New Delhi: The Voices Survey conducted by the Life Skills Collaborative in collaboration with Breakthrough, Quest Alliance, and Pratham Education Foundation, aims to discern the awareness and perceptions of life skills among youth, parents, school teachers/ITI Trainers, and trainers in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions.
Spanning 11 districts in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Haryana, and Mizoram, the “Voices Survey”, provides a nuanced understanding of the challenges and opportunities confronting the youth in the realm of life skills education.
Employing a multi-method approach, the survey combines quantitative indicators with qualitative exploration through focus group discussions.
A total of 15,856 youth and 13,806 parents were surveyed through household visits, offering a comprehensive panorama of their perspectives on life skills. Additionally, 2,366 school teachers contributed to the survey, providing valuable insights from the educational frontlines.
Key findings of the survey spotlight the stark reality that 80% of rural youth in India have yet to embark on vocational or skill training, underlining a substantial skills gap.
The survey unravels a pronounced reliance on smartphones among rural youth, with 92% reporting usage, particularly for communication (92%), entertainment (95%), and education (88%).
Further exploration delves into the news engagement patterns of rural youth, with almost 80% rarely (49%) or never (31%) engaging with news. This illuminates an evident gap in news awareness among this demographic, paving the way for targeted interventions to amplify access to current affairs and diverse information sources, potentially catalyzing increased adoption of life skills courses.
The study explores youth’s awareness of life skills, unveiling that approximately 4 in 10 have heard of the term life skills; or 21st-century skills; Age, education level, and access to digital devices exert notable influence on awareness.
Moreover, gender disparities persist in mobile phone access among parents, mirroring trends observed in the youth demographic. A stark contrast emerges as only half of surveyed mothers own mobile phones compared to over 80% of fathers. This emphasizes the imperative to address technology gaps to ensure equal opportunities among parents.
Aakash Sethi, Chief Executive Officer, Quest Alliance said: “The Life Skills Collaborative provides a platform where several organizations can come together to ensure that life skills become an integral part of formal education. This unified platform amplifies collective voices, and helps set benchmarks and standards for life skills. It also guides government bodies in building curriculum and assessments in line with these standards. Additionally, it persuasively advocates the necessity of these skills to thrive in the 21st century.”
Write to us for complete summary of the survey
