How to Reduce the Digital Divide in School Education

Alexey S. Tishchenko – Senior Researcher of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Candidate of Economic Sciences (Moscow, Russia). E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Galina S. Tokareva – Researcher of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (Moscow, Russia). E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

In order to combat the spread of coronavirus infection, the educational process in schools is periodically carried out remotely using online platforms and electronic educational resources. Despite the set of measures taken, the education system faced significant difficulties in transferring the educational process to a remote mode. To a lesser extent, rural educational organizations turned out to be ready for distance learning; there was regional differentiation in terms of access to broadband Internet, the availability of computers and their use for educational purposes. The issues of organizing online learning, including ensuring equal opportunities in access to digital educational infrastructure, remain relevant.

The article was written on the basis of the RANEPA state assignment research programme.

Key words: school education, distance learning, digital divide.

JEL-codes: I21, I24.