Serve humanity by addressing tech-based education challenges

Mohamed Goga, MD at Mancosa

One of the undeniable changes that we have seen over the past twelve to eighteen months is that the education sector must brace itself for significant, technologically driven change.

As a leading private distance education provider, Mancosa monitors evolving higher education, economic, social and labour market trends, how they will impact society, and how tertiary institutions can contribute to shifting the narrative towards positive change. "Tertiary education providers play an increasingly important role in shaping this narrative," says Mohamed Goga, Mancosa MD.

Tackling legacy challenges

One of the most important advantages of technology is its ability to tackle the longstanding challenge of access to education for the many capable young South Africans.

Goga emphasises that access to education has historically been a critical issue in South Africa. This challenge is compounded by the fact that educational resources are predominantly concentrated in urban areas, making the cost of education prohibitive for many South Africans.

"The democratisation of information has profoundly transformed the educational landscape. In today's world, education providers are no longer the only sources of learning. However, until recently, access remained a significant hurdle. With nearly half of the South African population owning a smartphone (26.3 million users in 2023, according to Statista), access to education has reached unprecedented levels. Statistics further indicate that over 91% of all of the mobile phones in South Africa are smart devices," states Goga.

Consequently, while many institutions approach the future of technology with caution, it also offers them a remarkable opportunity to reassess the value and purpose of their educational offerings. Additionally, it provides these institutions with a platform to significantly expand their pursuits of social and economic impact through education provisioning.

Becoming future fit

In the traditional education model, students placed considerable trust in their teachers or lecturers, regarded as the ultimate sources of knowledge responsible for their education. However, this trust has gradually shifted towards technology. Consequently, educators are increasingly tasked with guiding students through a landscape rich in information readily accessible at the click of a button.

"It's important to recognise that while the democratisation of information has transformed our world, not all information available is accurate or safe for consumption. Critical thinking has always been a vital skill that educators promote. This emphasis is now more crucial than ever, as educators must encourage students to assess the validity of the information they encounter," says Goga, who adds that once the credibility of the information is established, students are then instructed on how to utilise it appropriately.

From a skills perspective, technology is proving to be a game changer. The influence of technology has created a whole new world that educators and students have to navigate on their knowledge journey. With this comes an entirely new set of skills that must be taught.

Goga points out that skills such as numeracy and literacy were always seen as the essential tools that a learner and students would need to succeed in their education journey. With the influence of technology, skills such as coding and prompting have been added to this list. "I suppose that the requirement for educators to step so far out of their comfort zone is disconcerting. The fact that educators had to be innovative and live close to the edge of their comfort zone has always been a requirement. However, with the current pace of change, some educators may feel that the sands may be shifting too rapidly for their liking," says Goga.

Tech can highlight inequalities

Technology-based education is growing within South Africa and can significantly change the ongoing narrative.

By analysing data on student behaviours, engagement with learning materials, and assessment outcomes, responsible AI can provide personalised learning pathways adaptive to individual learning needs. This personalised approach could significantly enhance student performance as learning aligns more with their individualised needs. However, it is crucial to remember that AI is only as effective as the data it relies on. Therefore, the learning environment must be digitised to harness AI's full potential for personalised learning and generate the data required for AI tools to analyse.

"The implementation of tech-led learning models becomes extremely complex when considering the wider societal, economic, and environmental factors that influence and are influenced by adopting tech-based learning models. There is no shortage of benefits to discuss simply the purely technical adoption and application of AI tools in teaching. However, we must also unpack the deeper implications that tech like this may have.

"We also need to use AI ethically. The adoption of AI in teaching needs to be understood in the context of South Africa's deeply unequal school system, where well-resourced schools will have access to this type of tech. At the same time, there are schools significantly under-resourced. There is a strong likelihood that well-resourced schools will benefit from tech-based education models while under-resourced schools run the risk of falling behind," says Goga.

Goga adds that Mancosa is at the forefront of embracing technology and began offering a postgraduate diploma in AI in 2023. Additionally, Mancosa offers several courses that focus on robotics and coding. Winter Boot Camps allow attendees to sharpen their tech skills, and Mancosa’s SkillME platform offers several courses that allow students to improve their IT ability. Finally, with technology promising to play an important role in the future of the National Health Insurance programme, the Mancosa School of Healthcare is offering gamified learning in many of its courses.

Serving humanity

When assessing the challenges addressed in 2024, he is reminded of the theme of the recently held Dr Chota Motala Memorial Lecture, titled 'The time is now to serve humanity: A social justice perspective'.

"In the immediate aftermath of 1994, we were introduced to the spirit of ubuntu. Unfortunately, this is a buzzword for many South Africans, not a mantra. We need to increasingly serve humanity if we want to change South Africa. Significant strides are being made, but more can be done, and tertiary institutions like Mancosa are paving the way for this change," says Goga.

He acknowledges that technology-based education models present challenges. However, these challenges can be easily addressed if all South Africans become part of the solution.