Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala is way ahead of other states in providing online education for children during the COVID-19 pandemic as 91% of people in rural areas were able to continue their education thanks to technology, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Thursday.

While 91% of children in rural Kerala had access to online courses, for the country as a whole the figure stood at 24.2%, the CM said in a Facebook post referring to the State of Education Annual Report (ASER) 2021.

Vijayan said that according to ASER 2021, Kerala has implemented the best online education in the country.

Kerala is far ahead of most other states in this regard, he said and added that the state government project “Vidya kiranam” was one of the initiatives that helped overcome the problem of the digital divide.

The CM said the projects needed to completely resolve the digital divide are being vigorously implemented and soon 100% of the state’s children will be able to access online education.

He said the closure of schools affected studies and was a major crisis during the pandemic.

The state government, however, was determined to ensure the education of children and it achieved this goal with the help of technology.

Teachers, parents and the general public have also worked together, energetically and tirelessly, to achieve this goal and these efforts must be continued to provide online education to 100% of the state’s children, Vijayan said.