It is clear that Africa today faces countless challenges. It is obvious that for reasons of accessibility, general means and results, the quality of education in Africa is constantly called into question. Despite the efforts of African states to provide basic education to a greater number of citizens, progress has fallen short of expectations. However, digital innovations are opening a door for us to better education systems.
Digital in Africa
Since the 1970s, new technologies, in their educational approach, have positioned themselves as an adequate solution to this problem in Europe and the United States. Today, the penetration rate of Information and Communication Technologies in Africa, estimated at 40% by Internet World Stat, would allow Africa to enter the era of digital education, transcending lack of means and social divide.
New technologies have already revolutionized several aspects of our lives such as commerce or communication. Mobile technologies, at the heart of which are mobile phones, widely democratized in West Africa, have, according to the GSMA report on the African digital economy, contributed 7.1% of the GDP of sub-Saharan Africa in 2018. A figure which demonstrates the speed with which the African populations have appropriated the new means of communication, almost absent from the continent 20 years ago.
Use of digital technology for education
The variety of technological tools available to us now resonates with the variety of uses for these innovations. Thus, Artificial Intelligence and other digital platforms multiply the educational possibilities. Countries like Côte d’Ivoire, Niger and Senegal have already developed national education programs several years ago adopting radio and television as tools for the training of teachers as well as that of children. The arrival of online video platforms, mobile applications, smartphones and tablets at low cost today forms the basis of Africa’s educational potential.
The health crisis, for example, has proven that ICTs are vital for the survival and maintenance of the education system. In Côte d’Ivoire, the national program has been broadcast on television and radio, and many platforms have emerged to address the shortcomings from primary to upper cycle. The success of these operations is not clearly measurable at present, but it has greatly opened the door to the emergence of technology as a pillar of the functioning of the school system in Africa.
Crucial role of the private sector
In the same palliative perspective, Huawei, the Chinese giant of new technologies, in a spirit of solidarity, in particular mobilized its resources and shared its experience in ICT with several African universities and teaching bodies. Huawei notably participated in the “Hacking Covid-19” hackathon, organized by HEC Paris last June with the aim of promoting the emergence of solutions to fight the pandemic in Africa. Proof that the group wishes to support young Africans who are major assets of today and tomorrow.
However, technology as a pillar does not stop at ICT. Technology is also the calculator, the computer for storing educational content, the projector in the classroom, written digital and video content, and all the other commodities used and usable in education. Not to mention the means of transport to get to the course, electricity, and ergonomics, etc. All these elements mentioned contribute in the same way as digital solutions to improving the quality of education on the continent.
It is therefore essential for our States to strengthen and maximize investments in this sector because it will have a direct consequence on the quality of our human capital.
Edith Brou
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