Slides presented at the Education Forum Policy Dialogue (#20) on Education Post-Pandemic on Saturday, 26 March 2022
LIRNEasia recently participated at Education Forum Sri Lanka’s Policy Dialogue on Education Post-Pandemic (#20) held on Saturday, 26 March 2022. I drew on our 2021 nationally-representative survey to discuss students’ access to technology and education during early pandemic-induced school closures. We found that only 63% of students enrolled in primary and secondary education had access to online education in Sri Lanka. Online education could range from students participating online real time classes through applications such as Zoom, Google Meet or Teams, or getting notes/activities from WhatsApp groups. Impact of exams on access Our survey showed that students due to sit for Advanced Level and Scholarship examinations were most likely to have studied online.
There was a time when Mira Lira wasn’t able to run her online business effectively out of this former mining town 60 miles east of Phoenix. Not on a dial-up connection. “I use the Internet daily for e-mail and marketing,” Lira said. But today Lira is enjoying broadband Internet access as she provides virtual administrative help for offices around the country through Miracle Executive Services. The relief came in the form of small white boxes with tiny antennas atop homes, the school, even a light pole at the baseball field.