Every 24th of January is set aside by the United Nations (UN) to celebrate education. Today, Sunday the 24th of January, 2021 we all celebrate the International Day of Education but tomorrow Monday, thousands of students would be thrust head-on back into the moribund schooling system with little to no support or tools to allow them thrive in this changing times; a world where over 258 million children and youths are totally disconnected from every form of learning in the 21st century is quite surreal but it’s a reality.
The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the loopholes in the educational systems globally and these challenges, their outcomes and looming consequences has pushed education to the centre of global concern as we battle the pandemic. Many students have been forced to leave schools, adding to the number of already out-of-school children and putting many bright minds at risk of dropping out; the Covid-19 pandemic has made inequality even worse with groups (especially in developing countries) that are already disadvantaged, at the risk of more exploitation due to lack of resources and access to virtual learning opportunities.
The pandemic has caused the biggest educational crisis in history, with over 1.6 billion students and teachers affected, there’s an urgent need for us to radically reimagine education and learning. This time, we must be imaginative and daring in the way we envision solutions and make policies and make sure to give all students the much-needed lifeline they need to bounce back, recover and make sure effective learning continues.
In recovering and revitalizing education for the Covid-19 generation, the power of technology to improve our circumstances and help us pull through challenging situations has to be unlocked. We are equipped as a generation to tackle all our collective problems but only if we explore unconventional methods and approaches to problem solving.
Business as usual has failed, what used to work is no longer working; recovering will mean asking innovative questions like:
What if education was free, access and fun?
What if the educational systems recognized students as partners and major stakeholders?
What if government provided resources and incentives to students to ensure virtual learning is effectual?
What if students designed their own curriculum?
Revitalizing education for our generation means actively preparing young people to be change agents and problem solvers in their communities. Revitalizing education and learning means not asking kids what they want to be when they grow up but rather, asking them what problems they want to solve; it means moving the conversation from ‘‘where do you want to work?’’ to ‘‘what problems do you want to solve?’’
Radically reimagining education is investing in education outside walls, it’s investing in quality trainings and opportunities for learning that will help prepare young people for profitable employment and decent jobs. Education is the foundation upon which we build our future, and for many, it is the only hope out of poverty. We therefore must ensure that every young person has the chance to access and enjoy learning again by constantly reimagining the future of learning radically.
What innovative ‘‘what if? question are you asking?