Survey shows optimism over benefits of technology in HE

A majority – 65% – of African education and training professionals believe that African countries are not doing enough to ensure universal access to quality higher education for all Africans by 2030 but are optimistic about the benefits of technology in education, according to a survey contained in the latest eLearning Africa Report 2019.

The eLearning Africa Survey, published to coincide with the eLearning Africa 2019 conference held in Abidjan, Côte D’Ivoire, last month, consulted a sample of 1,880 African experts and practitioners, both inside and outside Africa, about their experience, expectations, attitudes and opinions on a wide range of subjects relating to education, technology and development in Africa on the road to the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the African Union’s 2063 targets.

"The SDG 4 is perhaps the most important of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the disappointment about the lack of progress towards realising it is striking," says the survey.

However, there is a sense of optimism about overall progress as more than two-thirds (72%) of experts canvassed said they think that the African Union's 2063 vision is "realistic".

"There is optimism, too, about the benefits of technology in education and an apparent belief that its advantages outweigh any possible disadvantages," the report said.

Technical limitations

The factors seen to be restricting digital access to education and training in Africa were technical. They include connectivity and communications infrastructure, affordability, lack of political will, lack of knowledge and e-skills, lack of awareness, lack of funding and lack of adequate and appropriate content.

The survey highlighted the importance of access to local content and content produced in local languages for training and workplace learning and digital technology aimed at improving access to education and training for people in rural areas as well as women.

It also showed the importance of digital technology in enabling employers and institutions to facilitate lifelong learning and workplace learning which, along with informal learning, are likely to be essential in equipping Africans with the skills they need in the future.

According to the survey 79% of respondents see the use of artificial intelligence in education as an opportunity, rather than a threat, that could "help learning to be scaled and easily accessible".

As many as 53% of respondents indicated that, within the next 20 years, major developments in technology, such as brain-to-brain communication, virtual reality 2.0 and full sensory virtual learning, will be widely used in education and training in Africa, while 68% of respondents said they believe the use of technology in education is primarily an educational choice as opposed to a political one (25%).

The survey report argues that frustration “comes largely from a feeling that both political leaders and, in some cases employers, are failing to make the most of the new opportunities" with 15% suggesting that a lack of political will is the most significant factor restricting access to education and training in Africa, while 37% consider technical issues, such as a lack of communications infrastructure and connectivity, which are largely the result of a failure of political decision-making, as the most significant reason."

Optimism and anxiety

"The mood of optimism among respondents is palpable but so is the sense of anxiety that the dream of a ‘transformed continent’ may fade away because not enough is being done to make change a reality in key areas," states the report.

Their obvious anxiety should be a serious cause for concern among political leaders, the report argues.

Asked about the challenges to accessing higher education in Africa, Juma Shabani, director of the Doctoral School at the University of Burundi, said that, while there had been progress by African countries over the past 15 years, challenges to universal access to quality higher education included rapid growth of student enrolments, the deterioration of quality in secondary education and the “use of outdated pedagogic techniques".

As one survey respondent stated: “If the African countries implement modern eLearning solutions to bring quality education and training to their human capital, they can catch up with the rest of the world and be in leading positions in various areas.”