 A significant
number of students have limited to zero internet
connectivity further emphasizing the digital divide
affecting those living
in poverty and in rural territories. / A.M. Costa Rica wire services photo |
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 Published Thursday, July 23, 2020 Digital
divide, territorial imbalances
reduce access to education in Costa Rica, says report By the A.M.
Costa Rica staff
The postponement of face-to-face classes due to the covid-19 pandemic has sent more than 1,200,000 students home since March. The main form of communication students have had to maintain ties with their teachers is through virtual lessons. However, a significant number of students have limited to zero internet connectivity further emphasizing the digital divide affecting those living in poverty and in rural territories, reported the State of the Nation on Wednesday. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, a digital divide is any uneven distribution in the access to, use of, or impact of Information and Communication Technologies between any number of distinct groups, which can be defined based on social, geographical, or geopolitical criteria, or otherwise. Before the pandemic crisis, the 2019 National Household Survey reported 67% of students in the capital had an internet connection from home; 29% only had access via cell phone and 3% had no connection. "This situation contrasts significantly with those who study in regions such as the Huetar Caribe (Limon Province), Huetar Norte (northern zone of Alajuela Province) or the Huetar Brunca (southern zone of Puntarenas Province), since the connection from home was only around 40%, half were connected only by cell phone and about 10% had no internet connection," said the State of the Nation report. According to the report, these gaps in access to technological resources reflect the country's historical territorial inequalities, associated with the low socioeconomic development that has characterized these regions, and in the current context, the differences in access to education. Added to these problems is the fact that teachers in these rural zones also have the same limitations on internet access. "The pandemic has exposed problems that we have been dragging, but it also creates opportunities to solve them," said the State of the Nation report. "Today more than ever it is clear that good connectivity is a fundamental right of all people." According to the investigators, a possible solution to the deficiencies in internet access and education in rural areas is to develop a program similar to the so-called, Bono Proteger ( aid bonus) that can be financed with the budget of the National Telecommunications Fund, FONATEL. The bonus could solve the educational crisis, allowing poor families, with students and living in rural regions, to buy a high-speed fixed connectivity package and equipment, said the specialists of the State of the Nation ---------------------- Should the authorities help low-income students get access to the government's online education programs? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com |
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