Regional : Technology-Enabled Innovation in Education in Southeast Asia

Education / Secondary - Technical and vocational education and training - Tertiary

Information and communication technology / ICT strategy and policy, and capacity development

In Southeast Asia, school enrollment up to tertiary education level has increased dramatically, but improvement in learning outcomes have been less encouraging. Evidence from Southeast Asia suggests an ongoing learning crisis that even though the enrollment in schools is increasing and students are spending more years in school on average, learning outcomes are not necessarily improving commensurately. Key factors behind this dismal outcome include unskilled and unmotivated teachers, unprepared learners, school inputs that do not affect teaching and learning, and school management that does a poor job of improving teaching and learning. Meanwhile, employers report lack of adequate numbers of workers with job-ready skills. In Cambodia, for example, almost 90% of employers reported that graduates have not been adequately prepared by their pre-hire education and/or training. In the age of 4IR, there are growing concerns that the problem of skills shortage will be aggravated further. Recent economic evidence shows that EdTech products can improve learning among students.

Impact of COVID-19 on education. In the age of COVID-19, there is renewed push to explore greater use of digital technology in the delivery of education and training. Due to the need to maintain social distancing and limit public gatherings to contain the spread of the virus, schools and training institutions in large parts of the world remain closed. Delivery of education and learning has moved to home for families who have access to internet and devices. For those without access to technology, the crisis has underscored the importance of investing in ICT infrastructure. Indeed, COVID-19 has brought to light the challenge of inequity in access due to limited ICT infrastructure, while providing impetus to governments to overcome these barriers to ensure continued access to education across all income groups. Experience of living through COVID-19 has highlighted the need to increase the use of EdTech in teaching and learning. Evidence shows that school closures tend to increase drop-out rates, which tend to disproportionately affect adolescent girls in developing countries. Strengthening Southeast Asia's knowledge and capacity on EdTech will mitigate some of the impact of COVID-19 by helping countries modernize their education system while preparing for future pandemics.

While EdTech interventions in education is not particularly new, there is a dearth of evidence on the types of products that work in a developing country context. Wider use of technology has been limited because EdTech product quality varies greatly, and few products tend to be designed to address the needs of low-income students and institutional challenges. Even though COVID-19 has led to adoption of technology across all levels of education, this has been done as an emergency response to the pandemic, without much long-term thinking and policy direction. In particular, the following remains to be some of the major education-related challenges in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Viet Nam: (i) limited use of digital technology in the delivery of education and trainings; (ii) lack of diagnostics on whether EdTech interventions improve learning outcomes; (iii) limited knowledge-sharing and awareness among national stakeholders; (iv) lack of partnerships between EdTech providers and public education systems; and (v) limited number of pilot projects on technology-enabled innovation in education.

Equitable and inclusive learning opportunities through the use of new and emerging education technologies.

Better knowledge and expanded use of EdTech products

EdTech diagnostics in the four countries conducted and disseminated

EdTech interventions in the four countries piloted

Impact of the pilot projects evaluated

Support for scaling-up of EdTech interventions in the four countries provided