In an era
of virtual learning when the internet has an indispensable role in the education
sector, United Nation stated in its report on Tuesday that two-thirds of
school-going children globally have no internet access at their home.

The coronavirus pandemic has confined us to our homes and the internet has become a necessity for school children looking to acquire education. It has been estimated that overall
1.3 billion children under the age group of three to 17 do not have internet
access in their home, stated in the joint report from the United Nations
Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

There is
also unavailability of internet among the youths, with 63 per cent of 15 to 24
years age group people disconnected at home.

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“That so many children and young people have no internet
at home is more than a digital gap, it is a digital canyon,” UNICEF chief
Henrietta Fore warned in a statement.

It is been said that the youths are the future of any country
but what to say when these youth are disconnected from the world on a regular
basis. They had been alienated without any fault of theirs.

This severe digital divide is stopping them to compete in
their country’s economy, said Fore. Lack of internet access is costing the next
generation their futures, she said bluntly.

However, this pandemic is not the sole reason of this digital
divide. This same situation prevailed before the pandemic hit us. Children of
low income families, rural households or the poorest families worldwide are
suffering from years.

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If we also talk about the urban-rural internet disparities we
will find that 60 per cent of children from urban areas do not have internet
access at home while the rural areas figures are 70 per cent children not
having internet access at home.

There is also a difference seen in the access of internet
among girls and boys. Globally, 55 per cent of males and 48 per cent of females
able to access internet in 2019.

This digital divide is a huge challenge for the next
generation that need to be resolved.