Digital Divide: Real or Artificial? Cause or Symptom?

Dale Wen, Ph.D.

Digital Divide

• Definition: the gap that exists between those who have and those who do not have access to modern communication technology (telephones, computers, Internet) and related services.

• “Narrowing the digital divide” as a way of combating poverty.

Grassroots NGOs engaged in China’s rural education

• Overseas China Education Foundation(www.ocef.org)

• Enlightenment Education Project (www.2ep.org)

• Evergreen Education Foundation (www.evergreeneducation.org)

Overview: Problems with Rural Education

• Misallocation of limited resources.

• Information delivered by the school system is not helpful for rural development.

Misallocation of limited resource

Example 1: A father bought a cell phone instead of sending his kid to elementary school. ($300-$500 for the phone vs. $40/year tuition.)

The kind of mud house of such families.

Example 2: Expensive auditorium instead of scholarship for poor students.

These students depend on $120 annual scholarship from a USfoundation to continue college.

Example 3: A model digital high school in Hunan.

Cost of renovation: $10 millionAnnul educational budget for the whole county: $1 millionTuition hike: from $120 to $600Local annul cash income: around $120

In contrast: A local residence

Example 4: Government mandate.

• In Jiangsu province, all high schools are required to have at least 1/3 classrooms computerized.– Cost of one computer: about the annul salary of

an entry level teacher.– Typical class size : 50-60 students, can reach

90.– Many computers are sitting idle due to lack of

technical support.

Example 5: Investment bias by international development agencies.

An empty highway financed by World Bank.• Available: Billions of dollars for infrastructure (big dams, highways, information superhighways etc.).

• Not available: money to educate illiterate women or put all girls into school.

–Cost to teach an illiterate women how to read and write: $35.–60 million illiterate women in China

• Annual return of women’s education: 20% as estimated by World Bank researcher Lawrence Summers

Information delivered by the school system is not helpful for

rural development.

What is taught and being tested now?

Example: two questions from 2002 college entrance exam:

1. Frankfurt is Germany’s

A. Most populated city

B. Biggest harbor city

C. Biggest airport hub

D. Biggest high-tech center

2. Which of the following countries belong to the European Union, is next to North sea and Baltic sea, and is not using Euro?

A. Sweden B. Germany C. Denmark D. Poland

What is taught for high school computer classes?

• Step by step instructions about how to use certain obscure softwares(personal preferences or interest by textbook editors).

What is NOT taught?

• Community related issues—3 out of 4 students did not know how many chickens and ducks their families kept.

• Appropriate technologies like biogas chambers

--Construction cost for a rural family unit: $400

--Annual return

fuel: $40

organic fertilizer: $80

Traditional knowledge being wiped out

• “If you cut down too many trees, the mountain god would be angry and give you floods”.– Traditional knowledge and wisdom like this is

considered stupid superstition and being actively wiped out by the education system.

• The situation is comparatively better in some “backwards” minority areas, like many Tibetans still keep their “holy mountain, holy lake” concept.

Bias and misinformation

• Most educational materials imply that – the only way to a better life is to industrialize, to

modernize.

– Everything urban is progressive and desirable, while everything rural is backwards and despicable.

• But, can western industrialization process be copied? Is western life style scalable and sustainable?

– NO! Because of resource and environment limit.

Living planet report 2002--by WWF,UNEP, Redefining Progress

1999 data Population (millions)

Biocapacity (global ha/person)

Ecological footprint

(global ha/person)

Overuse(%)

World 5979.7 1.90 2.28 20%

High income countries

906.5 3.55 6.48 83%

Middle income countries

2941.0 1.89 1.99 5.3%

Low income countries

2114.2 0.95 0.83 -13%

USA 280.4 5.27 9.70 84%

China 1272.0 1.04 1.54 48%

Conclusion

Digital divide is NOT the bottleneck.

• By focusing on technology only, resources may be diverted from more important things like women’s education.

• By neglecting the content, better technology would only help spread bias and misinformation more effectively, instead of teaching people what they really need.