Unpacking the equity of accessing the digital library and educational television channels for primary and secondary school students in Ethiopia

Abstract

This study investigates the equity of access to government e-learning platforms for Ethiopian primary and secondary school pupils. In order to achieve this, secondary data were accessed from the Mini-Demographic and Health Survey (Mini-DHS-2019) and the Planning and Development Commission’s document on Poverty and Economic Growth in Ethiopia. According to the findings, only a small proportion of primary and secondary school students from urban areas and economically privileged families who could afford computer, television, smartphone, and internet access can benefit from the digital library and educational televised programs. Thus, the digital learning program that was intended to increase educational accessibility exacerbated the existing inequities and intensified the pre-existing disparities between economically privileged and economically disadvantaged students and urban and rural resident students. The findings provide grounds for several recommendations on the implementation of e-learning through digital libraries and televised education programs in low-income countries like Ethiopia.

Keywords:

• digital library
• televised education
• access
• equity
• students

1. Introduction

Access to education is a human right, and its equal distribution is critical for poverty alleviation, economic progress, and social cohesion (Cavicchioni & Motivans, 2001; Dibaba & Ramesh, 2017). It is recognized as a critical resource that has a significant impact on later employment, profession, career, and income options, all of which have been shown to have a significant impact on individual quality of life (Müller, 2014). In light of this, education is a top priority for Ethiopian government programs aimed at achieving middle-income status (Ministry of Education, 2015).

Education, as a public good, should be delivered fairly and equitably to all citizens, regardless of background, religion, financial situation, race, age, or gender. Educational equality is comprised of several variables, including (1) access to educational opportunities; (2) differentiated solutions to student’s individual requirements; (3) equalization of outcomes; (4) a minimum level of performance; and (5) the attainment of gaps (Edgar, 2022).

Equality in education entails providing equal learning opportunities to all students regardless of differences in gender, socioeconomic status, family background, and other aspects (Levinson et al., 2022), whereas equity in education entails providing equal educational opportunities to all students while not guaranteeing equal learning outcomes, but the differences in outcomes are not attributed to their socioeconomic background (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2018). In our study, equity entails fair access to the available educational opportunities for primary and secondary school students through the digital educational programs that have been provided by the Ethiopian Ministry of Education.

There is a growing interest in educational equity, which has emerged as a major issue of political, economic, and social importance (Healy & Istance, 2001; Meuret, 2001; Staff, 2008). More specifically, in the 1990s, the issue of educational disparities and the concern for equity in less developed countries became a topic of policy debate as a human rights issue and a poverty reduction strategy that plays a critical role in economic growth and social cohesion (Cavicchioni & Motivans, 2001).

Digital technologies have become increasingly popular in educational settings in recent years. In developing countries, the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education has also received considerable attention (Tolani-Brown et al., 2009). ICT improves education by addressing issues such as a high teacher-student ratio, a lack of teaching resources, and a lack of infrastructure (Bass, 2011).

Although ICT has been shown to promote education by reducing dropout rates and promoting learning (Light, 2009), addressing geographical distance (Rye, 2009), improving educational practices, and enabling access to up-to-date information (Webb & Cox, 2004), the use of digital technology in Africa faces various equality and equity challenges related to internet connectivity, electricity, and other devices necessary for digital learning (Barasa, 2021).

2. Theoretical framework

The concept of equity emerged from the principle of distributive justice, which focuses on the fair allocation of materials and goods (wealth, power, and opportunities) within society (Cochran-Smith, 2009; Espinoza, 2007). According to Ruitenberg and Vokey (2010), there are three approaches to the fair distribution of resources: harmony, equity, and equality. Based on the harmony approach, fairness is achieved when people are treated based on merit or what they deserve (Ruitenberg & Vokey, 2010). According to the equity approach, fairness is achieved when people are treated based on their needs, whereas in the equality approach, fairness is achieved when all people receive the same treatment, regardless of their needs (Ruitenberg & Vokey, 2010).

While proponents of justice as equity take individual differences in talent, learning, and development into account, proponents of the harmony approach contend that people have diverse talents and that education should encourage these different talents (Ruitenberg & Vokey, 2010). As a result, students from underprivileged sociocultural, economic, and political backgrounds have unique educational demands, and meeting those needs will require greater investment (Ruitenberg & Vokey, 2010).

