79% Students Use Smartphones to Study Online: 'India Lockdown Learning' Report by Vidyasaarathi

• 59% are using WhatsApp and Zoom calls for their classes; while 30% are using their institution’s online platform
• 75% students still prefer physical classrooms over online learning; biggest challenge being poor network connection

Majority of students (79%) use smartphones to study online reveals ‘India Lockdown Learning’ report by Vidyasaarathi. The report goes on to state that only 17% of students attend their online classes using laptops and computers and rest 4% students attend it through mediums like tablets. Vidyasaarathi is one of the largest scholarship management portals in India - promoted by NSDL e-Governance.

Vidyasaarathi’s ‘India Lockdown Learning’ report is basis a nationwide survey conducted by collecting data from over 10,000 students across 400 cities to understand the transformation happening in the educational eco-system.  The survey helps us to take note of how students are adopting e-learning which is becoming the norm and the challenges they face in the transition. The survey is holistic in capturing all the essential data for us to discern the pros and cons of the new normal.

The report that provides unique insights and perspectives on the e-learning scenario in India further finds that WhatsApp and Zoom Calls to be the most preferred medium of 59% students for conducting online classes; followed by 30% of students using their school’s or college’s online platform to attend online classes.  

While online classes are part of the new normal, 75% of the students still prefer physical classrooms over online learning. Poor internet connection was highlighted by 57% of students as their biggest challenge for e-learning. 31% of students finding it difficult to focus and 12% finding it difficult to get doubts clarified while studying online.

Interestingly, over 60% of the students spend around 1-4 hours on e-Learning; followed by 31% spending 4-8 hours and 8% spending 8-12 hours studying online. This shows that despite the challenges, the students’ willingness to learn and the commitment of teachers towards online education.

Moreover, among the total number of students who are utilizing online classes, 62% of them are using it for curricular and 38% for extra-curricular activities. Amongst the extra-curricular activities 39% are taking online courses on art & craft. This indicates a shift from the traditional learning methods.

Majority of the students who took the survey were in the age groups of 12 to 28 years where 62% were males. The respondents are in their undergraduate and postgraduate courses. They come from middle class families, with around 90% students belonging to families with annual incomes below INR 7 lakh

Students are also well aware of the benefits of online classes. Majority of them cited that the biggest advantage of e-learning is the accessibility of the course content any time. Students also highlighted ease of use and convenient doubt clarification to be the other motivators for online education.

Indian students are new to the e-learning culture. Online classes in this pandemic situation has been a challenge for educators and for students as well. This survey highlights the need for good IT infrastructure so that the challenges of digital learning do not weigh it down.

Vidyasaarathi is among the three education financing portals developed by NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure which assists students in their education financing process– Vidyasaarathi (education scholarships), Vidya Lakshmi (education loans), and Vidya Kaushal (skill development loans).

About Vidyasaarathi:

Vidyasaarathi is a scholarship portal developed by NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure Ltd., which bridges the gap between students seeking financial assistance and companies with CSR funds wanting to contribute to the education space. Corporates can choose to create their own schemes and criteria to give scholarships to the deserving students. The schemes are designed in association with Tata Institute of Social Sciences. So far, over 30 corporates have associated with Vidyasaarathi to design and provide scholarship schemes to students, the portal is becoming popular amongst students.

NSDL e-Governance launches Vidyasaarathi online Career Tests for students

NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure Ltd., one of India’s leading education financing facilitators and e-Governance solutions provider, has launched Vidyasaarathi Career Tests to help students across age groups choose the career best suited for their future. 

There are three different career tests which are hosted on NSDL e-Governance’s Vidyasaarathi portal – Aptitude Test, Personality Test, and Interest Test. The online tests are designed in a way to gauge the strengths and weaknesses of the individual and then provide them with insights that will help them make a suitable career choice.  To provide more detailed and reliable insights, the age groups for these tests have been categorized into three groups – ‘6-11 years’, ‘12-17 years’ and ‘18 years & above’. 

NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure Ltd.’s MD and CEO, Mr. Gagan Rai said, “We have developed the three tests keeping in mind the needs of our students. The initiative is to help students find their interests and aptitude, match it to their personality type and help them choose a career path of their choice. COVID-19 has extensively impacted the student community and these tests will address a lot of doubts that the students have with respect to their career decisions in these uncertain times.”

