One of the greatest absurdities of the contemporary world is that, in many parts of the world, it is easier to find 4G coverage than a well‑resourced school. While millions of children attend classes in classrooms without roofs, desks or teachers, almost all their homes—however precarious—have at least one mobile phone. The paradox is brutal: the device used for sending memes and making transfers via WhatsApp is also the key to access a possible form of learning. Not ideal, not complete, but real.
According to the UNICEF publication Superstar Teacher Toolbox, 67 % of the poorest households in low‑ and middle‑income countries have a mobile phone, compared with only 25 % that have a radio or television. Meanwhile, according to data from ITU and UNESCO, only 40 % of primary schools worldwide are connected to the internet. Despite these shortcomings, 95 % of the global population lives in areas covered by 3G networks, and 88 % by 4G. Furthermore, there are more mobile subscriptions (108 per 100 people) than people. That is our reality: the classroom is disconnected, but the pocket resonates.
This article, based on UNICEF’s findings and guidance, analyses the role of mobile messaging as a tool to reduce educational inequalities. Not as a substitute for a comprehensive education, but as a realistic, scalable and urgent response to the challenge of guaranteeing the right to learn.
The inclusive potential of mobile messaging
The recent history of education in the Global South could be told through text messages. While major platforms grab attention and budget, it is the humblest channels (SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram) that have upheld the thread of the right to learn.
In many low‑ and middle‑income countries, the statistics are sobering: only one quarter of the poorest households have access to a television, and just a handful have an internet connection. But mobile phones, even the most basic ones, are everywhere. According to UNICEF, 67 % of households in poverty have at least one mobile phone. Often, that shared device is the only bridge to the world. And that bridge vibrates, rings—and sometimes teaches.
Mobile messaging offers several pedagogical virtues that few technologies can match. It is accessible, because mobiles are present in almost every household; it is portable—it fits in a pocket—and it is cheap. Its use does not require major infrastructure or million‑dollar investments: you simply need to know how to send and receive a message. Even without the internet, the possibilities are real: SMS, voice messages or downloads from community hotspots enable tasks, content, reminders—even assessments. A virtual classroom in 160 characters.
There are cases that illustrate this potential. In Indonesia, during the pandemic school closures, the Ministry of Education found that 70 % of primary school students were receiving lessons via WhatsApp groups. It was not the official or most expected channel, but it was the one that worked. By contrast, fewer than 0.1 % accessed official online school platforms.
Learning beyond the classroom
One of mobile messaging’s most powerful virtues is its ability to transcend the physical and temporal limits of the classroom. Unlike traditional in‑person classes, constrained by fixed schedules and specific spaces, messages arrive when they can, are read when one wants, and are answered when one can. Time ceases to be a straitjacket and becomes a flexible resource. Asynchronous learning is not only a technical option; in many contexts, it is the only viable way to teach and learn.
During the pandemic, when formal education stalled across the globe, mobile messaging kept millions of pedagogical ties alive. Teachers sent audio messages with explanations, assignments via WhatsApp, reminders by SMS, messages of encouragement. It was not the optimal way to educate, of course—but it was what was available. And in contexts of emergency (displacement, conflict, natural disasters), that minimal possibility is often the only one standing.
Moreover, messaging has a side effect of enormous value: it involves families. When the phone belongs not to the child, but to the parent or caregiver, educational content inevitably passes through them. That mediation not only facilitates access but also creates a unique opportunity to engage the family environment in the learning process. In rural areas of Nepal, refugee camps in Myanmar and marginalised neighbourhoods in Latin America, mothers who never attended school have helped their children work on tasks sent via voice message. Parents who cannot read letters themselves have read an emoji or simple prompt together with their children.
Messaging has also proven to be an effective tool for informal education, academic reinforcement and remedial education. It can accompany learning outside the formal curriculum, support students with specific difficulties or help those who have interrupted their educational trajectory to catch up. In several countries, many community-based programmes use WhatsApp to send educational capsules to young people who work during the day or to children who have dropped out of school. The logic is clear: if you cannot bring the student to school, bring the school to the student.
In Kenya, the M‑Shule programme—combining artificial intelligence, SMS and WhatsApp—offers personalised micro‑courses to students in urban and rural areas, in multiple local languages. The platform has demonstrated real improvements in basic skills such as literacy and numeracy, reaching young entrepreneurs with minimal resources. What is the secret? Effective pedagogy within the reach of a message.
