Equality in digital education for children—dream or myth?

The computer literacy statistics for 2021 show that less than one in five households in Sri Lanka owns either a desktop or a laptop computer. The percentage is 38.3% in the urban sector, 20.7% in the rural sector and a mere 4.1% in the estate sector

A few days ago, on the 22nd of this month, Prime Minister and Minister of Education Harini Amarasuriya addressed a discussion held with the Task Force appointed by the Cabinet to oversee Digital Education Transformation, emphasising that digital education systems should be introduced nationwide, ensuring fair distribution of human and physical resources across all schools.

The premier’s goal is applaudable, and everyone in this country will wish her well. Sri Lankans, one and all, are united in the hope that the premier is able to achieve this very laudable goal. But the problems the premier is faced with are monumental.

Addressing the parliament on December 19, 2024, Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs, Paulraj, said in academic year 2022/2023, at least 2,547 children dropped out after Grade 1. She added that children often drop out because their parents cannot afford basic educational tools and books. Equally important is the fact that parents are finding it difficult to feed their children as incomes have dropped while the cost of living has risen astronomically.

The premier’s goal for digital education faces practical problems like access to electricity for the poorer section of the community due to the increase in tariffs on electricity.According to the Census of Population and Housing carried out by the Department of Census and Statistics, the total number of households in occupied housing units in 2021 was 4,054,186, and the total number of households using electricity was 2,578,119 On February 25, 2024, the ‘Sunday Times’ reported thousands of homes were being cut off from the national electricity grid in the wake of an 18% tariff increase in October when the domestic category of up to 30 kilowatt hours was increased from Rs. 150/- to Rs. 180/-. Since the first of this month, the government has further raised tariffs on electricity by a staggering 15%. It is safe to assume that thousands more will be, during the course of this month, cut off from the national grid.

Again, the computer literacy statistics for 2021 show that less than one in five households in Sri Lanka owns either a desktop or a laptop computer. The percentage is 38.3% in the urban sector, 20.7% in the rural sector and a mere 4.1% in the estate sector.

These are but some of the immediate problems facing the premier in her stated goal of ensuring an equal spread of digitalised learning across the country. An even more immediate problem is the shortage of teachers. According to the premier herself, there is a ‘current shortage of 42,000 teachers in national and provincial schools’ which need to be immediately addressed. According to the Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU), while government has acknowledged the problem, it has failed to address it effectively. The Sri Lanka Education Service Lecturer Trade Union has announced a two-day sick note campaign on 26 and 27 June in protest against the government’s failure to rectify their salary anomalies.

The Secretary of the CTU described the situation as serious. He stressed the demand for qualified teachers in subjects like mathematics, science and IT continues to rise. He warned the teacher deficit was having a direct impact on the quality of education, potentially undermining the future prospects of thousands of students.

This shortage of qualified teachers has also led to the growth of private tutories. Which is leading to concerns about educational equality which our premier is demanding be equalised. Unfortunately, only the more affluent families can afford to send their children to private tuition.

A study by the Centre for Poverty Analysis (CEPA) points out that poverty is widespread in the country, with poverty levels having risen compared to mid-2023, with 45% – 52% of households affected by the end of 2024. It added a significant proportion of households’ lack of access to proper healthcare. These households cannot afford private tuition Sadly, though our Prime Ministers goals are set in the right direction, her government has many other problems to solve before they reach the lofty ideals the premier’s goals can be met. At the moment, they appear to be a bucket list of things the government hopes to achieve, with no concrete plan for how it will reach its target.