DEIFDC framework: Evaluation of digital education deployment in India in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

The Digital Education Index for Developing Countries (DEIFDC) is a compound index that considers nine different variables grouped in three main levers that have been researched relevant to assess the overall state of readiness of Digital Education deployment in a developing country. Digital Education has been approached from an instrumental point of view, focusing on the advantages that the introduction at an early stage of digital tools brings to the teaching and learning processes to ensure children can acquire the required 21st competencies of a future workforce. In the application for the Indian case, social, cultural, economic and educational data obtained through desk research during the first semester of 2021 has been taken into consideration. Despite significant Government efforts on scaling up Digital Education, primarily due to the Covid-19 pandemic school closure, the 0.596 DEIFDC score on a 0¿1 possible range has shown Inadequate Digital Education Deployment, derived mainly from poor school infrastructure, limited pedagogical capabilities and modest students¿ skills. Furthermore, the socio-demographic differences observed among school children and the existent digital divide in rural and urban areas demonstrate that major effort needs to be undertaken to ensure vulnerable Indian population does not lag behind under the new rules of the Digital Economy.