-
Beyond the ‘Public vs. Private’ Debate in Global Education: Helping the Schools That Serve the World’s Neediest Children Survive COVID-19
COVID-19 is preventing low-fee private schools from serving the estimated 258 million children who lack access to education. And according to Irene D. Pritzker at IDP Foundation, these “mom and pop” schools lack access to the resources that could help them survive the pandemic. She urges the development sector to support them – and in the process, to move past outdated debates about public versus private schools in emerging countries.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Education
- Tags
- COVID-19, governance
-
India’s Self-Help Groups Need Help: How to Strengthen a Proven Model to Support Women’s Recovery From the COVID-19 Crisis
Women’s empowerment is a growing focus in the development sector, but COVID-19 is putting the hard-won progress women have made in recent years at risk. Moin Qazi highlights one way to support women in emerging countries: the self-help group model. He discusses how these groups operate in India, their strengths and weaknesses, and how they could be leveraged to address the current crisis.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Education, Finance, Impact Assessment
-
Digital Platforms: The Virtual Classrooms That Transform India’s Youth into Productive Workers
India is one of the youngest societies in the world, with people aged 15-24 making up a third of the population. That's why the country's economic growth will depend on youth becoming productive workers, says Sreelakshmi Ramachandran at Ola Mobility Institute. As we celebrate World Youth Skills Day, she explores how digital platforms are upskilling young workers and easing their transition to employment.
- Categories
- Education, Technology
-
From Cauliflower to Unicorns: Five Lessons from Five Years as a Startup
As the Digital Frontiers Institute (DFI) celebrates its fifth birthday, it recently announced that it's merging with CGAP’s Gateway Academy to form a "stronger, more refined new identity at the frontier of capacity building." DFI's co-founder and CEO, Gavin Krugel, discusses five lessons the organization has learned about running a social enterprise startup.
- Categories
- Education, Finance, Social Enterprise
-
Africa’s Student Housing Crisis: An Overlooked Need Offers a Major Opportunity for Impact Investors
As COVID-19 spreads across Africa, universities are shutting their doors in unprecedented numbers. But for many African students, home is not an ideal learning environment. According to Abayomi Onasanya at Student Accomod8, that's one reason impact investors should focus on a long-overlooked goal: student housing. He explores how campus housing can make higher education more accessible to millions of young Africans.
- Tags
- housing, impact investing, youth
-
A Digital Approach to Reducing Educational Inequality in Africa – During and After COVID-19
As COVID-19 spreads through sub-Saharan Africa, its long-term impact on children's education is becoming clear, as over 253 million students are not in school due to closures caused by the crisis. Wambura Kimunyu at Eneza discusses the company's innovative platform, which provides educational content via SMS texts – and how it's working to expand access to the platform in response to the pandemic.
- Categories
- Education, Technology
-
Remote Business Coaching Made Sense Even Before COVID-19 – Now it’s a Necessity
The coronavirus is forcing us all to do things differently. But as Donna Rosa argues, in some cases that may be a good thing. For instance, microenterprises in low-income countries have long needed basic business management skills, yet the development sector has often failed to deliver this training effectively. Now, as the COVID-19 pandemic pushes many interactions online, she argues that it’s time to increase the focus on distance coaching for these small businesses.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Education
- Tags
- business education, COVID-19, edtech
-
Lights, Camera – Health Education: How Animated Videos are Advancing Maternal Health in India and Beyond
In India, there is just one government doctor for every 10,189 people – a situation that often results in poor access to pregnancy-related health care. Without reliable medical advice, many women fall prey to myths and misconceptions about pregnancy and newborn care. MedHealth TV is addressing this issue with animated educational videos in local languages. Its founder, Padma Rammoorthy, discusses the approach and its impact.
- Categories
- Education, Health Care
- Tags
- public health