Does the future of education look more like Zoom than classroom?
If the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that online education has a future. How big a future remains to be seen, but private colleges have been able to adapt to lockdown with remarkable speed.
There has been debate among academics about the future of online learning in Africa. All it appeared to need is sufficient content and the ability to reach the farthest-flung corners of the continent. Education is the great equaliser, but for that dream to flower, the internet would have to be cheap and ubiquitous.
In reality, that dream is still some way off, but the alacrity with which private colleges have adapted to the new environment should be studied by our own Department of Education.
AdvTech surprises itself
AdvTech’s results for the six months to June 2020 were better than many expected, in large part due to the speed with which it was able to transition to online learning during the lockdown.
“We surprised ourselves. We transitioned to an online format within three weeks of the start of lockdown, and we were able to offer a fully interactive experience which meant minimal disruption to the academic programmes,” says AdvTech CEO Roy Douglas.
Though Covid knocked revenue by R88 million, and added R72.5 million to doubtful debtors, overall student numbers are up 4% over the same period last year – despite losing 8% of pre-primary school enrolments and 1% of primary school enrolments. SA high school student numbers were up 4%, versus 12% for the rest of Africa.
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