NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Thursday, November 16, 2017

African countries have worked hard to improve children’s access to basic education, but there’s still significant work to be done. Today, 32.6 million children of primary-school age and 25.7 million adolescents are not going to school in sub-Saharan Africa.

The quality of education also remains a significant issue, but there’s a possibility the technology could be part of the solution. The digital revolution currently under way in the region has led to a boom in trials using information and communication technology (ICT) in education – both in and out of the classroom.

A study carried out by the French Development Agency (AFD), the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF), Orange and Unesco shows that ICT in education in general, and mobile learning in particular, offers a number of possible benefits. These include access to low-cost teaching resources, added value compared to traditional teaching and a complementary solution for teacher training.

This means that there’s a huge potential to reach those excluded from education systems. The quality of knowledge and skills that are taught can also be improved.

Photo courtesy of Alikem Tamakloe.