A new report has found that connecting schools to the Internet in countries with low broadband connectivity can potentially increase gross domestic product (GDP) by up to 20%.

The Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU’s) new report, ‘Connecting Learners: Narrowing the Educational Divide’, shows how school connectivity can lead to improved educational outcomes and enhanced career opportunities for children, with individual-level benefits for children having a snowball effect leading to higher incomes, better health and improved overall wellbeing.

The benefits can extend beyond children, with the spillover effects including a well- educated and skilled workforce that is more likely to be innovative and foster ground- breaking ideas, supporting wider community development, economic growth and job creation.

The report shows that for every 10% increase in school connectivity in a country, GDP per capita could increase by 1.1%.

In one analysis, the report found that in Niger, in West Africa, improving school connectivity to match that of the school connectivity levels of Rwanda, which has the highest school connectivity level among developing countries, and Finland, with the highest school connectivity level globally, could increase GDP per capita by almost 20%, from $550 per person in the baseline to $660 per person by 2025.

The report shows that, in developed countries, the challenge is less about access to connectivity in schools, but rather the quality of connectivity, citing a US example where 99% of schools are connected to fibre infrastructure to access the Internet; however, the speed of the connection varies substantially across states.

In this case, improving the bandwidth per student across states could increase national GDP by between 0.4% and 5.5%.

“In the last few decades, amid the widespread adoption of digital devices, including laptops and mobile phones, the promise held by digital connectivity for school-age children has become increasingly evident,” EIU outlines.

Access to the Internet, supplemented by measures that enable the effective use of the connectivity, such as access to devices, the availability of relevant content and the provision of support and tools to teachers and students to effectively integrate technology into educational practice, has played a significant role in boosting the quality of education by enabling access to a wealth of resources and opening up new forms of learning, such as adaptive learning platforms.

Internet connectivity can offer access to learning material and resources to students regardless of geographic location and allow access for teachers to the assessment tools that can help identify student performance and pedagogical needs to tailor teaching approaches.

For policymakers, the Internet offers a way to obtain real-time information on the effectiveness of policies, enabling more agile policymaking through, for example, more sophisticated education management information systems.

EIU further highlights that countries with higher levels of Internet connectivity in schools also tend to have higher average student performance levels on standardised tests.

“Expanding access to the Internet in schools and embedding the use of technology in educational practices could equalise opportunities for students from an early age, with benefits that proliferate through childhood and adulthood.”

Beyond the long-run economic gains derived through education improvements, school connectivity also enables community development, thereby generating additional impacts on and enabling local entrepreneurship, providing access to online banking, improving information channels during emergencies or pandemics and opening doors for employment through digital platforms and the gig economy.

“Schools are not only places where children learn, but are also often community hubs where people vote, where public resources, including vaccines, are administered and where people shelter during natural disasters, among other uses.”

“It is through this lens that school connectivity becomes an important focus for achieving broader social and economic goals in communities on a global scale,” the report points out.

The report suggests four key actions for connectivity acceleration, including collaboration, with a holistic, public–private partnership strategy needed to coordinate efforts with stakeholders to overcome barriers to school connectivity.

Accessibility, quality and affordability is also critical, and there is a need to embed Internet and digital tools into education.

“Once access to school connectivity is achieved, it must be embedded into the curriculum. Teachers must be trained to integrate technology into everyday learning.”

Further, additional steps must be taken to ensure protected online learning environments, with Internet use properly managed to ensure safe and secure application.

The report recommends that public, private and nongovernmental organisation (NGO) sector leaders around the world join forces to make Internet connectivity a global reality for schoolchildren of all ages, which can make a dramatic impact on bridging the digital divide.

In line with this, information and communication technology giant Ericsson, which sponsored the study, appeals to stakeholders to get involved with school connectivity initiative Giga, which was founded by the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef) and the International Telecommunication Union.

Giga aims to connect all schools and their surrounding communities by 2030.

Ericsson has a three-year partnership with Unicef to help map the current school connectivity gap across 35 countries.

“The report makes it clear that partnership between business leaders, public sector leaders and NGOs can take effective action to address this issue and significantly impact lives. Every player in these sectors, no matter how big or small, can make a difference. We encourage stakeholders to read the report and more importantly join the Giga initiative to help realise this important goal,” says Ericsson sustainability and corporate responsibility VP Heather Johnson.