JAKARTA – During the coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic, school children are required to take distance learning or online. Britain is one of the countries that also applies these rules.
But what happened was that Britain was experiencing a digital divide. Where students who study in public schools find it more difficult to access learning on line, compared to students who go to private schools.
The online learning method from home, in fact, was not positively welcomed by the majority of the community. This is because not all schools do not have sufficient access to resources for this on line as well as an adequate internet network for the students.
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Dr Beng Huat See from Durham University, said that the government is slow enough to prepare adequate infrastructure, including internet access during the current COVID-19 pandemic. This also drives the digital divide between rich and poor children in fulfilling access to learning on line.
“Years ago, we talked about equipping schools and poor children with internet access and devices. This is nothing new,” said Dr See in an interview to Xinhuanet, Monday, August 3.
In their survey, many teachers called for increased government investment in technology infrastructure, internet connectivity and funding in schools to support the provision of digital devices for disadvantaged children.
In fact, referring to survey data from the Office for National Statistics published in 2019, it states that around 60,000 children aged 11 to 18 in the UK do not have internet connectivity in their homes, and around 700,000 do not have computers, laptops or tablets at home.
Meanwhile, according to reports The Guardian, a woman living in London, spends nearly half of her weekly household budget on the internet data plan that her teenage daughter uses to access online learning.
“Our living costs are more than 100 pounds sterling per week and before lockdown I spend about 10 pounds per week on data top-up and now it costs about 30 to 40 pounds per week, “said the woman.
These additional expenses are equivalent to other incidentals, including for daily necessities. “We only have one cell phone between the three of us and I have to limit their time on line because I can’t afford it anymore. I also had to leave home to buy an internet package, which made me very worried, “he said.
“I can’t be online long enough to post e-mail to the utility company. I’ve told them that we can only eat twice a day because I can’t afford to buy food anymore, “he added.
It is known, the British government is quite slow in overcoming this digital divide. In fact, they have recently launched a number of initiatives to try to address the digital divide exacerbated by the pandemic. Includes a promise to give some disadvantaged teens a laptop and they stick with it.
About 202,000 free laptops have been given to poor families so that their children can use them for education. The government has also spent £ 4.3 million on providing backup online learning over the coming academic year.
Not only that, they also asked a number of telecommunication industries to donate devices, sims and mobile hotspots.
“We recognize the importance of connected people and that is why we have taken action to broker major deals with mobile and broadband companies to provide essential support for vulnerable consumers who may be exposed to the coronavirus,” said a spokesperson for the digital, culture, department. British government media and sports.
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