Many people concerned about the widening socio-economic inequalities argue that COVID-19 changed nothing and it changed everything. In the last two years, a portion of our society that lacks the skills and affordable access they need to be part of our increasingly digital society continued to be excluded just as they were before the onset of the pandemic and the extended lockdowns. The gap between the haves and the have-nots in our society keeps widening.
At the same time, the pandemic changed everything. Many, especially children living in distressed families, realised that they could not live without the internet.
The technology literate had to make significant adjustments as they shifted everyday life online. But they eventually gained confidence as they had the tools to cope with the changes.
Still, for those who daily have to make choices between data and food, the pandemic meant being cut off from the world of essential services, including education for their children.
It is encouraging that the government will be launching a pilot project to help 2,300 families get some of the tools they need to close the digital gap. Free laptops and free internet for a year to low-income families is a step in the right direction, even though it is small.
Digital inequality is defined as too little access to the internet and devices that are connected to it. While some families rightly worry that their children need to be protected from too much screen time, unequal technology access can limit low-income children’s access to a range of social opportunities.
Some cynics would argue that most children, including those from economically distressed families, have smartphones that they could use to access the internet. But young people need the enhanced computing power provided by desktop and laptop computers to succeed in school.
Doing research to write an essay or creating a spreadsheet are essential learning experiences that can best be achieved on a computer.
One-to-one laptop or tablet initiatives address some digital inequality issues but are limited in learning opportunities that children need.
Educators and child psychologists invariably insist that educational innovation is today synonymous with technological innovation. Enabling all children to have guaranteed, high-quality connectivity to develop digital skills is a crucial enabler to ensure equitable access to social opportunities.
While every country aims to provide more public services online, parents’ connectivity is becoming increasingly important to ensure that they can access the economic opportunities that could help them provide better stability for lower-income children.
While many families fret about the risks of overexposure to online media and technology for their children’s development, some families suffer from unequal access to technology and the social opportunities available by connecting to them.
Providing children from low-income families with access to technology increases their self-efficacy in mathematics and science by improving their learning through active engagement, group participation, frequent interaction and feedback with their educators.
The educational ecosystem is complex. Teachers are essential components of children’s learning experience but so are their families. Academic research has invariably shown that parents and children support each other in learning about technology and in using technology as a tool to climb the social ladder.
As part of the educational system’s much-needed structural reform, the country needs to have a genuinely inclusive digital strategy to address the growing socio-economic inequalities.