Democratizing Digital: Bridging Access, Equity and Empowerment

Gurumurthy Kasinathan, our Director and Lead - Public EdTech, participated in the conference 'Democratizing Digital: Bridging Access, Equity and Empowerment', jointly organized by SRF Foundation, EduBridge Learning, and AADHAAR Society, and supported by Capgemini in New Delhi. The conference brought together voices from across the education, CSR, government, and technology sectors to address the urgent need for digital inclusion—especially for underserved communities. 

In a panel on ‘Every Child, Every Right: Reimagining Equity in Education’, he spoke about the threats to democracy posed by the uncritical implementation of EdTech in schools. He highlighted how such approaches can compromise teacher autonomy and make public education systems dependent on business entities. Drawing attention to growing inequities, he noted that children from affluent backgrounds continue to access well-resourced schools with qualified teachers, while technology is often positioned as a substitute for quality teaching in under-resourced schools, further impoverishing the learning process. He emphasized that strengthening teacher capacity through technology, rather than replacing pedagogical processes, is essential to avail the benefits of EdTech.