Institutionalised Barriers to Digital Ability in India: An Empirical Examination

With the increasing role of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in education, employment and other spheres of life, digital ability is becoming a fundamental necessity. The key challenge for India is the lack of commensurate functional digital ability with the diffusion of ICT. This study examines the role of socio-economic and institutional factors in determining the digital ability by using nationally representative household survey data on Social Consumption on Education in India. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression models are applied, and the probability of digital ability is estimated. The results indicate that the digital abilities of students are largely constrained by the institutional structure. Students attending the government schools and having Hindi or a regional language as the medium of instruction have a significantly lower probability of digital ability. The study concludes with recommendations that to make digital education more inclusive and harness the benefits of ICT, macro-level policies should consider the institutional structure, that is, the type of school and the medium of instruction.