Addressing the deepening digital divide

Cape Town - The lack of digital skills is widening the inequality gap in South African schools.

Addressing the Deepening Digital Divide, a report prepared by Oxford University Press (OUP), surveyed 1 557 teachers from 92 countries about their work experience during the pandemic.

OUP’s publishing director, Karen Simpson, said: “The teachers surveyed many different contexts, including developed countries like Australia and the UK as well as many developing countries such as Kenya, Pakistan, Mexico and South Africa.”

Simpson said that South Africa’s digital divide can be separated into three parts: access to hardware, understanding of digital means of communication, and the cost of accessing the internet.

The report indicated that 97% reported that disadvantaged learners have been disproportionately impacted by the switch to digital learning and 70% of teachers said the most disadvantaged students lost learning due to limited or no access to digital devices.

“Digital literacy is a massive part of what children will need to be effective citizens as they grow up.

“We will be failing our children if we don’t prepare them for a digital future.

“If we don’t find new ways of supporting and improving learning, our learners will be left behind.”

Simpson added that most teachers need support and guidance to adapt to a new way of teaching, considering that digital learning is still relatively new for most teachers.

She said that it is important to remember that digital skills need to be acquired by everyone in the education ecosystem, including education policy makers, subject advisers, educational content developers, parents and learners.

Managing director of OUP Africa, Hanri Pieterse said while job development and education had the potential to assist to close South Africa’s large inequality gap, South Africans may miss out on both if digital inequality is not addressed.

“In the South African school system, a new type of inequality has emerged: digital inequality.

“According to the World Bank, South Africa is still regarded as one of the most unequal countries in the world.

“For many South Africans, levels of digital access and literacy contribute to the country’s growing inequality.

“Because of these issues, two of the country’s most promising prospects for development and equality are jeopardised: equitable access to education and work opportunities.”

The National Department of Basic Education arranged video lessons via TV networks and audio lessons via radio as soon as it was feasible during the pandemic.

The Department of Higher Education and Training did a similar thing in TVET colleges.

This bypassed the need for devices and was a good way to reach most learners.

The Western Cape Education Department created a huge amount of content and lesson plans that were distributed via WhatsApp to teachers.

They also communicated over social media constantly to support teachers.

In addition, they shared a comprehensive database of available digital education resources so that teachers and parents knew what was available.