The Coronavirus Effect On Pakistan’s Digital Divide

Five days a week, 12-year-old Khairunnisa Hussain logs into a 0900 Zoom conference with her classmates and head teacher, and then for the next four hours works quietly by herself on downloadable maths, science and French worksheets. Last month, an art assignment required replicating images of Damien Hirst’s butterfly paintings sent via email. On Tuesdays, the PE teacher shares links of yoga videos for the students to practice.

In Pakistan, where over 300,000 schools have been closed since March due to the coronavirus outbreak, the students at Hussain’s private school in Lahore are the lucky ones, able to continue learning through digital platforms and applications. But for millions of other Pakistani students, the fundamentals of connected life – smartphones and the internet – remain out of reach…………………………………………