Though people are not the same in terms of talent, background, and expected outcomes, they should be seen and treated through the same lens, as they equally deserve resources and opportunities (Ruitenberg & Vokey, 2010). But equality does not mean that all citizens are given the same chance to be in the same social class, status, or income; it means that everyone has the same opportunity to succeed (Smith, 2018). Because allowing people equality of opportunity ensures they have a place in society (Smith, 2018), Thus, in relation to equality and equity in education, the role of schools should be to provide an equal opportunity for every student by guaranteeing that every student receives schooling and compensating for the influence of various factors such as family background, socio-economic status, and cultural constraints (Smith, 2018).

3. Statement of the problem

The Ethiopian government considers e-learning modalities an important mechanism for providing distant access to a large number of students (Ministry of Education, 2015). Conscient of this, the Government planned to equip schools with the equipment necessary to access satellite television education and e-learning programs (Ministry of Education, 2015). The Ethiopian Educational Media Agency produces educational television programs for various primary and secondary levels of education to integrate pedagogy and technology in the education system through mainstream ICT in core subjects using radio, television, and digital technologies.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Education established digital libraries and uploaded different educational resources to be accessed by primary and secondary school students. The available resources include student textbooks, reference books, revision materials, laboratories, supplementary videos, educational plasma programs, and course syllabi. In 2020, the Ministry of Education and regional education offices launched and broadcasted different educational programs through eight educational television channels.

One of the promising opportunities of digital learning in Ethiopia is its acceptance by key stakeholders (Zelelew et al., 2023). But many challenges have been identified when it comes to implementation. Yigezu (2021) analyzed the practices, challenges, and prospects of digital technology in education in Ethiopia. According to Yigezu (2021), the use of digital technology in schools is challenged by limited infrastructure and a lack of skilled human resources. The other critical challenge to digital learning in Ethiopia is a lack of continuous professional development to build the digital and pedagogical skills of teachers and limited funding for digital technology (Yigezu, 2021). In spite of these challenges, the digital learning and televised educational programs in Ethiopia helped to provide online education during school closures as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Digital learning has become an important issue in Ethiopia, and the government is working to enhance access and quality of education and has been broadcasting instruction on selected primary and secondary school subjects through the Ethiopian Educational Television (Ministry of Education, 2015). However, the issue of equity and equality of educational provision for all students in Ethiopia through the digital platform has not been evaluated. Many of the earlier studies conducted in Ethiopia concentrated on the usage of digital learning in higher education institutions while ignoring its application in primary and secondary education. For instance, Makkonen et al. (2022) investigated the ICT services that were offered on campuses and Universities in Ethiopia, and Ayele and Birhanie (2018) assessed the use of technology and acceptability of e-learning in Ethiopia’s public. Demsash et al. (2023) also discussed the use of digital technology and the aspects that are related to it. Hagos and Negash (2014) examined the adoption of e-learning systems with an emphasis on the perceived value and simplicity of e-learning systems. Other studies examined the degree to which university students were satisfied with e-learning (Aberra & Davids, 2022), the degree to which professors were prepared to teach online (Machaba & Bedada, 2022), and the factors that contributed to effective online learning (Tadesse et al., 2023; Tessema, 2023).

The issue of equality, inclusiveness, and equity of accessing the available digital learning opportunities has not received attention of curriculum experts, policymakers and researchers. The Education Sector Development Program V (Ministry of Education, 2015) places a strong focus on the importance of diversity and inclusion on a larger scale, but it neglects to address the underlying problems with access and equity in the educational system (Schaub, 2018). Thus. the challenges of e-learning related to intensifying pre-existing disparities based on family socioeconomic status, or income in possessing materials required for digital learning and geography (urban versus rural) have been overlooked in Ethiopia. Taking into account the paucity of studies on this matter and the importance of unpacking fairness for the development of digital education, we analyzed equity of access to digital and television broadcast education program for primary and secondary school students based on their residence, family socioeconomic status, and geographic region. To this end, this study aimed to answer the following research questions:

1. Is there equity of accessing educational resources in the digital library and educational television channels among rural and urban students?

