Post COVID-19 survey: Gujarat students tensed about future studies, migration

A post COVID-19 survey involving over 4,000 school students from Gujarat has shown they were worried about future studies and were feeling stressed over the possibility of getting shifted elsewhere.

The objective of the survey, conducted by Quest Alliance, a not-for-profit trust working in the field of education and skill development, was to understand the extent to which COVID-19 had affected students and their families.

The survey covered nearly 22,000 students, in the 13-15 age group, from 11 states, including Gujarat, where the number of respondents was nearly 4,000.

During the survey, conducted after the second wave of the pandemic last year, 10.40 per cent of students from the 11 states said they lost one of their immediate family members, such as father, mother or grandparents, said Neha Parthi, Associate Director, Secondary School Program, Quest Alliance.

"Due to this loss, livelihood was affected. Overall, 19 per cent of children had said their family income has reduced. However, the number was very high in Gujarat where 49 per cent of the 4,100-odd respondents claimed their family's income was affected due to the loss of a family member," she said.

The survey also highlighted that reduced family income affected the children's intake of nutritious food, such as milk and protein-rich food.

While 12 per cent of the total respondents in 11 states said their intake of nutritious food had decreased, the figure was 29 per cent for students in Gujarat, Parthi said.

"The study also found over 40 per cent of respondent students of both genders in Gujarat were worried about future studies. It showed that 7.58 per cent families feel they will have to migrate for work opportunities in the future. This figure was 15 per cent for Gujarat, two times the overall average," she said at a press conference.