30.1 percent youth in Khammam not enrolled in any formal education institution: Survey

45.2 percent males in the age group of 17-18 were not enrolled in any educational institution as compared to 34 percent females

Khammam: About 30.1 percent youth in Khammam were not enrolled in any formal education institutions and the proportion was higher among 17-18 year-olds as compared to 14-18 year-olds, a survey found.

45.2 percent males in the age group of 17-18 were not enrolled in any educational institution as compared to 34 percent females. About 69.9 percent of youth aged 14-18 were enrolled in some formal education institutions, of them 57.8 percent were enrolled in government institutions.

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The findings were published in the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER 2023- Beyond Basics) released in New Delhi on Wednesday with a spotlight on youth aged 14 to 18 years in rural India. The survey conducted in 28 districts across 26 States was facilitated by an NGO Pratham.

In Telangana, the ASER 2023 survey was conducted in Khammam district by volunteers from Government Degree College, Bhadrachalam and KVRM College, VR Puram exploring the following domains; activity, ability and digital awareness and skills.

About 3.5 percent of 14-18 year-olds enrolled in some form of vocational training and 56.9 percent were engaged in some work (other than household work) for at least 15 days in the month prior to the survey.

Youth in the same age group, 45.8 percent could read at least a 2nd standard level text, 19.9 percent could do at least division and 43.4 percent could read at least sentences in English. Of those who could read at least a 1st standard level text, 56 percent could read the text on a medicine packet and answer three out of four questions about it.

50.7 percent could do a task for managing a budget, 24.8 percent could apply a discount and seven percent could calculate repayment. Across most of these application-based tasks, males outperform females.

74.9 percent of youth had a smartphone at home. 75.4 percent of youth were able to use a smartphone; among males this proportion was 80.7 percent and among females it was 69.2 percent. 55.5 percent males had their own smartphone as compared to 29 percent of their female counterparts.

Those who could use smartphones, 60.7 percent did at least one education-related activity in the week prior to the survey as compared to 91.4 percent who used any social media. While a high proportion of youth used social media in the reference week, a far smaller proportion knew how to access its safety features like blocking a profile, making a profile private, etc.

In Khammam, 38.5 percent youth could use a smartphone to do digital tasks and of these, 63.9 percent could do the task of setting an alarm, 55.5 percent could browse the internet to find information, 50 percent could use Google Maps and 74.2 percent could find a YouTube video, the survey found.