They are of the opinion that a hybrid mode will guarantee pupil inclusion at all levels of education in the nation.
Panellists who participated in the February 2023 episode of Edtech Monday on Citi Breakfast Show strongly argued in favour of the hybrid choice as an effort to close the equity gap in access to education.
“The hybrid model is a viable option for children once they are able to access. When COVID-19 had an impact on the education system, the hybrid mode was an easy access for learning”, said Aba Brandful Ankrah, Head of Pre-school, Vine Christain School.
Using Technology to Improve Education and Learning: Mainstreaming Hybrid Model of Learning was the topic of debate.
Even while technology may be utilized to enhance educational results, according to the chief operations officer of TECHAiDE, students of school age can continue to lose out on contact hours.
“Technology is incorporated into everything we do, and the children will suffer if it is not thoroughly included into schooling. We must begin using hybrid vehicles.
Lead for Africa Policy, Hilda Barasa. The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change presented the data-based case for why things need to change.
“If you look at the statistics in Ghana and level of educational attainment, you have about 70 percent of children at the primary level completing education but as they progress to JHS and SHS, the statistics become more shocking as they begin to drop significantly. So, a hybrid model will help bridge this gap,” she said.
The Regional Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning in ICT of the Mastercard Foundation launched EdTech Monday as a project. It is a part of the Foundation’s strategy to address youth unemployment in Africa by reducing barriers to accessing high-quality education and advancing the use of technology in educational policies and practices.
The Mastercard Foundation and MEST Africa, a pan-African technology organization, have teamed to bring EdTech Monday, which is held on the last Monday of every month, to Ghana in order to realize this aim.
The MEST
MEST provides internal seed investment, training for digital entrepreneurs across Africa, and a network of hubs that support the incubation of tech firms on the continent.
MEST, which was established in Ghana in 2008, gives digital entrepreneurs in Africa access to crucial training, funding, and assistance in the areas of software development, business, and communications. Accra, Ghana, Lagos, Nigeria, Cape Town, South Africa, and Nairobi, Kenya serve as hubs.
Around 500 entrepreneurs from across the continent have received training from MEST, which has also made investments in over 80 firms in a variety of sectors, including SaaS, consumer internet, eCommerce, digital media, agritech, fintech, and healthcare IT.
The Meltwater Foundation, the non-profit division of Meltwater, a world authority in media intelligence and Outside Insight, provides the majority of funding for MEST.
