Digital connectivity has become essential for learning in the 21st century, yet 2.6 billion people (32% of the global population) still lack internet access, with a disproportionate number of the unconnected living in rural areas. Many of these offline individuals are children and youth. In fact, roughly two-thirds of school-age children worldwide (around 1.3 billion) do not have internet access at home. This connectivity gap severely limits early learners’ educational opportunities. Being digitally connected is now necessary to participate in society and access crucial services like remote education, digital libraries, and online learning tools. When young students cannot get online, they are effectively shut out from a growing portion of modern educational content and support.

The lack of internet access hits rural, remote, and low-income regions hardest. UNESCO reports that 1.8 billion of the people offline live in rural areas, reflecting infrastructure and affordability challenges in those communities. Schools in these areas often remain unconnected: 60% of primary schools globally are not connected to the internet. This means teachers and students in thousands of communities cannot utilize live online lessons, educational videos, or interactive apps in the classroom. At home, the situation can be just as dire, during the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly one-third of students worldwide (at least 463 million children) could not access remote learning when schools closed, mainly due to lack of connectivity and devices. Tellingly, almost half of those unreached students (217 million) were in primary school, highlighting how the youngest learners often have the least access to digital resources. For these children, the “homework gap”, the inability to do schoolwork at home for lack of internet, is an everyday reality, not just a pandemic-era problem.

The consequences of this digital divide in early education are far-reaching. Young students without internet miss out on rich multimedia learning experiences that their connected peers take for granted, from engaging literacy apps and math games to virtual science demonstrations. They may fall behind simply because they cannot log in to a remote class or access supplemental practice materials. Over time, this can widen achievement gaps. As UNESCO’s Director-General Audrey Azoulay observed, digital learning should be a tool for inclusion, not one that widens divides. Yet without proactive measures, lack of connectivity threatens to deepen educational inequality for the next generation.

Learning Without Internet: Barriers and Creative Solutions

Ensuring learning continuity for students beyond the internet requires new strategies and tools. Educators and organizations worldwide have been adopting offline-compatible platforms and low-tech innovations to reach children who can’t reliably get online. These range from downloadable digital content that works offline, to broadcasting lessons over radio, to leveraging basic mobile phones for education. The goal is to make sure that a child’s education doesn’t halt just because the Wi-Fi is out, or nonexistent.

Offline learning tools and platforms have matured rapidly to fill this gap. One example is UNESCO’s partnership with UNICEF and others to promote offline-first educational software. In Uganda, for instance, the open-source Kolibri platform provides an entire digital library of lessons and exercises aligned to the national curriculum, all accessible without a steady internet connection. Kolibri centers have been set up in rural Ugandan schools and refugee settlements, where students can engage with interactive math and reading content on tablets or PCs entirely offline. The platform’s offline functionality and device-flexibility make it particularly valuable in hard-to-reach communities. Teachers are trained to use its coach dashboards to monitor progress even when connectivity is sparse. This kind of offline-first e-learning platform ensures children in remote areas can benefit from digital curricula comparable to those online.

“Benishangul Gumuz – Education” by UNICEF Ethiopia, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

UNICEF’s Learning Passport is another powerful example. Developed with Microsoft, it was designed to deliver education in countries where schooling is disrupted, even if internet access is limited. The Learning Passport platform can be installed locally with pre-loaded content. In Sudan, where conflict and poor infrastructure impede connectivity, the government and UNICEF have set up touchscreen kiosks loaded with Learning Passport materials in public places like markets and mosques. This way, children without home internet can still access interactive lessons and textbooks in their community. As of 2024, the Learning Passport operates in over 29 countries, offering offline digital education programs for displaced and out-of-school children. Such initiatives illustrate how downloadable curricula and local hubs can bypass the internet barrier, bringing quality learning to kids wherever they are.

