BRICS in Creating Digital Educational Environments: Social and Legal Aspects of ‘A New Normal’

Abstract

The global challenges brought about by the recent pandemic outbreak of COVID-19 have forced many countries to seek out effective digital tools for supporting higher education. The issue of not only the technological complexity of the digitalization of education but also the necessity to develop and standardize the social and legal frameworks of E-education in the BRICS countries has become acute. This article examines how the BRICS countries regulate the digital transformation of higher education and discusses the changes that need to be made to social and legal regulation in order to accommodate the process of digital transformation. The authors’ research leads them to the conclusion that the process of social and legal modification of higher education in the aspect of its digital transformation is patchy. On the one hand, it is forced by unpredictable global challenges like the pandemic outbreak. In this aspect, the digital transformation across the BRICS countries tends to be rather international. On the other hand, the absence of common settings and digital standards within the BRICS countries could intensify the digital stratification among universities and lead to a decrease in the quality of higher education. The authors propose the establishment of a set of common digital standards that comprise a unified ecosystem of digital tools and services, a common model for a “digital university,” unified standards of digital competences and educational services, frameworks and standards of technical modernization as the basis of digital transformation and the creation of a common technical landscape.