Welcome to the United Nations
SDG 4:
Digital Solutions for Inclusive and Equitable Education for Underserved Communities
The COVID-19 pandemic, when 94 percent of learners worldwide were required to continue education at home regardless of their ability to do so digitally, unveiled the gaps and barriers that may hamper the effectiveness and inclusiveness of the education system.
Key barriers
Supply-side barriers affecting the delivery of education include inadequate funding, teacher training, learning environments and, often, curricula.
Amidst renewed appreciation for the role of digital technologies in education, additional demand-side barriers may limit the use of digital solutions, especially among school-aged youth in those communities in the last mile and most at risk of being left behind. These barriers can also affect the use of digital solutions among teachers. They include:
- Prohibitive cultural practices;
- Limited digital infrastructure;
- Low levels of digital literacy;
- Unfavourable policies.
Opportunities for digital transformation in education
In addition to parents and caregivers, students, teachers and schools stand to benefit from adopting digital solutions. Digital services can facilitate access to high‑quality education for the most vulnerable, even in remote rural areas. For example, new pay-as-you-go business models are emerging, smoothing school fee payments and allowing vulnerable populations to access digital content more affordably. Inclusive innovation in the following areas can address critical supply- and demand-side barriers:
- Digital financial services. Payments solve the cashhandling issue for students, parents/caregivers and schools, provide clarity over and traceability of school finances, and allow linkages to financial institutions. They are also enabling new ‘pay-as-you-learn’ business models that align with parents’ income flows. In addition to dedicated digital savings and loans, this allows parents/caregivers to designate savings and loans for education only and prevent the diversion of funds for other uses.
- E-learning (ed tech) solutions for teachers and students enable virtual training and self-learning, access to high-quality teaching and learning materials, and gamified or interactive content.
- E-school management solutions enable the digitization of school records (attendance, performance, etc.), improved communication between teachers and parents, school management (of processes, finances, monitoring), and performance-based pay for teachers. This can improve the overall learning environment.
- Data analytics for district leaders to support operational and decision-making in their respective districts and ease the reporting to the ministry level. This provides visibility of schools’ key performance indicators that lead to better support. Also, data analytics ease reporting from the district to ministry level. This can also improve the overall learning environment.
A systems and client-centric approach brings focus to feasible digital solutions for key stakeholders in the education sector. By addressing the overt and underlying barriers in the education system, it is possible to avoid the many pitfalls that can lead to failed digital solutions in education. Above all, close partnership with the relevant education ministries is critical to design solutions and secure buy-in and future investment for sustainability. In particular, effective digital solutions exist to improve school administration and budget planning in the education sector. Improvement in these dimensions can free up resources and accelerate new educational approaches to enhance educational outcomes and contribute to SDG4. Linking these initiatives to national digital transformation efforts that are now under way, especially with digital literacy programmes, will be pivotal in ensuring that young people have access to and acquire skills for the digital age.
See attachment for details...