Mobile messaging offers several pedagogical virtues that few technologies can match. It is accessible, because mobiles are present in almost every household; it is portable—it fits in a pocket—and it is cheap.
Why it is a tool for equity
In education, equity is not giving the same to all, but ensuring that each student receives what they need to learn. Under that logic, mobile messaging is not just a functional tool; it is profoundly political, because it opens the door of education to those historically excluded from conventional solutions. And it does so without the need for high bandwidth, cutting-edge devices, or sophisticated platforms full of passwords and manuals.A basic mobile phone, minimal coverage and willingness to teach are enough.
In that sense, mobile messaging does not compete with major educational platforms; it complements formal initiatives from below, reaching the places they cannot. More than a mere “Plan B,” it ought to have been Plan A for millions of invisible students—such as girls in communities where gender still determines access to technology.students in rural areas where the commute to school is an odyssey; or boys and girls with disabilities who find in an audio message an accessible way to learn at their own pace.
Moreover, current mobile phones—even the most economical ones—incorporate accessibility tools that transform their educational use. Functions such as screen readers, voice recognition or auto‑transcription allow students with visual, auditory or cognitive impairments to access content previously denied to them. UNICEF’s publication emphasises that many of these students, previously excluded from the education system, could continue learning thanks to adapted messages, personalised audios or simple text interactions.
Mobile messaging also caters to other traditionally marginalised groups: preschool‑age children who learn through games, stories and songs sent to their families’ phones; migrant or displaced students who lack access to regular schools but can receive materials on a phone number; or young people in child labour who cannot attend formal classes but can respond to a message at the end of the day. The EdoBEST@Home programme in Nigeria is illustrative. During the pandemic, this WhatsApp‑based initiative reached over 2.1 million families with curriculum‑aligned content. It was not an alternative solution—it was the only viable option.
In all these cases, the mobile phone is not merely a device: it is a door. And messaging is the key that can open it. Through it, opportunities widen, distances shrink and the educational experience of those most in need is dignified. That is, precisely, the operational definition of equity.
Risks and ethical considerations
As with any technological tool, mobile messaging carries risks, dilemmas and challenges that cannot be ignored if it is to be used responsibly in education. First among them are the most obvious dangers: cyberbullying, exposure to inappropriate content, privacy breaches and overuse. An educational message can share the same space—with threats, blackmail or misinformation. If unchecked, the virtual classroom can become a hostile environment.
Another risk is digital dependency: the compulsive need to check messages constantly, even when there is no assignment or learning to be done. In contexts where devices are shared with adults or siblings, access may be limited but screen time can still be excessive. The line is fine and fragile.
Therefore, pedagogical use of messaging must be accompanied by clear rules negotiated with students and families and adapted to cultural context. In some communities, for example, it may not be appropriate for a female teacher to message male students directly, or to use emojis for serious tasks. Understanding and respecting these social codes is key not to break the bridges one aims to build.
Moreover, specific teacher training is essential. It is not enough to know how to use WhatsApp: one must know how to teach with it. That includes designing understandable prompts, pacing content, alternating formats (text, audio, image) and, above all, maintaining an educational bond that does not dissolve among impersonal messages. As UNICEF reminds us, “the message is important, but more important is the connection that that message activates.”
Technology without pedagogy is noise. Equity without ethics is an illusion. That is why using messaging to teach demands not only creativity and pragmatism but also deep awareness of its limits and responsibilities.
Transforming a simple message into a tool of educational justice
For too long, simple solutions have been treated as poor solutions. In the educational innovation mindset, mobile messaging often occupies a secondary place, almost a last resort. But the evidence—including that gathered in UNICEF’s Superstar Teacher Toolbox—demonstrates otherwise: a well‑designed message, sent at the right time, can support a learning process more effectively than an expensive, under‑used platform.
Mobile messaging is not a low‑quality alternative but a viable, scalable and inclusive strategy capable of reaching those who need it most. Its strength lies precisely in its simplicity: it works with what already exists, uses what families already possess and respects students’ rhythms and realities. It does not replace the classroom (nor does it aim to) but ensures that when the classroom fails, the right to learning is not interrupted.
Therefore, it is urgent to incorporate these approaches into public policy as part of digital equity strategies. Platforms like RapidPro, Learning Passport or U‑Report are already doing so, integrating messaging with content and monitoring. What is needed now is political will, teacher training and pedagogical vision.
Because sometimes, changing a life begins with something as simple as an SMS. And that message, well sent, can be an act of educational justice.
