Digital Divide Among School Children in Rajasthan: A Qualitative Study of Elite and Public Schools in Jaipur and Alwar

Abstract

While the Digital India Programme has substantially expanded Internet infrastructure across India, its effect on how school children actually experience and use digital technology for learning remains under-researched, particularly the question of whether digital engagement differs qualitatively, and not merely in degree of access, across schools serving different social classes. This paper reports findings from a qualitative field study conducted in Jaipur and Alwar districts of Rajasthan, examining how primary school children across elite private, missionary, community, village public and government schools use the Internet, and how their teachers and parents perceive and mediate that use. Drawing on interviews and classroom observation, the study finds that children's Internet use, the spatial organisation of digital access in school and home, and the language in which digital technology is encountered all vary sharply by school type, reproducing rather than resolving pre-existing social stratification along lines of class, caste and language. The paper concludes with policy implications for Digital India's education-facing initiatives and suggests directions for further research.