The Covid-19 pandemic catalysed a profound shift in thinking around education. For developing nations in particular it revealed the limitations of traditional approaches to education, the extent of digital illiteracy and the profound challenges that learners on the wrong side of the digital divide are facing.
It also created the space to consider how education needs to adapt to meet the challenges of the present and future. Considering how traditional education models have failed to serve the socioeconomic realities of African and other developing countries, it has been suggested that it is up to the developing world to lead the much-needed disruption of education.
Modern youth face an uncertain future, complicated by the inevitability of climate change and rapid technological advances that are likely to change the world beyond our imaginations. Their welfare will depend on the quality and relevance of their education as well as their resilience and ability to adapt to whatever the future holds.
It is these same technological advances that are making it possible to transform and democratise education. No longer limited by traditional classrooms, we can begin to imagine a future of education that has no geographical or socioeconomic limitations, and where teachers and learners benefit from global interconnectedness.
Turnkey technology services and solutions providers such as OneConnect, envision the future classroom as off-grid and high-tech. For learners without personal resources, stable, high-speed internet enables digital classrooms with smart board technology and high-quality cameras that allow teachers to remotely interact with learners from anywhere in the world. In this scenario students and teachers benefit from communal remote learning via virtual classrooms that are specifically designed for educational learning and assessment.
“No longer limited by traditional classrooms, we can begin to imagine a future of education that has no geographical or socioeconomic limitations.”
In other scenarios, this vision of the digital classroom is just one step towards the fundamental disruption of traditional education. In the midst of the Covid pandemic, mobile edtech start-up MindZu CEO Godfrey Parkin imagined a future in which the learning experience changes to better accommodate self-learning and create connection.
Drawing on neurology, psychology and neuropharmacology of motivation and learning to overhaul the traditional understanding of pedagogy, mobile edtech might use gamified self-study approaches that leverage mental reward mechanisms to motivate learners.
He proposed that, in a world where machines are already far more efficient at delivering the same skills being taught at schools, greater emphasis might be placed on critical thinking, creativity, leadership, emotional intelligence and problem-solving.
Whatever form the digitalisation of education takes, the consensus is that it should place the learner at the centre, be adaptive to specific learner environments and deliver content that is accessible and engaging. In the interests of education democratisation, education and its means of delivery needs to be accessible by the least expensive digital means and affordable to the most disadvantaged.
Can Africa overcome the digital divide?
While digital technology holds the potential to transform education, very little is likely to be achieved without access to digital infrastructure and the energy to power it. According to World Bank 2021 figures, sub-Saharan Africa demonstrates the largest global gap between the availability of digital infrastructure and actual usage. While 84% of the population had at least some level of 3G mobile internet availability and 63% had some level of 4G mobile internet services, only 22% were using mobile internet services.
There is significant disparity across the continent, with usage rates ranging from 6% in South Sudan to 53% in South Africa. Meanwhile, more than half of the population of sub-Saharan Africa lacks access to electricity. The continent needs investment in a viable, affordable and sustainable power supply to meet this basic need.
National policies need to enable digital technology in the interests of development. Innovations, such as global satellite internet service Starlink, could be game changers for Africa, providing high-speed internet access to otherwise inaccessible areas. Already available in Rwanda, Nigeria and Mauritius, with many more countries to follow, the service remains inaccessible to South Africa on account of legislative limitations.
“National policies need to enable digital technology in the interests of development.”
Beyond basic access to digital technology, there is also a marked gender divide in its use. Only 21% of African women have access to the internet. As basic access increases, programmes will be needed to close the gender gap.
Resolving the digital divide will require the joint effort of public-private partnerships, substantial infrastructure rollout by telecommunications companies as well as government subsidisation of some of the costs and zero-rating of data to increase the accessibility of digital learning.
Investment in support of education will require its own version of disruptive thinking. The programmes that will make a meaningful difference will need to employ a pedagogical approach that helps African learners leapfrog the digital divide while nurturing the resilience, flexibility and creativity they will need to cope with the challenges of the world to come.
Holistic approaches will be necessary to create the enabling environment for this education. Successful programmes will consider context-specific education delivery methods and address broader issues of access to power and digital services as well as nutrition and community support.
Read more about education:
- Find out more about ICT in education and the digital classroom
- Read the Overview of CSI spend on education in 2023.
- Read the 2022 research findings: Overview of CSI spend on education in 2022.
Source: The original version of this article was published in the Trialogue Business in Society Handbook 2023 (26th edition).