Synopsis
A recent MoSPI survey indicates that more individuals in rural India engaged in learning activities in 2024 than in urban areas, with women closing the time gap with men. The report highlights trends in educational engagement over recent years.Key Takeaways
- Rural residents spend more time on learning than urban areas.
- Women's participation in learning activities has increased.
- Overall learning time has decreased since 2019.
- The TUS aims to assess time allocation in daily activities.
- Data collected includes individuals aged six and above.
New Delhi, Feb 27 (NationPress) A recent survey by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) reveals that in 2024, a larger number of individuals in rural India dedicated their time to learning activities compared to their urban counterparts.
The MoSPI characterizes learning activity as time allocated to formal education, which encompasses attending school or university, participating in extra-curricular activities, and completing homework, as well as travel time associated with learning.
The second iteration of the Time Use Survey (TUS), carried out from January to December 2024, indicates that women have significantly narrowed the time gap with men in engaging in learning activities over the past five years.
Women invested an average of 84 minutes in learning, whereas the duration for men decreased to 94 minutes from 102 minutes over the same period.
Interestingly, the overall time dedicated to learning activities saw a decline in both urban and rural regions in 2024 compared to 2019.
In urban settings, individuals spent an average of 87 minutes per day on learning in 2024, down from 95 minutes in 2019. Similarly, the time spent in rural areas decreased to 90 minutes in 2024 from 92 minutes in 2019, as reported.
The initial nationwide TUS was conducted by MoSPI between January and December 2019.
The ministry noted, “India is among a select group of nations, including Australia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, the USA, and China, that perform national TUS to assess how people allocate their time across various daily activities.”
The survey aims primarily to evaluate the participation of men and women in both paid and unpaid tasks.
For the TUS 2024, data on time usage was collected from individuals aged six years and older, with a reference period of 24 hours.
