Basic concepts not clear but students savvy with smartphones, says survey

Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

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Jalandhar, January 18

A high percentage of students do not know basic division and are unable to read sentences in English and Punjabi texts, but

an even higher percentage of them have the idea of using smart phones, this is what the Annual Status

of Education Report (ASER) 2023 has found about the students. As per the report, 43.1 per cent students in Punjab cannot do basic division, and strangely, 97.9 per cent can use smart phones.

The Tribune spoke to several teachers. The teachers said it was worrying

as they had also been observing that several students did not know even basic concepts due to which Mission Samarth was started to enhance learning amongst students from Class III to VIII.

Dharampal, a government school teacher who teaches Class X students, said last year, there was such a case wherein students were unable to solve problems relating to basic division. “We noticed that under the Mission Samarth, we gave special attention to the area and this year there has been tremendous improvement in students performance,” he said.

For teachers, another issue of concern is that students are inclined towards smartphones which keep them glued to the screen for hours altogether.

During Covid pandemic, everything was happening online. Even parents,

who couldn’t afford cellphones, bought it for their children. And now it feels like mobile phones have become their masters.

“I have been observing students fighting in the school over reels, comments and uploading pictures. This change is scary. When we hold online classes, only 10-12 students out of 50 attend. The rest are just watching stuff which they should not be watching,” said another teacher.

Ravinder Kang, a government school teacher from Nakodar, said one point that he had noticed was irregularity among students. “They don’t attend classes regularly. If they don’t attend classes, how will they concentrate on their studies? Government schools have every facility now, but students and their parents need to understand the importance of going to school every day,” he said.

A teacher from Lohian block, Kulwinder Singh said it was true that students lacked basic understanding of the concepts. “After the onset of the Covid pandemic, students have forgotten to write properly. All they do is watch crazy stuff on mobile phones,” he said with concern.

Areas of concern

• Students not regular in school
• Forgotten to write properly
• 43.1% students in Punjab cannot do basic division
• 97.9% can use smartphones
• Watch crazy stuff on cellphones
• Stay glued to mobile phone screen for hours altogether