Digital Competence among the Students of Higher Education in Sikkim

Digital transformation and innovation are reorganising the method of teaching and learning by endorsing various platforms, integrating information and technology to disseminate knowledge, and advancing digital education. Various education commissions suggest incorporating technology into the teaching and learning process. Therefore, it has become necessary to measure digital competence among students studying in higher education to understand their proficiency with technology so that appropriate curricula and programs for digital literacy can be created based on the proficiency. Various studies have revealed the differences in digital competence across various socio-demographic variables. This quantitative study analyses digital competence levels among higher education students in the Gangtok district, Sikkim, based on different social-demographic characteristics. The study used the Digital Competence Scale (SDiCoS) developed by Tzafilkou et al. (2022) for measuring the digital competence of the students. A sample of 100 students at higher education level from diverse age groups, gender, academic streams, educational levels, and locale was selected through the quota sampling technique. The results of the study demonstrated that while students’ overall levels of digital competency were reasonably high, there is a notable disparity in digital competency between male and female students, as well as between students from various academic backgrounds.