Ed-Tech Conversations // Improving Access to Education

Ed-Tech Mondays // A Platform for Critical Conversations on Technology in Education

Over the last two decades, there has been a significant improvement in the education sector, more children have access to basic education with the enrollment rates doubling and almost reaching a universal level.

Since 2000, the number of African children enrolled in primary school has increased from 60 to 150 million with the number of girls now almost equal to the number of boys. Unfortunately, this growth is not parallel to the growth of learning outcomes with children often operating below grade level.

In 2019, the World Bank dubbed this situation the “learning crisis”, the issue is central to education conversations to date. Only 37% of young people in Sub-saharan Africa complete lower secondary education, while 27% complete upper secondary education, well below other regions globally according to research done by UNESCO GEMR in 2018.

Introducing Ed-Tech Mondays 

It is because of this prevailing situation that, Mastercard Foundation Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning in ICT launched Ed-Tech Mondays in 2019. The aim was to use the development of technology in this day and age to improve the facilitation of education for all the people going through secondary education.

Ed-Tech Mondays was set up as a platform to facilitate critical conversations on the use of technology for teaching and learning by bringing together key stakeholders, such as policymakers, Ed-Tech entrepreneurs, teachers, and parents.

“Africa grapples with huge disparities in education.” United Nations in (2018)

Through the use of technology, Mastercard Foundation is working tirelessly to equalize education throughout the African region, to level the field, and to ensure that every African child gets access to good quality education right where they are.

The centre is motivated to close the gap in access to quality education, build evidence of what works in ICT for education, and create an active network of ICT leaders in secondary education to advance the integration of technology in education policies and practices across Africa.

Flexibility and collaboration could be core values to organizations going forward

Ed-Tech on NTV Kenya

You can now catch Ed-Tech Mondays on NTV Kenya at 4:30 pm (EAT). Today’s episode revolves around the conversation exploring why access to education and improvements in learning have been so elusive, and how technology will play an important role in enabling inclusive access to learning across Africa.

Ed-Tech Mondays – Happening 19th April 2021 at 4:30 pm (EAT)

About Mastercard Foundation

The Mastercard Foundation – one of our first members at our  Spring Valley location – was established in 2006. The foundation continues to work with visionary organizations to enable young people in Africa and in indigenous communities in Canada to access dignified and fulfilling work.

It is one of the largest private foundations in the world with a mission to advance learning and promote financial inclusion to create an inclusive and equitable world.

Their work is currently anchored in and guided by its recently launched Young Africa Works strategy, which is a roadmap for enabling 30 million young people, especially young women, to access dignified and fulfilling work over the next decade.

Last year, USIU-Africa and the Mastercard Foundation announced a partnership to enable 1,000 high-performing students to receive a quality education and leadership development over the next 10 years under the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program.

Featured Image by Ian Ingalula from Pixabay