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Guardian of the future6/2/2023 With this high spend, however, the quality of education outcomes remains unsatisfactory. The World Bank estimates that this spend is 6.8% of the country’s GDP, higher than developed countries such as the US (6.2%) and Britain (5.4%). The government spent R27‑billion on education in 2021, up by 15% from 2020. Start-ups such as Yoco, Fundrr and Pineapple are rapidly growing businesses that provide financial services to previously underserved segments of our society.ĮdTech, on the other hand, raised a total of $14-million in 2020, which is 1.75% of the quantum of investment in financial technology.įinTechs are cashing in on their ability to deliver direct and quick returns on investment, while the long plays for inclusive EdTech are not attractive to investors.Īlthough EdTech is underfunded, South Africa is a big investor in education. What’s more, the investments include funding for financial technology companies geared towards financial inclusion. KPMG estimates that investments in African financial technology companies doubled to $1.6-billion in 2021 compared with $800-million in 2020, mostly from foreign venture capital and private equity investors. This is evident when it is compared to the fast-growing world of financial technology. The challenge, it seems, is that EdTech is woefully underfunded. If the benefits of EdTech are widely known and understood and recent events have exposed the urgent need for widespread adoption, why do we appear to be taking so long to adapt? Lack of access to devices, data, and prior experience to an e-learning environment went from being a debate on privilege to a full barrier to learning. When Covid-19 forced a rapid shift to remote learning, it exposed the extent of the digital divide. Although private and well-resourced schools have made the switch, most South African pupils are being left behind. Unfortunately, the adoption of educational technology has not been widespread. Whether one aspires to become a lawyer, accountant, doctor or teacher, digital literacy will be a required core competency and the classroom is where the journey to acquire it should begin. As workplaces become increasingly digital, it is imperative that the learning environment mirrors this format. The use of technology in education, commonly referred to as EdTech, has fast become a necessity. E-learning is not just replacing physical spaces with digital ones, it is also digitising textbooks, pencils, and notebooks. The classroom is being disrupted all the way from early childhood education right through to tertiary level. As with all other facets of our lives, we are seeing the transformative use of digital tooling in the education sector.
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