<![CDATA[This article interrogates the persistent inequities in global educational technology (EdTech) deployment, arguing that traditional “access gap” frameworks fail to address the complex architecture of digital exclusion. Through mixed-methods desk research analyzing 140+ scholarly works, institutional reports, and case studies across 15 countries, we identify five interdependent hidden barriers undermining EdTech equity: (1) the affordability mirage of hidden data/repair costs, (2) digital literacy deserts among teachers/students, (3) infrastructure fragility (electricity/ connectivity), (4) cultural-linguistic irrelevance, and (5) policy-governance gaps. Empirically grounded in contexts from Rwanda’s One Laptop Per Child program to India’s DIKSHA platform, findings reveal how these barriers disproportionately exclude marginalized learners, particularly in low-income and remote communities. The study advances a transformative solution framework centered on zero-cost connectivity architectures, situated teacher capacity building, adaptive hybrid infrastructure, decolonized content co-creation, and agile multistakeholder governance. We contend that only by addressing these systemic, human, and socio-technical dimensions can EdTech fulfil its promise as an educational equalizer. Urgent implementation of these evidence-based strategies could prevent an estimated $17 trillion in lost GDP by 2040 while reclaiming the democratic potential of digital learning.]]>
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