Profoundly impacted by the pandemic, the education sector is now finding its way forward. And blended learning – mixing in-person and digital education – seems like it is here to stay.
Businesses and entrepreneurs can capitalise on this rapid shift that was accelerated by Covid-19 as education institutions and schools look to solidify the future shape of education, according to leading industry experts.
While there are clear benefits of blended learning, including higher ability to individualise learning, research from KPMG argues that the curriculum and its delivery need to be reimagined.
“[KPMG] finds that the digital blended learning will require governments to invest and be the facilitators and drivers of change, forming and mandating an autonomous organisation to deliver a new education and learning reality,” the new report said.
Public private partnerships are needed to stimulate the market and drive innovation, according to KPMG.
Shift to digital
Experts told Arabian Business that the onset of coronavirus only accelerated digital adoption that was sure to sweep the sector eventually.
In the GCC, digital adoption increased 30 percent during the pandemic in the AED246 billion ($66.9bn) sector, Majid Mneymneh, vice president of higher education at Pearson Middle East, told Arabian Business.
Majid Mneymneh, vice president of higher education at Pearson Middle East.
To mitigate the effects of Covid-19, the UAE government allocated AED10.4bn ($2.83bn) towards public, higher education, and university programmes, while Saudi Arabia allocated a whopping SAR193bn ($51.38bn) for the sector in the kingdom, amounting to 18.9 percent of the annual budgeted expenditure, according to data provided by Pearson.
“All in all, technology is spearheading the growth of the global educational technology (edtech) and online learning is no longer just a buzz word or a trend but a necessity that is here to stay. According to research reports by Alpen Capital, the smart classroom market is predicted to reach $404bn in 2025, while edtech is predicted to grow 2.5 times from 2019 to 2025, reaching $404bn in total global expenditure,” Mneymneh said.
Way forward
Educators agree that students today need to be prepared for the jobs of the future, which means lifelong learning and sustainable skills must be at the core of education systems.
“Right now, the employment landscape is cluttered, and companies are looking for people who possess a balanced mix of soft and hard skills, are able to adapt and respond quickly to the changing demands,” Mneymneh said.
While schools try to figure out how to plug this gap, a real business opportunity has emerged.
Gems World Academy Dubai CEO and principal, Dr Saima Rana.
“The ‘reskilling crisis’ is attracting attention and digital learning platforms that were once seen as a supplement to traditional education infrastructure are now becoming mainstream in the post-Covid era,” Mneymneh said. “The focus for businesses in the education sector right now is to prepare a highly skilled workforce to preserve the nation’s competitiveness and economic opportunity in response to rapid technological change and increasing global competition.”
Part of preparing students to successfully enter the workforce is making sure they have the right skills honed through the curriculum. With technology in the classroom, curriculums can become more individualistic and immersive, but schools are grappling with how to navigate this.
“What educators need are the tools to individualise their curriculum offers so that each child is supported by an immersive provision that helps all dimensions of student learning. The opportunities for businesses lie in meeting with schools to see what they are trying to achieve: immersive classrooms, affordability of kit, workable models for renewal and refreshment – these are all key to enabling successful schools to move forward,” Gems World Academy Dubai CEO and principal, Dr Saima Rana, said.
Questions
There are, however, still questions about the role of technology in education. In-class learning has its advantages over technology, where soft skills, the ability to collaborate and interpersonal relationships are much easier to develop face-to-face, Glen Radojkvich, the head of school improvement at Taaleem, told Arabian Business.
Glen Radojkvich, the head of school improvement at Taaleem.
“What aspects will we retain from digital learning? What in in-class learning is irreplaceable? What are minimum standards for digital learning in schools? How can we balance screen time and wellbeing? How do we ‘future proof’ our organisations should we be in similar predicaments in years to come,” were all questions Radojkvich had for the future of education.
But technology and education are becoming increasingly enmeshed, and educators are now looking to strike the right balance.
“What all this means is that we can look forward to the expansion of the physical traditional school so that it accommodates new virtual dimensions while maintaining its commitment to being a physical hub of learning,” Rana said.
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