The next wave of edtech in Africa
During the COVID-19 pandemic digital learning came to the fore in a very strong fashion, mostly driven by private education providers, all the way from primary to tertiary education.
Just like the impetus given to digital transformation in other sectors, the pandemic prompted renewed attention to digital learning and nudged many planned digital learning initiatives from a blueprint stage into reality.
The pandemic came around the time that most sectors were looking closely at mobile as a platform to reach citizens.
The uptake and increased awareness around mobile apps in other sectors helped buttress the foundation on which most edtech would later be built, and is still being built.
In Africa, viable edtech has been aware of realities like access to devices, connectivity affordability and digital literacy (both for learners and educators).
Presently edtech in Africa takes various forms, with most solutions being mobile-based, and not necessarily the kind that require smartphones but those which are cognizant of local needs and limitations.
Most solutions are centered around learning content that can be accessed with feature phones, and in some cases, there are elements of gamification to help keep learners engaged.
During the pandemic, the uptake of virtual lessons via video conferencing applications became mainstream and has endured for many institutions, including those that are government run.
Around the same time, many institutions invested in portals and apps through which students and teachers could interact on a wide range of issues as well as students and parents attending to administrative and financial issues.
All these have now dovetailed to join other more sophisticated solutions that feature technologies like cloud, blockchain and analytics.
Some have a more enterprise nature for administration and financial management, especially in private sector education.
Challenges
Some of the issues that plague the adoption of edtech are the same as those that affect many social enterprises across Africa.
These include availability of electricity, connectivity (especially last-mile access), device affordability (smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops), localized content and digital skills (among teachers and learners).
Other challenges that are gradually being surmounted include creating political will and enabling policies.
Both at a country and a continental level, edtech is being given the required importance at different forums including the African Union (AU) and other regional economic communities.
Through governments and regional bodies, progress is being made in articulating policies, fostering greater cooperation among stakeholders and the involvement of external partners (private sector players, vendors, donors, etc.).
Across the continent there are several governments that have attempted to put initiatives in place to help prop up digital education by placing devices within reach of learners and subsidizing connectivity.
Sadly, some initiatives have not been properly thought out and some have unfortunately been motivated by the need to gain political mileage rather than deliver measurable impact.
Partnerships for progress
Against this backdrop, there have been positive changes happening in this space, most of which ride on dialogue among stakeholders, create synergies in the ecosystem, and incorporate the voices of beneficiaries (teachers, students, parents and the government).
It goes without saying that the most marginalized stand to benefit the most.
Thus, some of this dialogue has extended to rural and low-income areas where edtech players are seeking insights into challenges in order to ensure the systems they deliver are not only based on value judgments that may be relevant in urban and more affluent areas.
Issues around the cost of devices and connectivity, access to electricity and skills development would certainly deserve a different approach in rural areas.
Public-private partnerships involving ICT players are also becoming more mainstream in making connectivity and devices more accessible and shoring up skills and awareness in key stakeholder segments.
Hybrid learning
Riding on the wave created by the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to ensure education systems are insulated against similar kinds of disruption, discussions are ongoing around how to progress education towards hybrid learning models where physical learning is augmented by virtual options.
The uptake of remote learning in urban areas during the pandemic provided a great opportunity to consider embedding virtual learning even more.
During the pandemic, the uptake of virtual lessons via video conferencing applications became mainstream and has endured for many institutions. (Source: Image by Freepik)
Ongoing discussions on hybrid learning will invariably shine light on some of the key issues which are integral for its implementation.
These include the development of relevant policies and supportive legislation (on cybersecurity, data protection, privacy etc.), infrastructure development (connectivity, electricity, etc.) and other resources needed such as digital skills, affordable devices and relevant content.
These discussions are timely and will also help firm up the framework for continued discussions on the future development and adoption of edtech while helping sharpen the thinking around its implementation.
The rise of AI
With artificial intelligence (AI) presently sweeping across the world and holding so much promise to avail positive outcomes, the education sector is probably one of the most important areas that stands to benefit, and one where good results could be realized.
Whether it is actual education content, or the delivery of that content, or monitoring performance (of students), or making administration more effective, AI is poised to disrupt current edtech and usher in a new era.
The role AI can play in bringing about transformation in edtech extends to areas such as creating personalized learning approaches, adaptive tutoring, assessment automation, performance analytics and localized content creation.
Outlook
It goes without saying that the education sector in Africa is too important to ignore, and this is underscored by the fact that a huge chunk of Africa’s population – possibly upwards of 60% – are currently enrolled in either primary, secondary or tertiary education.
It is the sector that channels human resources towards other sectors that underpin different countries’ economies.
As such, new and continued focus needs to be directed to several areas including:
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Dialogue and collaboration among stakeholders, with governments playing a central role, both as a user of edtech and the ones pronouncing policies that enable edtech. Such dialogue should not only seek to bring all relevant stakeholders to the table but also ensure the voices of end-users are heard in a way that helps to shape policies.
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Partnerships that seek to ensure greater collaboration and create awareness among stakeholders to obtain a good grasp of what the realities look like will help ensure a greater understanding of the challenges and smooth the path towards integrating technology effectively.
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Universal service funds can be leveraged to build last-mile access infrastructure, subsidize connectivity costs, set up computer labs and subsidize skills development.
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It is also essential to support local players rather than seek edtech solutions from other shores. Local startups have already performed considerable groundwork by immersing themselves into the sector, including at grassroots levels and have a better understanding of the realities faced by teachers, parents and students. In a sense, this is one area where local players can plant their feet firmly in the door and emerge as major providers.