Chinmaya IAS Academy – Current Affairs Chinmaya IAS Academy – Current Affairs
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- Recently, the Ministry of Education informed Lok Sabha that less than 10% of schools are equipped with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools or Digital Tools, in at least 10 states of India.
- ICT tools for teaching and learning cover everything from digital infrastructures such as printers, computers, laptops, tablets, etc., to software tools such as Google Meet, Google Spreadsheets, etc.
- It refers to all communication technologies that are the tools to access, retrieve, store, transmit and modify information digitally.
- ICTs are also used to refer to the convergence of media technology such as audio-visual and telephone networks with computer networks, by means of a unified system of cabling (including signal distribution and management) or link system.
- However, there is no universally accepted definition of ICTs considering that the concepts, methods, and tools involved in ICTs are steadily evolving on an almost daily basis.
Digital Gap
- It is a gap between demographics and regions having access to modern information and communications technology (ICT) and those not having access.
- It exists between developed and developing countries, urban and rural populations, young and educated versus older and less-educated individuals, and men and women.
- In India the urban-rural divide is the single biggest factor in the Digital Gap.
- A study in 2021 by the Azim Premji Foundation showed that almost 60 % of school children in India cannot access online learning opportunities.
- A study by Oxfam India found that even among students of urban private schools, half of the parents reported issues with Internet signal and speed. A third struggled with the cost of mobile data.
- Children belonging to the Disadvantaged Groups may suffer the consequence of not having to fully pursue their education or worse still drop out because of the lack of access to ICT.
- They even run the danger of being drawn into child labouror worse, child trafficking.
- It will deprive people of higher/quality education and skill training that could help them contribute to the economy and become leaders on a global level.
- The poor will remain void of crucial information presented online concerning academia, and thus they will always lag, and this may be summed up by poor performance.
- Hence superior students who can access the internet have an unfair competitive edge over their less privileged counterparts.
- The people in lower socio-economic classes are disadvantaged and have to undergo long hours of cumbersome studies in meeting the objectives of the course.
- While the rich can easily access schooling materials online and work on their programs in a flash.
Way Forward
Governments can become powerful instruments in bridging the digital divide by ensuring affordable, easy-to-use technologies. The high cost of internet connectivity, the price of technological devices, electricity tariffs, and taxes are major contributors to the digital Gap for both teachers and students.
SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES,MINT