During the COVID-19 crisis, many countries also rolled out “low-tech” remote learning solutions to reach offline students. Governments and NGOs turned to television, radio, and SMS to broadcast lessons or distribute materials. For example, educational radio programs were scaled up across much of sub-Saharan Africa (reaching families with no internet or computer), and TV classroom broadcasts were aired in many regions. In one innovative approach, Portugal delivered printed worksheets by postal mail to students lacking online access. Meanwhile, Kenya deployed SMS-based learning programs to help children in areas with only basic mobile service stay engaged with schoolwork. These measures underscore a key lesson: education technology doesn’t have to be high-tech to be effective. Sometimes, a simple text-message quiz or paper packet of lessons can keep a child’s mind active when broadband is out of reach. The UNESCO Global Education Coalition, launched in 2020, brought together partners from tech firms to telecom providers (like Microsoft, GSMA, and others) to support such accessible learning solutions, whether high, low, or no-tech. The coalition’s work, and various national programs, showed that pragmatism and local innovation can ensure “learning never stops”, even for the most marginalized learners.

Mobile-First Curriculum: Reaching Students on Basic Devices

One reason the digital divide persists is that in many low-income communities, mobile phones are far more common than computers or broadband. Recognizing this, educators are increasingly designing mobile-first curricula that can be delivered via cell networks and inexpensive devices. Mobile-first education means optimizing content for small screens and low data usage, or even enabling coursework through SMS and voice calls. These approaches are crucial for extending learning to families that may only have a basic phone or an occasional cellular signal.

Several NGOs and social enterprises have pioneered mobile-based learning for early grades. In Kenya and other African countries, SMS tutoring services have helped fill learning gaps. For instance, an SMS program can send daily reading comprehension questions or math problems to a student’s phone. The student replies with answers via text and receives feedback, all without any internet needed. UNESCO noted that text-message learning initiatives in Kenya have been effective in regions with limited internet access. Similarly, simple phone call hotlines have been used to connect teachers with students for tutoring in real time. During the pandemic, the United Arab Emirates even launched a telephone hotline for teachers and students to get technical support with remote learning issues, an example of leveraging basic telecom to support education.

Mobile-first also means creating apps that work offline or with very low bandwidth. Educational apps targeting developing regions now commonly include an offline mode: users can download lessons when they have a connection (for example, at a community center or school) and then use the interactive content later without internet. This was the case with some Khan Academy deployments and other learning apps in places like India. Local caching of content and lightweight file sizes make it feasible for students to watch educational videos or complete exercises on a tablet or smartphone entirely offline. The AHS Education platform (discussed below) follows this model, offering a complementary mobile app that allows lessons to run offline, acknowledging that continuous broadband is not guaranteed for many users. In short, by meeting learners where they are, often on a basic phone, with sporadic connectivity, mobile-first solutions are expanding the reach of early education. They transform the ubiquitous cellphone into a vehicle for literacy, numeracy, and beyond.

Bridging the Gap with Offline-Capable Platforms: The Example of AHS Education

As the world strives to close the connectivity gap, innovative educational platforms are emerging as a bridge between online and offline learning. One such platform is AHS Education, a not-for-profit e-learning initiative designed to deliver a full Grades 1–5 curriculum to any child, with or without internet access. AHS (Accelerated High School) exemplifies the “education without boundaries” approach, aiming to break down financial, social, and geographic barriers so that every young learner can access quality curriculum anywhere.

What makes AHS stand out is its offline compatibility and comprehensive content. The platform provides interactive, cartoon-based video lessons in core subjects (math, English, science, social studies, computer science, arts, etc.), each followed by built-in quizzes and practice questions to reinforce learning. Uniquely, it also offers downloadable, printable worksheets for every lesson, ensuring that students can practice skills offline on paper if needed. All of these resources are aligned to U.S. state standards for curriculum quality. Importantly, AHS is built to work both online and offline: students or teachers can preload the video modules and quizzes when they have a connection, and then continue using the materials offline without disruption. According to the platform’s developers, AHS “ensures students in regions with limited or no internet access can learn through offline-accessible tools” via its website and app. In practical terms, a school in a remote village could use AHS by downloading content to a local server or devices when internet is available (even infrequently), and children can then proceed with lessons in an offline classroom setting.