2. Is there equity of accessing educational resources in the digital library and educational television channels across different regions of Ethiopia?

3. What proportion of households own electronic devices to access the digital library and educational television channels?

4. Methods

4.1. Research setting

This study was conducted to evaluate equity of accessing education from the digital library and televised educational programs across all the nine regions (Tigray, Afar, Amhara, Oromia, Southern Nation, Nationalities and Peoples (SNNP), Gambella, Benshangul Gumuz, Harari, Somali) and the two city administrations (Addis Ababa and Dire-Dawa) in Ethiopia.

4.2. Research design

This study employed a quantitative research method and a descriptive-evaluative research design to unpack the equity of access to the educational opportunities from the digital library and televised educational programs across place of residence, electronic device ownership, and the different regions of Ethiopia. Evaluative research helps to assess the practices and activities of a program and provides evidence for decision-making (Kellaghan, 2010). This design is preferable to evaluate the equity of access to the educational opportunities from the digital library and televised educational programs.

4.3. Data sources and data collection procedures

We started data collection by searching the internet for a dependable source of information on the distribution of electricity and electronic devices needed for accessing digital learning and televised instructional programs. After that, we assessed the data sources’ legitimacy, relevance, and reliability by considering their goal, data gathering procedures, information consistency, and scope.

We accessed data from two reliable and credible secondary data sources to analyze the equity of accessing the digital library and televised educational programs for primary and secondary school students in Ethiopia. We used secondary data produced and made available by the government of Ethiopia to examine the distribution of electricity and the proportion of households who own electronic devices like televisions, computers, and mobile phones that are required to access the digital library and televised educational programs. Television ownership across the different regions and city administrations of Ethiopia was accessed from the Poverty and Economic Growth document (Planning and Development Commission, 2018).

4.4. Data analysis techniques

Descriptive statistics were used for analyzing quantitative data which was taken from the sources indicated above. The equity of access to additional educational opportunities among rural and urban students and across the different regions was evaluated using the percentages of households who have access to electricity and who own electronic devices that enable access to the digital library and educational television channels.

4.5. Ethical considerations

We gathered publicly available, non-identifiable data from the Poverty and Economic Growth in Ethiopia and the Demographic and Health Survey in Ethiopia. These data sources are openly available for research, academics and policy purpose.

5. Results

We analyzed the equity of accessing educational opportunities from the digital library and educational programs broadcasted through television channels across: 1) Areas of residence (urban versus rural), 2) Socioeconomic status (having versus not having electronic devices to access digital learning), and 3) The regions and city administrations in Ethiopia.

5.1. Possession of electronic devices to access digital library resources and televised educational programs in urban and rural areas

Computers and mobile phones are necessary devices to access various educational resources such as student textbooks, reference books, revision materials, laboratories, additional video, educational plasma programs, and syllabuses from the digital library. Table 1 shows that 67.8% of households in Ethiopia possess mobile phone while 32.2% did not have mobile phone. In terms of the availability of mobile phones in urban and rural part of Ethiopia, the majority (87.4%) of urban families had mobile phones, while only 59.1% of rural households had mobile phones. This suggests that a greater proportion of students who live in urban areas have higher opportunity of accessing the digital library as compared to students in rural areas. Here, it should be noted that that many people especially in rural areas have ordinary phones that are primarily used for voice calling purpose because smart phones are not affordable for many poor rural households. Therefore, students in rural areas are unlikely to own smartphones to access the digital library resources as compared to those students in urban towns and cities.

Table 1. Proportion of households possessing electronic devices to access the digital library and televised educational programs

Electronic devices	Percentage of device ownership within urban household population	Percentage of device ownership within rural household population	Percentage of device ownership among all households in Ethiopia
Mobile phone	87.4	59.1	67.8
Computer	8.7	.4	2.9
Television	47.3	3.3	16.8

Source: Ethiopia Mini-DHS 2019

As indicated in Table 1, only 2.9% of Ethiopian households own a computer. This indicates that 97.1% of Ethiopian households have no computer, and thus pupils from these households do not access digital educational resources through computers. But when we compare computer ownership in urban and rural areas, more proportion of urban households (8.7%) possessed computers than rural households (0.4%). This implies that students in the urban have relatively better opportunity of possessing computers to access the digital library as compared to students in rural areas.

