Covid-19: Hong Kong students without electronic devices could be left on wrong side of ‘tsunami-scale’ digital learning divide

Data gathered by HKU last year shows about 10% of city’s students had no electronic device at home, while 40% needed to share. While sharing was not a serious drawback for students in the past school year, the sudden shift to online learning could change that, researcher says. — SCMP

Researchers from the University of Hong Kong (HKU) have warned of a “tsunami-scale” divide in digital learning after a months-long class suspension that about 10% of Hong Kong students could be weathering without any electronic devices at home.

The university study’s findings, released on Tuesday, also found about 40% of more than 2,000 primary and secondary pupils polled said they needed to share electronic devices with their family members, according to data collected during the 2018/19 school year.