ADUN SPEAKS | Digitalisation bridges or reinforces inequality?

ADUN SPEAKS | Under the conditions of the present pandemic with the movement control order (MCO) in place, the country is almost in a state of shut down except for essential services.

While it is a great relief to students and parents that some examinations are cancelled or postponed, the real question in their minds is whether there will be continuous education beyond the classroom.

The imperative of digital transformation to meet the challenges of the 4.0 Industrial Revolution has been much talked about and there have been some serious efforts to bridge the digital divide.

The importance of e-learning or learning through the internet might not have reached its present urgency or demand without the MCO.

The MCO has laid bare our unpreparedness or inability to ensure children have access to learning through the computer, having access to the internet and availability of information.

The Education Ministry was forced to admit that online education might not be effective. It is not because online education is different from straightforward classroom teaching, but simply because of the digital divide between those children who have access to computers and internet services and those who do not.

Children in rural or remote areas don’t even own computers and forget about whether these areas are connected with internet services.

It is just not a regional divide, but a class divide between those from the lower and higher socio-economic backgrounds.

Thus, regional and class divide reinforce one another to the extent that school children in rural areas are denied the benefit of online education.

Over the years, the government has spent billions in bringing about development in rural areas, but whether such a move addressed the issue of the gap between the rich and poor remains unclear.

The repeated reference in bridging the digital divide was more at the level of propaganda than anything else.

Long before the Coronavirus pandemic, our system of education was not prepared or did not lay the foundation for online education.

Not that there were no efforts at all, but the initiatives might not have benefitted all children equally.

Even in areas that are wired with services, poor children cannot afford to buy necessities such as computers or mobile phones for access.

It is not that poor children do not know or understand the value of computers or learning through these devices but it is primarily the question of affordability.

Putting food on the table under the MCO seems more of a priority for poor families.

However, children in urban areas, especially those from the middle and upper-class families might not experience the same misfortune.

This is why it is often said that bridging the digital divide might not be as simple as it seems as it might invariably bring about inequality among the people.

P RAMASAMY is the state assemblyperson for Perai. He is also deputy chief minister (II) of Penang.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

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