There is a need to connect every school to the Internet to prevent the digital divide from turning into a digital chasm following the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic over the past two years.

Some 1.2-billion children globally were affected by school closures during the pandemic, with nearly 77-million children and youth having been shut out of their classrooms for the past 18 months.

About a quarter of countries continue to have schools fully or partially closed, a new Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) report, ‘Connecting Learners: Narrowing the Educational Divide,’ highlights.

While much has been achieved as students, parents and teachers use digital connectivity to teach and learn wherever and whenever possible, many students who could not access the digital tools needed to sustain their learning are now at risk of being left further behind, even without Covid-19 compounding the divide.

“Prior to the pandemic, a lack of access to the Internet did not necessarily block children from an education. But Covid-19 has since upended education systems across the globe, and the link between school and personal connectivity to quality education is clearer than ever,” the EIU report points out.

The report, which was sponsored by Ericsson in support of the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), shows significant economic opportunity in connecting every school to the Internet.

A 10% increase in schools’ connectivity in a country can increase the number of years of effective schooling and can result in a 1.1% increase in gross domestic product (GDP) per capita.

The EIU economic model also reveals that the least-connected countries in the world could realise up to a 20% increase in GDP if school connectivity levels increased to the levels of a developed country such as Finland.

Brazil could experience a 6.6% possible GDP gain by 2025 if it raised its connectivity levels to that of Finland, while Kyrgyzstan could gain 7.2%, El Salvador 9.1%, Sierra Leone 14.2% and Niger 19.4%.

However, to take full advantage of connectivity, the proper support and tools, including devices, learning resources and help with integrating technology into educational settings, are required for teachers and students.

“This is true in low-, middle- and high-income countries and in both urban and rural areas. “The quality and affordability of connectivity are also critical issues that must be addressed.”

Further, hybrid, blended and online options can help democratise access and make high-quality education much more accessible for all.

The spillover effects of school connectivity include enhancing the quality of digital literacy among the populations in developing economies and providing community focal points for life-long learning and development, which directly benefits economic growth by stimulating entrepreneurship and commerce.

While critical, connecting every school in the world to the Internet by 2030 will be a significant undertaking, particularly as there is uncertainty as to how many schools there are in the world and where they are located.

“Collaboration is key. Both government and the private sector need to create holistic strategies to overcome barriers to school connectivity.”

In 2019, Unicef and the International Telecommunication Union launched the Giga initiative in an effort to connect every school in the world to the Internet.

Working initially with 19 countries, Giga maps school connectivity in real time, creates models for innovative financing and supports government contracting for school connectivity.

Giga, in partnership with national governments and other partners, has now mapped one-million schools and their connectivity levels, with insights that will make it possible to aggregate demand and target critical investments in new infrastructure.

Giga is now preparing to launch a $5-billion connectivity bond to finance last-mile infrastructure and catalyse investment.

Information and communication technology giant Ericsson also partnered with Unicef to help tackle the challenge of mapping schools and assessing their connectivity in 35 countries by the end of 2023.