by Emma Avila Collazos, AWC Bogotá
In 2020, schools in many countries across the world needed to switch to online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to UNESCO (2020), an estimated 826 million students were unable to attend face-to-face lessons due to the pandemic. Each school was able to support their students’ transition to this mode of learning differently, depending on their location or access to resources and funding.
Online learning has provided opportunities for some schools to develop meaningful communities and implement new technologies to support learning, while also trying to support engagement. However, many students in different countries are unable to access these resources. A report commissioned by UNICEF-ITU (2020) believes that “two thirds of the world’s school-age children – or 1.3 billion children aged 3 to 17 years old – do not have internet connection in their homes.” This highlights how many students are disadvantaged and face inequalities in being able to access an education. 
The Situation in Colombia
Prior to the recent pandemic, there were many children who could not access an education in Colombia due to issues such as rural living, displacement or limited resources. In November 2016, a peace agreement was reached between the Colombian government and the guerilla group FARC, with the intention of ending fifty years of armed conflict. The conflict had deprived many children of receiving a full education, and then-president Santos put education at the forefront of new governmental policy. Santos expressed the hope that “with quality education we are preparing a new generation that in the future will be able to put its skills and knowledge into practice anywhere in the world.” Unfortunately, COVID-19 has slowed down some of these reforms.
A study commissioned by the Ministry of Education and Technology in March 2019 estimated that around 50% of Colombian homes lacked an internet connection, putting them at a disadvantage before the pandemic began. UNICEF (2020) warned that the “digital divide is perpetuating inequalities that already divide countries.” Many private schools have been able to continue teaching online or have been able to restart a hybrid or blended learning model earlier, which keeps the cycle of inequality present.
How can students be supported?
The article “How Ed-tech Solutions are Helping Students in Latin America without Internet Access” by Micheal Krumholtz (2020) highlights solutions different governments in Latin America are enacting in order to support student learning. It states that the Colombian government has provided broadband to an estimated 250 rural areas. There are also local municipal governmental drives asking people to donate digital devices, which can then be redistributed to children who need them. Local foundations are also trying to support students by providing access to a device or learning.
While these efforts are valuable, it will take time to be able to reach the affected students and to then have an impact. What else can be done to support the learning of many children?
Optimism
Karin Hulshof has written an optimistic article entitled “Bridging the Digital Divide for Children and Adolescents in East Asia and Pacific.” It suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic has not only brought to the forefront the inequalities in education but may actually have “acted as a catalyst for innovation and for including technology into the sector in many countries.” The article describes positive steps to support students, such as a digital platform called “Learning Passport” that has been introduced in Laos, and that also allows for offline access. Currently, there are a number of educational platforms that require online connection in order to function, thereby futher limiting their usefulness and accessibility.
Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic has further demonstrated multiple inequalities in education. It will require a joint effort between governments, educators, NGOs and educational tech companies to work together in order to find solutions that will allow more students to access a digital education. Even when more schools begin to open up, student access to the digital world will allow more people to be able to study at home or independently, thus opening up more opportunities for their future.
References
Abierta, D. (2019). Colombia's 2016 peace agreement: has it been fulfilled?
Exclusion from education | Children Change Colombia
Hulshof, K., 2020. Bridging the digital divide for Children and Adolescents in East Asia and Pacific. [online] Unicef.org.
Krumholtz, M., 2020. How ed-tech solutions are helping students in Latin America without Internet access - Latin America Reports. [online]
PC, Z. (2020). In Colombia, the pandemic is widening inequality in access to education: Peoples Dispatch.
Santos, J. (2017). Peace in Colombia is also Peace for the World | Human Development Reports.
UNESCO. 2020. Startling digital divides in distance learning emerge. [online]
Unicef.org. 2020. Two thirds of the world’s school-age children have no internet access at home, new UNICEF-ITU report says. [online]
Photo credit: C.L. McKelvey
