most other states in this regard, he said and added that the state government's 'Vidya kiranam' project was one of the initiatives which helped overcome the problem of digital divide. The CM said the projects required to solve the digital divide completely are being vigorously implemented and soon 100 per cent of the children in the state would be able to access online education.

He said that closure of schools had affected studies and was a major crisis during the pandemic. The state government, however, was determined to ensure education of children and it achieved that goal with the help of technologies.

Teachers, parents and the general public also worked together, energetically and tirelessly, to achieve this goal and these efforts need to be continued to provide online education to 100 per cent of the children in the state, Vijayan said.