Effect of Infrastructure and Resource Availability on the Frequency of Tablet Use in Primary Schools: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Tablets can only be used as often as they can be charged, connected, reached by pupils and filled with suitable content. In Tanzanian public primary schools, national statistics have shown one ICT device for every few hundred pupils, and many schools lack a reliable connection to the grid. How far these conditions limit the frequency and extent of tablet use has not been mapped. This scoping review mapped evidence on (a) the effect of reliable electricity and access to internet bundles on the frequency of tablet use; (b) the effect of the number of tablets available on pupils' individual access and hands-on learning; and (c) the relationship between the availability of appropriate digital content and the extent of tablet use in lessons. The review followed the Arksey and O'Malley framework with JBI refinements and is reported against PRISMA-ScR. Of 239 records identified through web-indexed searches and citation tracking, 20 sources were included, among them peer-reviewed studies, national statistics, policy documents and programme reports. Sources were charted by context, type and objective, and synthesised narratively. Nine sources came from Tanzania. Electricity and data costs were the constraints most often reported. Tanzanian teachers work around poor connectivity by moving files offline, and programmes that use solar-charged, offline tablets report daily use even in remote villages. Device scarcity was severe: national data showed one ICT device per 371 primary pupils in 2021, and schools in the MsingiTek programme now rotate pupils through tablets in shifts. Evidence from Peru and wider reviews shows that more devices alone do not improve learning unless content and pedagogy change. Appropriate content, particularly offline, curriculum-aligned material in Kiswahili, was linked to regular, extended use, whereas generic or foreign content was associated with limited use. Infrastructure decides whether tablets can be used; content decides whether they are worth using. Tanzanian planning should treat power, offline content and device-to-pupil ratios as one design problem rather than as separate procurement lines.