In a similar vein, Table 1 reveals that only 16. 8% of Ethiopian families had televisions to attend televised educational programs. However, when we compare television ownership between urban and rural households, the gap widens significantly. Only 3.3% of the urban households had television, whereas 47.3% of urban households had television.

Overall, there is a large disparity between urban and rural students in possessing electronic devices such as television, computer, and smart mobile phone to access the digital library, suggesting unequal access to educational resources that benefits urban students over rural students. In addition, there is no internet connection or a very weak one in rural areas as compared to urban areas. Therefore, of the required devices in both rural and urban areas should be available before implementing digital learning in low resource countries like Ethiopia.

5.2. Electricity distribution in rural and urban areas and opportunity of accessing to the digital library and educational television channels

As demonstrated in Table 2, only 35% of Ethiopians have access to electricity. When we compare the distribution of electricity in urban and rural areas, 82.9% of households in urban areas have access to electricity, whereas only 13.7% of rural residents have access to electricity. This indicates that the majority of students who live in towns and cities have the opportunity of accessing electricity to access the digital library resources and televised educational programs by using their electronic devices like television, computer, and smart mobile phone. On the other hand, only a very small proportion of students from rural areas had access to electricity which is necessary to use the aforementioned electronic devices to benefit from the digital library resources and televised educational programs.

Table 2. Proportion of households accessing electricity in urban and rural areas

Access to electricity	Percentage with in urban area	Percentage with in rural area	Percentage at country level
Yes	82.9	13.7	35.0
No	17.1	86.3	65.0
Total	100	100	100

Source: Ethiopia Mini-DHS, 2019

Thus, this uneven distribution of electricity in rural and urban areas exacerbates the existing disparity of educational opportunity for rural and urban students.

5.3. Proportion of television ownership to access televised educational programs across regions and city administrations

As shown in Table 3, only very small proportion of households in Amhara (9.4%), Oromia (11.5%), and South Nations Nationalities and Peoples (10.4%) regions possess television where a large number of students enroll and attend primary and secondary education. On the other hand, large proportion of households in Addis Ababa (81.7%), Dire-Dawa (52%), and Harari (59%) regions own television where we find small number of students as compared to the Amhara and Oromia and South Nations Nationalities and Peoples regions.

Table 3. Proportion of television ownership across regions of Ethiopia

Regions	Percentage of television owners
Tigray	2.7
Afar	18.0
Amhara	9.4
Oromia	11.5
Somali	5.0
Southern Nation, Nationalities and Peoples (SNNP)	1.4
Benishangul-Gumuz	7.4
Gambella	16.6
Harari	59.0
Addis Ababa	81.7
Dire Dawa	52.0
National	14.5

Source: Planning and Development Commission (2018).

In summary, the digital education platform should consider the resources available to all Ethiopian students to allow for equal and equitable access. Because rural areas in Ethiopia are underserved in terms of electricity, internet, television, computers, smart mobile phones, and other devices for accessing digital learning resources.

6. Discussion

The access rate to electricity in rural Africa is substantially lower (25%), and the overall number of people without power has increased in recent decades as population growth has outpaced electrification growth (Blimpo & Cosgrove-Davies, 2019). Lack of access to energy limits the adoption of new technology in a variety of industries, including education (Blimpo & Cosgrove-Davies, 2019). Ethiopia has adopted the use of ICT in education and acknowledged ICT as one of the measures to increase access to education (Yigezu, 2021). Despite this, our study indicated that urban-based and economically privileged students possess television, computers, and telephones and thereby have advantage over the majority of rural and economically disadvantaged students in accessing the digital library. Our analysis also revealed that almost all rural students in Ethiopia have no access to televised education because of lack of electricity and absence of television. This shows that rural students as a group were disadvantaged from accessing education through e-learning and digital libraries, impeding the opportunity of accessing a variety of digital educational resources. Similarly, Belay (2020) found inequality between urban and rural students that put urban students in advantageous position in accessing television and online education programs during school closure in Ethiopia as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.

