BHUBANESWAR: The government’s focus on improving digital literacy and the shift to online platforms following the Covid-19 pandemic notwithstanding, only 20.6 per cent of Odisha’s young population can attach files and send an email, a basic computer skill.
This was revealed at the 78th round of National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), the report of which was released recently by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. Under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) monitoring process, the NSSO conducted a multiple indicator surveys between January 2020 and August 2021. Data was collected on several development indicators including the knowledge of using computers (ICT skills).
It was found that a large share of the young population (aged between 15 and 24) in Odisha cannot perform different information and communications technology (ICT) skills. The percentage further comes down to 19.3 per cent among those in the 15-29 age group. The survey examined people’s skills in nine different computer-related skills beginning from the ability of moving a file or a folder in the computer to the knowledge of programming.
In the 15 to 29 age group, 32.3 per cent people surveyed in the state said they had the basic skill of handling files on a computer. While the abilities declined as the difficulty level of computer skills increased, just around 1.2 per cent of all those surveyed in the age group said they could use a programming language. Besides, there is a large urban, rural divide and wide skill gap between men and women when it comes to computer knowledge, the survey pointed out.
Educationists said the lack of computer skill will be a major impediment for students when it comes to employment. “Particularly, because every task has become technology-driven post the pandemic,” said educationist Pritish Acharya. The digital education amongst students of all grades and degrees has primarily been limited to online lectures and books now.
As per the report, the percentage of households having internet facilities is 24.8 at least 7.3 per cent less than the national average of 32.1 per cent. The overall computer literacy rate in the state is 32.2 per cent which is much lower than in the neighbouring states of Andhra Pradesh (45.6 per cent), Telangana (53.8 per cent) and West Bengal (43.1 per cent).