Deprived HK kids at losing end as virus widens digital divide

Rich-poor gap 'could widen'

Given that people are more likely to depend on the internet, online learning is becoming a mainstream avenue for learning, said Gary Wong Chi-him, a non-official member of the government's Commission on Children.

If the government and the community cannot provide digital resources for poor families, children from these families will never be at peace with the digital world, he lamented. "The digital divide and the gap between the rich and the poor will widen."

According to a survey by the Census and Statistics Department, nearly 34 percent of Hong Kong households with a monthly income of less than HK$10,000 (US$1,290) have a personal computer at home. For households with a monthly income above HK$50,000, it's 96.5 percent.

Scant digital resources will only compound the poverty of underprivileged families, and the lack of digital know-how among children and parents will widen the wealth gap. The invisible impact of this day-to-day reality has been brought into the full glare of publicity.

But, the impact of the deficiencies will make things worse, Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers President Wong Kwan-yu warned.

With teachers absent, well-educated parents can help their kids with their schoolwork at home. Wealthy families can bring in tutors. "But, the grassroots families cannot provide such abundant resources to their children," he said.

Thus, the homework gap, as well as the gap among schools, will get wider as the long school suspension drags on, Wong observed. Currently, there're few effective ways to relieve the plight of poor students other than to equip them with the digital resources they need, he said.

School closures, followed by online classrooms, have meant chaos for kids whose families can't afford what they need. Maybe, from all this, Gary Wong hopes, some good can emerge — if the government finally accepts that digital access for all children must be guaranteed.