Aptitude test measures the aptitude or talent of an individual to identify the job befitting their skillset. This test is popular in the student and counselling community as it helps a student in identifying their objective skills and sets the first filter in the pool of career opportunities. 

Personality test is a popular yet unique assessment as it evaluates the needs and wants of the applicant from the surroundings to map the personality into four temperaments – Artisans, Guardians, Idealists, and Rationals.

Interest test will ask students to rank various activities as per their rate of interest and identify them as realists, thinkers, creators, helpers, persuaders and organizers.

The tests are designed with simplicity for easy comprehension. Each test will cost Rs. 299 to applicants and will help in narrowing down fields by identifying vital traits that an applicant possesses. 

Furthermore, on Vidyasaarathi portal students can also apply for scholarships that will financially support their choice of career. All the required information is available on www.vidyasaarathi.co.in

About NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure Limited:

NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure Limited (NSDL e-Gov) was setup in 1996. It has over the years, used its inherent strengths, project management capabilities & technology expertise to deliver state of the art e-Governance solutions, which has helped Governments to identify and clear bottlenecks, promote transparency, reduce service delivery costs and deliver public services efficiently. A recipient of the Golden Peacock Award for Innovation Management, the company has been recognized for its innovative products and services at various national and international forums. NSDL e-Gov works closely with various Government agencies for designing, managing and implementing e-Governance Projects. NSDL e-Gov has also established service centres network across the country, which serves as access points for the public and are efficiently used to deliver quality services in a user friendly and transparent manner to the citizens.

Vidyasaarathi is a scholarship portal which bridges the gap between students seeking financial assistance and companies with CSR funds wanting to contribute to the education space. Corporates can choose to create their own schemes and criteria to give scholarships to the deserving students. The schemes are designed in association with Tata Institute of Social Sciences. So far, over 30 corporates have associated with Vidyasaarathi to design and provide scholarship schemes to students, the portal is becoming popular amongst students. The portal has successfully provided scholarships to over 6000 students.

Visit www.egov-nsdl.co.in for more information.

NSDL e-Governance’s GST Platform Commences Operations

NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure Ltd. (NSDL e-Gov), a leading e-Governance Service provider, commences operations for NSDLgst, its GST platform for providing ASP and GSP services. This is a comprehensive and secure platform, which enables traders, dealers, businesses, chartered accountants (CAs) and tax consultants to upload invoices, file returns and upload information in the prescribed format. The platform is built using latest technology, combined with simplicity and innovation.

This user-friendly platform can help large and medium businesses easily integrate their ERP and accounting solutions vide variety of interfaces. Moreover, the cloud based platform supports small businesses as it does not require installation of a separate IT infrastructure at the dealers end. Additionally, the platform has zero start-up time and will support an e-Sign facility, which is part of the base level service offerings. NSDLgst is one of the few platforms in the industry that offer the best security infrastructure and complete business continuity practices.

Speaking on this occasion, Gagan Rai, Managing Director and CEO, said, “We are excited to be a part of India’s biggest indirect tax reform. Over the past few months, we have been working closely with GSTN to update the features of the platform as per latest rules and requirements. Standing by our commitment to help businesses become GST compliant, we aim to ensure that our clients’ journey is easy, quick and hassle-free.”

Since its launch in June, NSDLgst has witnessed tremendous success and more than 400 ASPs and their respective clients have already enrolled onto the platform. Dealers have already started uploading sales invoices into the system. Additionally, the company has also provided a special module for CAs and tax consultants to file GST returns for their clients.

NSDL e-Gov is one of the few companies in India who is well equipped to take GST forward. The company offers GSP and ASP services and has a wide network of facilitation centres for filing GST returns. Additionally, NSDL e-Gov also leverages the knowledge acquired from the GST Pilot Project, which was executed by the company from 2011 to 2014 for the Government of India. This included setting up and managing the GST Pilot system and an in-depth research across the country to assess, analyse and evaluate the state of automation in various tax administration departments of States and UTs with a view to understand their specific requirements with respect to the common portal.

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