The Education Opportunities in a Digital Environment
Despite having a reputable education system over the years, education in Zimbabwe has seen a decline in quality as the economy has started to falter. As our education system has been declining, across the globe the education industry is growing in size, investment potential and profit-making potential. Digital shifts as well as the changing needs of industry have altered the nature of secondary and tertiary education to cater for new norms. Secondary education is now a key frontier of development as one of the last areas of schooling a student is exposed to before they enter the job market. Increased emphasis is being placed on digital and 21st century skills. For someone considering education as a business here are some if the areas that a future education system will need to focus on. New innovations are therefore required around all or some of the following areas.
Basic Arithmetic and Language Literacy. It remains important for young people to read and write, now more than ever. It is also more important to teach learners the ability to learn on their own so personal reading, information retention and analysis skills are even more important.
Oral Culture as Type of Teaching Method: Oral culture including those in Africa have not fully explored how traditional knowledge systems and cultures can be converted into curricula teaching conventional topics. Africa’s oral traditions for example can be to retain information. Such innovations have enormous profit potential for African markets and oral cultures around the world.
Twenty First Century Skills such as critical thinking, collaboration, problem solving, creativity and communication are the bedrock for current and future work environments which are adapting to the changing needs of industry. So new curricula which embeds these skills within the curricula is key. Students will need to be taught how to collaborate, think critically, solve complex problems and generate ideas that are useful to industry now. There is no longer an age limit on ideas and innovation. Even children can create solutions for critical social problems being faced today.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is now significantly shaping the way companies develop new products and the way teams communicate or co-create. Digital skills and competencies are now a required skill for all learners to thrive in a future economy. There are many opportunities for teaching digital skills such as programming, graphic design, digital marketing. Various platforms are being developed to host online courses however they are tailored for international audiences which have quite different payment systems and languages for those platforms. New options for African schools moving into the digital era will become a significant source of innovation in future.
Financing Arrangements for learners wishing to pay for education using low cost models as well as school founders wishing to establish/ upgrade facilities is a source of potential income for investors venture capitalists or bankers.
Digital Systems for Payments and Record keeping which are tailor made for Zimbabwean/ African payment systems and local audiences will grow in demand as more schools shift to online systems of payment, record keeping, lesson planning and communication with parents. There is always more room for applications that meet local needs for payment options, langugage and cater for preference of parents and institutions.