Digital Learning Inequality and the Right to Education: An Empirical Analysis of Access, Governance, and Social Justice

Abstract

Digital learning has become an essential component of contemporary education, yet unequal access to digital technologies continues to challenge the realization of the right to education. This research adopts quantitative research paradigm and secondary data with empirical approach, by examining the relationships between digital learning access, educational governance, social justice aspects, and right to education. The method used was a cross-sectional analytical method and statistical analyses were carried out using Python computer. The associations between the study variables and the robustness of the empirical model was assessed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, multiple linear regression, and diagnostic tests. The indicators showed the right to education was the strongest predictor of access to digital learning while educational governance and social justice were the next two indicators in ranking. There were also significant positive effects to be found for internet penetration and public spending on education, while the GDP per capita and urbanization rate had no significant independent effect once the main explanatory variables had been controlled for. Overall, the model accounted for a significant amount of the variation in educational outcomes, underscoring the joint effects of technological accessibility, good governance, and fair educational policies. The study suggests the need for integrated policy interventions to reduce digital learning inequality, which aim to build digital infrastructure, institutional governance, and social justice to support inclusive, resilient, and equitable education systems that can ensure the right to education for all learners.