Govt report flags limited access to digital learning in 503 distts during pandemic

At a time when the pandemic forced schools to shut and shift classes online, students in 503 districts in the country had very limited access to digital learning, with 240 of them scoring less than 10%, according to a government report released on Sunday.

- Fareeha Iftikhar

A majority of districts were in the bottom three grades (less than 10% to 30%) during the two pandemic years, “indicating the need for boosting the digital learning aspect”, highlighted a report of the performance grading index for districts (PGI-D) for the years 2020-21 and 2021-22 prepared by the education ministry.

The index evaluates districts on the basis of six parameters -- learning outcomes, effective classroom interactions, infrastructure facilities, school safety and child protection, digital learning and government process. The PGI score is classified into various grades depending on the scores of the districts, which ranges between less than 10% to more than 90%.