Although every person in Ethiopia has the right to access basic social services like health and education, living in a particular area increases the likelihood that one may watch television broadcast instructions. Even though all students from all regions must compete for higher education, students in Addis Abeba and Dire-Dawa had an advantage to access educational television programs.

Previous studies also emphasized the importance of providing equal educational access opportunity irrespective their gender (Acai et al., 2022; Perez-Felkner et al., 2020) and ethnicity (Diem & Sampson, 2023). In contrast, the digital platforms designed by Ministry of Education of Ethiopia mostly benefited students residing in urban areas where electricity is available and those who are economically privileged enough to own devices (computer, smart phone and telephone). However, based on the principle of equity, students from rural areas, poor families, and regions with poor infrastructure should be provided with additional resources to attain their maximum social, intellectual, and cultural development (Jurado de Los Santos et al., 2020). Because, disadvantaged students need additional resources to succeed in learning and development (Ruitenberg & Vokey, 2010).

The Ethiopian Education Sector Development Program VI (Ministry of Education, 2021) underscored the importance of fair sharing of the available educational resources. However, our study revealed that the digital learning platform created by the Ministry of Education favors economically privileged students who have better access to electricity and who possess materials and devices such as computers, smartphones, and television. This could widen the already-existing socioeconomic gaps in education inequality and distribution that were reported in the Education Sector Development Program V (Ministry of Education, 2015).

7. Conclusions

Our analysis indicated unfairness access to the digital library and televised educational across socio-economic conditions, living residence and different regions of Ethiopia. A very small proportion of primary and secondary school students can access the television broadcast programs and the online learning resources (e.g. textbooks, reference books, revision materials, laboratories, supplementary videos, educational plasma programs, and course syllabi) uploaded in the digital library. This implies that the digital library and the televised educational programs are benefiting students from economically privileged families who possess television, computer, and smart phone.

Our study shows unfair distribution of digital learning resources in Ethiopia. Since almost all rural households in Ethiopia have no access to electricity, students from rural areas cannot use computers and television to attend televised educational programs online digital learning resources. The digital learning technology is benefiting students in urban areas where electricity is available. But it did not consider the vast majority of rural students who have no access to electricity that hinder to benefit from the digital library and televised educational programs. Paradoxically, the digital library and televised educational programs in Ethiopia supplement urban students who have more opportunity for ICT as compared to rural students.

Our study further showed disparity across the different regions of Ethiopia in possessing television that enable to attend televised educational programs. Higher proportion of households in Addis Ababa, Dire-Dawa, and Harari own television as compared to other regions (e.g., Amhara, Amhara, and SNNP) where large number of students attend education.

We carefully analyzed and interpreted secondary data sources to evaluate and provide insight on fairness of accessing the digital learning and televised educational programs based on socioeconomic status (ownership of devices and materials), living residence (rural and urban) and across regions and city administrations in Ethiopia. However, we did not directly collect information from primary data sources like students, parents, and teachers. Thus, further research is needed to rigorously unpack equity and equality of digital and broadcast educational opportunities across the different educational levels (primary, secondary, and tertiary levels) by collecting both primary and secondary data.

8. Recommendations

Our analysis indicated inequitable opportunities to digital learning and televised education to primary and secondary school students in Ethiopia due to economic problems to possess devices (television, computer, and smart phone), and inaccessibility of electricity in rural areas. This exacerbates existing inequalities to education opportunities. Thus, low-income countries like Ethiopia should plan and implement equity-based digital learning platform to access digital and televised education opportunities through addressing economic and social barriers to reduce disparity in academic outcomes due to place of residence, and economic conditions. This implies that governments of low-income countries should first expand education infrastructures such as electricity and internet connection in both rural and urban areas to ensure equal access and equity of digital and televised education for all students.

We in particular recommend the Ethiopian Ministry of Education to create digital learning opportunity that ensure equality and equity in accessing the digital library resources and television broadcasted education programs so that every student can benefit, irrespective of residence and economic level.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Julie Robinson at Flinders University, Australia and Angela Coderre-Ball at Queen’s University, Canada for their support and constructive comments for this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The authors received no funding for this research.