The Effect of Covid-19 on Education in Africa and its Implications for the Use of Technology
Blog Post contributed by:
Rebecca Stromeyer, CEO & Founder, eLearning Africa
As African countries begin to come to terms with the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on their education systems, eLearning Africa and the EdTech Hub conducted a survey of over 1600 education and technology professionals, the result of which provides some fascinating insights into the experience and opinions of practitioners in more than 52 countries across Africa.
The newly released report “The Effect of Covid-19 on Education in Africa and its Implications for the Use of Technology”, jointly published by eLearning Africa and the EdTech Hub, shows that educators in Africa are optimistic about the opportunities that COVID-19 brings for reform and innovation in education.
The results of this survey show that many African educators are opportunistic about the future. They believe that Covid-19 has served as a “wake-up call,” which will encourage greater use of blended learning and new forms of technology assisted education and training in the continent’s schools, colleges and universities. Fifty percent of surveyed African teachers, trainers and education technology specialists think the Covid-19 pandemic will turn out to be a “significant” or “very significant” opportunity for African education.
The survey is based on interviews with more than 1600 education and technology professionals across Africa, who were asked about their experience of the Covid-19 pandemic and its implications. 85 percent of respondents thought that the use of technology would be more widespread as a result of the crisis. As the African Union, among others, considers that technology is the key to the rapid expansion of education and thus to future economic growth, this is clearly good news.
Survey findings
The survey generated many ideas and much good advice. Below are eight particularly noteworthy findings regarding education in the current crisis:
1. There has been widespread school closure across Africa in response to the pandemic and 97 percent of respondents reported school closures in their countries, and 95 percent of these noted that all schools had been forced to close. This was seen as an appropriate decision, as 92 percent of respondents expressed that the closures were essential.
2. A lack of access to technology is considered to be the biggest barrier for learning during the current pandemic together with school closures. Respondents felt that learners in rural communities are those most likely to be disadvantaged as a result. The most cited limitation is the lack of availability and affordability of connectivity.
3. Early childhood and primary level students are seen to be most likely to be disadvantaged by the crisis and least likely to be able to access the technologies required for learning.
4. Educational TV and radio are seen as the most important technologies for sustaining learning for students at the primary level. At secondary level, online learning is considered to be the most important.
5. Survey results show that the large majority of educators have not received financial support for teaching and learning tools to help them continue teaching in the crisis, and do not feel there has been sufficient preparation to help them adapt.
6. The majority of respondents - 83 percent - think that national curriculums should be adapted for the future in response to the current crisis, to enable more effective distance learning.
7. Half of all respondents - 50 percent - think that in the most significant long term effect of the crisis will be that it leads to new opportunities for education systems.
8. Some 85 percent of respondents anticipate that the current crisis will lead to more widespread use of technology in education in the future. However, they also note that this will lead to significant challenges for the most marginalised and may increase inequality.
What did the respondents say?
One respondent, Joice, who has worked in technology and education for over 20 years and believes in the “fundamental role in society” of educational technologies said: “We have the opportunity in the face of the pandemic to improve the uses and access to technologies aimed at learning, at a time when students and teachers can become protagonists of a new model of education.”
Isso of Burkina Faso, a teacher, believes it is precisely the difficulty of the current crisis that will ultimately create real, long term benefits: “As the Covid-19 becomes a worldwide problem with no good solution, everybody in the world becomes involved in seeking solutions for their own survival that will lead to creativity, new ideas and new opportunities and part of evolution.”
And, from industry, corporate planner Sisu of Zimbabwe said: “This is the opportunity for a long-term evolution of the education system.”
Digital divide and rising inequality
The survey also pointed, however, to considerable nervousness about the development of a digital divide and a rise in inequalities among learners because of uneven access to technology. Respondents felt that learners in rural communities were most likely to be disadvantaged as a result of a lack of access to technology.
They also felt that connectivity was the biggest obstacle preventing the development of more technology assisted learning - specifically, a lack of available and affordable connectivity.
Overall, respondents reported that school closures had been widespread across Africa (95 percent said that all schools in their countries had been forced to close) and, whilst this had had many negative consequences, 92 percent said they thought the closures were essential. However, the survey showed that most educators received no financial support for tools to help them continue teaching in the crisis, and felt that they had insufficient preparation to adapt to the demands of distance learning.
