Digital divide enhances school drop-outs and child labour

Without adequate interventions, on-line learning emphasis may further enhance educational inequalities causing increased child labour during hard times of COVID-19 pandemic: Special on World Day Against Child Labour

It is evident that education works as deterrent to child labour as well as 'builds peace, eradicates poverty and drives sustainable development', as UN puts it. However, with right to education being an Act in many countries and access to education

has got enhanced but quality has matched up to quantity.

Further, emergent challenges caused by crisis situations and emergencies make education and health care exclusive and agenda for equity and inclusion suffer further setback.

UNESCO has been entrusted to 'lead the Global Education 2030 Agenda through Sustainable Development Goal 4' of the United Nations with a 'roadmap to achieve this is the Education 2030 Framework for Action (FFA).'

However, the education systems in most countries are in jeopardy due the contemporary global challenge of COVID-19 pandemic crisis and on-line education is being advocated without adequate digital infrastructure and teacher preparedness.

In most developing and underdeveloped nations, the following disparities exist

-Up to 15% homes have computers, smartphones, tablets, laptops and internet links besides lack of availability of electricity

- There is huge rural and urban disparity in digital world making education further exclusive

-With schools being closed due to mandatory physical and social distancing, the acute lack of digital infrastructure and on-line teaching-and-learning skills children are facing emergent unprecedented challenges affecting their cognitive development as well as physical and mental health

In short, the current situation is further intensifying educational inequalities among learners with children dropping out in rural areas since digital on-line education has shifted the onus of learning on children and their families since most rural teachers, estimated over 80% government teachers are untrained in educational technology and handing digital learning material effectively. This would make more rural children drop-out of school education and getting pushed into labour market.