A look at India’s deep
digital literacy divide and why it needs to be bridged
We need to start by
understanding digital literacy rates for the public and private sector, and
also education sector. We need data for the status, the progress and the
proliferation of digitisation across regions, gender and social strata.
Bridging
the great Indian digital literacy divide
Always
on, always available, always enabled—this is the world of Generation C
(“connected”) who will have grown up in a primarily digital world by 2020,
according to a recent report by PwC. Computers, internet, mobile phones,
texting, social networking are an integral part of their world. Their
familiarity with technology and reliance on mobile communications will
transform the way this generation works, entertains, collaborates, consumes and
creates. Experts predict that 26 billion or more sensors and devices will be
connected to the internet by 2020, bringing in an era of machine intelligence
that is already re-framing the world of humans. While technologists and
researchers prepare for the future of digitisation, it is imperative to develop
a framework that will build a solid foundation for countries, governments,
organisations and individuals to navigate this change.
To
prepare for the wave of digital transformation, building digital skills is as
essential as creating digital infrastructure, starting with a progressive focus
on digital literacy and general literacy. Those who lack either will find themselves
sidelined. This has been recognised as UNESCO’s Sustainable Development Goal 4
(SDG4), where one of the monitoring indicators calls on countries to track
digital literacy skills. But we have to ask ourselves: What exactly does it
mean to achieve a minimum level of digital skills? A good starting point would
be to understand digital literacy, India’s position on digital literacy rates,
the importance of digital literacy and, indeed, of the digital Indian.
India’s digital literacy ladder
While
India asserts itself as one of the world’s largest growing economies, a recent
report by the Digital Empowerment Foundation indicates that 30% of our
population lags on basic literacy and thrice that for digital literacy. The
government launched Digital
India in 2015 to digitally empower every citizen. While its
potential benefits are unquestionable, challenges remain, including delayed
infrastructure development, bandwidth availability, personal computer
penetration and the capacity to scale.
If
India were to optimise the opportunities emerging out of the modern digital
economy, we would need to leverage the full potential of our digital
investments, through a standardised set of programmes implemented at various
levels via the machinery of governments, corporates and education institutions.
Here are five early approaches
for the near and long term:
Definition:
A consistent definition of ‘digital literacy’ is required for the purposes of
data collection, analyses and measurements by the government and its administrators.
The American Library Association says: “Digital literacy is the ability to use
information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create and
communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills.” Hiller
Spires of North Carolina State University views digital literacy in three
buckets: (1) Finding and consuming digital content; (2) creating digital
content; (3) communicating or sharing. India’s National Digital Literacy
Mission trains people to operate digital devices, and to access the
government’s e-governance services at its basic levels. Each of these renders a
different operational plan, and clarity is required for progress.
Direction:
A national digital literacy policy to monitor the digital divide across states
and cities recognising the multidimensional nature of digital literacy. There
are three challenges here: First, prioritising based on a grass-roots approach;
second, aligning with sectoral and national growth targets; and third,
remaining internationally relevant both in the near and long term. The policy
also needs to answer questions on whether the role of digitising a country is
only the job of the government or whether public-private partnerships (PPP) can
help move the needle. The questions of digital equity are key: Can digitisation
reach the haves and have-nots? Which generation will benefit the most from a
digital India? We need a roadmap bridging the digital divide. The first
question to answer, of course, has to be: What comes first, digital India or
digital Indian?
Design:
A framework to establish an ideal categorisation of creation and consumption of
content. From an architect to a blogger, there is a tremendous volume of work
happening in India that contributes to the digital output of the country. The
potential impact of all the digital creation in India is underestimated. While
consumption of content is evident across demographics, the need for increased
creation is of significant importance to an emerging digital economy.
Data:
If any transformational change needs to begin from the grass-roots level, we
need to start by understanding digital literacy rates for the government, the
public and private sector, and surely the education sector. We need data for
the status, the progress and the proliferation of digitisation across regions,
gender and social strata. We also need stronger studies to identify the
opportunity for every citizen to experience the value technology can bring to
the way they live, work and exist.
Drive:
The inevitable and rapidly evolving human-machine relationship will mean that
either we are driven by technology, or that we drive the change. In fact, early
technology touchpoints with children will mean that parents, teachers and
educational institutions will need to adopt a set of methodologies to achieve
an appropriate balance of creation and consumption of technology in the
formative years of children. Yes, these future digital Indians will be the
flag-bearers of the prospects of our country and investing in them now will
help reap the full benefits of India’s digital dividend.
By- Meeta Sengupta & P
Krishnakumar. Meeta Sengupta is a writer, speaker and education advisor. P
Krishnakumar is senior vice-president & general manager, Consumer &
Small Business, Dell India
Source: https://www.financialexpress.com/education-2/a-look-at-indias-deep-digital-literacy-divide-and-why-it-needs-to-be-bridged/1323822/
(accessed on September 25, 2018)