Innovation as a response to the crisis
The survey showed that there was plenty of evidence of ingenuity and innovation at all levels in many countries in responding to the crisis. It also pointed to the effectiveness of different technologies at different levels, with television and radio seen as working well at the primary level and online learning at the secondary. The crisis has been a real challenge for Africa but it has not, by and large, been the catastrophe that was predicted. Africans have used the technologies available to them to carry on teaching and learning. People have learnt from this crisis and they know how important technology now is to education.
The experience of the Covid-19 pandemic in Africa has provided plenty of lessons for decision-makers at all levels. Respondents to the survey contributed an array of ideas and suggestions for practical improvements to ensure that African education emerges from the crisis stronger and better prepared for the future. These ideas and suggestions form the basis of the recommendations, listed in the report, for action at various levels.
Recommendations
Although the primary ‘actions’ will be the responsibility of national governments, there are several areas where a broader multinational or pan-African approach might be helpful. These include on regional and Pan-African Level:
Reviewing communications networks, together with the availability and cost of connectivity across the continent, with a view to expanding the provision of online education and training, as well as broader community development.
Developing intra-African cooperation in integrating distance learning into education, sharing innovations and best practice, including teacher training and curriculum development for distance learning.
Examining at a pan-African level the potential for the creation of an ‘enabling environment,’ within which telecommunications companies and other infrastructure providers are encouraged to assist in the expansion of Africa’s online education and the creation of an effective, pan-African ‘safety net’ for use in the event of future crises.
Governments
Governments, working with international and private sector partners, will take the lead in developing the infrastructure for 21st century education for all. They should see the experience of Covid-19 as an opportunity to stimulate technology assisted learning across the education sectors. These opportunities include:
Governments, local authorities and education institutions should urgently build an appropriate distance/technology enabled component into the curriculum, taking a semi-blended, self-paced element into all learning, without disadvantaging any child.
Governments should seek, through fiscal measures and other incentives, to develop an ‘enabling environment’ and to encourage the private sector to contribute to a firm technological basis for the education system.
Governments should draw up, publish and consult widely on crisis management plans, to ensure the continuity of education in any future crisis.
Governments should prioritise the training of teachers in the use of technology and in conducting lessons online.
While there is a need for a national educational framework and attainment standards, sufficient community and parental sensitisation, and appropriate teacher development, it may be practical in many countries for Governments to devolve issues of methodology and process to the lowest possible level, ideally the school or institution. Governments should examine this with key stakeholders.
Educational Institutions and Staff
If the government leads on the infrastructure and enabling environment for technology assisted learning, then educational institutions: Universities, colleges, schools, and their staff, can concentrate on providing a stimulating and practical education experience for their students. Working to an agenda of continuous improvement, (which the respondents demonstrated a clear commitment to) improvement can become standard practice. As the ‘front-line’ in education provision, institutions, their leadership, and their staff, should have the authority to innovate, where they can demonstrate that it improves educational experience and outcomes. These ‘micro-initiatives’ can feed into national agenda and allow for peer learning among schools and their staff. It is difficult to be specific, as the environments are very diverse, but these can involve:
Promoting the use of whatever technology is available, and where there is no technology, to promote self-directed learning in both students and teachers.
Embarking on a programme of continuous educational improvement including the engagement and motivation of all learners through digital methods.
Promoting continuous professional development for teachers, and encouraging peer learning, among teachers in their institution.
Contributing to a national review of the curriculum and development plans for reform.
Developing plans to raise awareness among students, parents and the wider community of the benefits of distance and technology assisted learning as an additional learning tool.
Reviewing their communications with parents and their local community, aiming for greater engagement of the community in the learning process with a view to ensuring their preparedness and willingness to cooperate in any future emergency affecting the education system.
The eLearning Africa/EdTech Hub Survey shows that, despite the trauma of the Covid-19 pandemic, African education and technology professionals remain optimistic about the future. Many believe that Africa can turn the experience from a disaster into an opportunity. This may be the moment at which the continent makes a decisive move towards technology assisted learning. If so, it may turn out to be a major step on the path to transforming the continent and ensuring long-term economic growth for all its citizens.
To download the full report, please visit: https://www.elearning-africa.com/survey-COVID19
Authors: Harold Elletson, Rosa Garcia Calero, Gordon Slaven, Rebecca Stromeyer
eLearning Africa