Digital Technologies for Education During the COVID-19 Crisis in the Global South

Abstract

Education was hard hit due to the COVID-19 crisis. A year into the crisis, some educators, students and caregivers are still grappling to find ways to provide continuity in education while minimising COVID-19 outbreaks. Online learning was seemingly a silver bullet. The adoption of digital technologies for educational purposes increased significantly as a result. However, the experiences of all students were heterogeneous, differing between countries and socio-economic groups.

This policy brief focuses primarily on the experiences of those in the Global South. It examines both longstanding issues, and new challenges brought about by the need to switch to digital learning models.

This draws on two sets of primary research — our multi-country After Access surveys conducted in 2018, and the e-diary qualitative research that we conducted in Sri Lanka during a lockdown period. We are also currently conducting nationally representative surveys in India and Sri Lanka to quantify the impact of the crisis on last-mile service delivery. Education will be a key area examined, along with others such as work, food delivery, healthcare and payments.