ABSTRACT Recently, sustainability in education has emerged as a central topic for scholars. However, the role of social capital, shaped by socioeconomic status (SES), in improving digital literacy among secondary school graduates, remains unexplored. It is unclear whether digital literacy subsequently influences their access to higher education. This research paper tackles this gap, investigating the relevance of sustainable development by considering secondary education as the input path while enrolment in university is the output. Using the quantitative method of analysis, 1109 responses from secondary school graduates were collected in Sichuan province in China. A group regression model, among others, was employed to analyze both the secondary and primary data. Results revealed that the amount of digital literacy possessed by a graduate is influenced by the SES‐driven social capital that graduate has. Likewise access to better higher education is influenced by higher digital literacy. Digital literacy mediates the relationship between a secondary school graduate's SES‐driven social capital and access to higher education. Hence, the digitalization era is gradually leading to digital discrimination in higher education, which ought to be eliminated so that the current digital era works for the collective social benefit.
Alam et al. (2025) studied this question.