Diksha app finds only a few takers

PRAYAGRAJ, Feb 16 (HS): Despite strict instructions by the UP government, there are very few takers of Diksha app, finds an inspection carried out by authorities. While several districts have shown the download numbers up to the mark, the inspection of the Diksha app’s dashboard had a different story to tell.

The onus to ensure that all students of primary and upper primary schools in UP have downloaded the Diksha app lies on teachers, the state’s education department has said. Setting a target for them, the department said that every teacher will now download the app on the mobile phones of 10 students.

The app, launched by NCERT in 2017, has lessons in videos and text. In the time of lockdown, when schools were shut, remote learning through the app was the only way out for students across the country. But the pandemic exposed the digital divide. While the students of private schools– mostly from well-off families — didn’t miss out on classes and on learning, those in government schools struggled to catch up. Poor internet connectivity and unavailability of smartphones in the family were some of the reasons.

HS had earlier reported that just 11% of all government school students have downloaded the app so far. The government has now set an ambitious target of March 1 to bring all the students on board. “During an inspection, it was found that the Diksha app is being used by only 30 to 40 lakh students against a total of 3.80 crore– including 1.80crore government school students and 2 crore private school students,” read an order issued by Vijay Kiran Anand, managing director, school education, UP.

Anand further said, “A target of 10 downloads of the app per teacher is being given now. The target has to be completed by March 1 and will be monitored by the state government.” He further said that the number of downloads done by each teacher should be sent to the state authorities via email. Most private schools are holding online classes on MS Teams, Zoom and other apps so the students didn’t download the Diksha app, a teacher at a private school said. But most government schools don’t have the luxury to hold online classes and are dependent on the Diksha app.  “It was found during the inspection that despite the instructions to ensure all students in UP government schools had downloaded the Diksha app, the number of downloads continued to be considerably low,” said Vijay Kiran Anand, director general, school education, UP. “All district authorities are instructed to ensure that the number of downloads of Diksha app increases and the target is met,” added Anand.