The AHS model is designed not to replace teachers, but to empower educators, parents, and nonprofits in low-resource settings. For teachers and tutors, AHS provides ready-made lesson plans, a Teaching Management System (TMS) for organizing classes, and dashboards to track each student’s progress. This means even in an offline environment, an educator can monitor quiz results and adjust instruction accordingly once they sync the device or when periodic connectivity allows. For parents and homeschoolers, AHS offers a complete toolkit, from animated lessons to 1000+ downloadable worksheets, making it easier to facilitate learning at home. And for nonprofit organizations working in underserved communities, AHS opens the door to a full elementary curriculum without the heavy cost of textbooks or the need for constant internet. One of AHS’s core missions is “Education Without Boundaries,” and it delivers on this by enabling a child in a rural or low-income area to receive the same high-quality lessons that an online student would. As a parent observed, AHS’s bite-sized, gamified lessons “keep kids motivated and excited to learn”, a crucial factor for young learners, while the structured curriculum ensures they stay on track academically.

Crucially, platforms like AHS illustrate a practical bridge between connectivity and inclusion. They leverage technology to deliver content in both online and offline modes, so learning can continue uninterrupted regardless of infrastructure. In the words of one AHS program description, education should “know no limits, breaking barriers to reach students everywhere”. By providing schools and families with downloadable lessons, offline quizzes, and print-friendly materials, AHS and similar solutions ensure that an inconsistent internet connection doesn’t result in an inconsistent education. This is especially empowering for community schools or refugee camps that might have only intermittent connectivity, they can still implement a modern e-learning curriculum for early grades, with or without the web. As a result, teachers can teach and children can learn anywhere, closing the gap between connected and unconnected classrooms.

Toward an Inclusive Digital Future

Global institutions are increasingly recognizing that bridging the digital divide in education is a top priority for the coming years. UNESCO has highlighted that digital transformation in schooling must focus on equity and inclusion, not just innovation for its own sake. “Digital learning must be a tool for inclusion, not for widening divides,” UNESCO emphasizes, calling on policymakers to prioritize equitable access and support locally driven innovations. This means continued investment in connecting schools (e.g. initiatives to bring broadband to every school by 2030) and parallel investment in offline-capable solutions for the millions of students who cannot wait for full connectivity. The World Bank, too, notes that closing the digital gap is essential for everyone to participate in the modern world, and has convened global summits to accelerate action with 2.6 billion people still offline, the challenge remains pressing.

The good news is that a combination of policy effort and technological creativity is addressing this challenge. From solar-powered offline servers in remote villages, to cheap downloadable course packs on USB drives, to mobile-phone based tutoring networks, the toolbox for digital inclusion is growing. Countries are sharing best practices: for example, China’s provision of devices and subsidized data plans for low-income students, or Italy’s funding to improve connectivity in isolated areas, offer models that others can adapt. Nonprofits and startups continue to develop “offline-first” educational content that can sync when possible but function even when offline. And as platforms like AHS Education demonstrate, the gap between an online learner and an offline learner is narrowing: with the right platform, both can have access to engaging videos, quizzes, and curriculum-aligned material, regardless of internet status.

In early education especially, these efforts are vital. The foundation a child builds in Grades 1–5 will shape their future learning. We cannot allow lack of internet access to stunt a child’s development of literacy or numeracy in these critical years. By ensuring that every child can keep learning, online or offline, we move closer to the ideal of universal education. As we head into 2025, the global community’s commitment to closing the digital divide is stronger than ever. The solutions on the ground, from offline learning apps to mobile-first curricula, are empowering teachers and learners beyond the internet. With continued innovation and support, we can truly achieve “education without boundaries” for the next generation.

Learn more about AHS Education and sign up for FREE today: AHSEdu.org/about-ahs