Indian economist and professor at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), Karthik Muralidharan, said that it is time for corporates to move ahead of addictive philanthropy and work on strategic philanthropy to ensure the impact in the implementation of ed-tech solutions.
“For philanthropists and corporates who are looking to move the needle in the social sector ecosystem, but are outside the government, the biggest leverage will come from thinking about how the government spending can be improved. They can create the highest impact by working with government and bureaucracy to make aspects like procurement and performance measurement, more evidence-based.
“In the education space, given the government is spending extensively on hardware, philanthropy capital should strategically focus on initiatives that can maximise the ROI on this spending. Ed-tech, when done right, can be this force multiplier. It offers scalable access to high-quality instruction even in the remotest of corners. It allows students to supplement their learning after school, can help customise the learning path of students, induce greater engagement and shorten the feedback loop,” Muralidharan said while addressing a conference “Does Ed-tech Work?” by Ei Study.
The conference saw an array of distinguished participants, including top stakeholders from CSR organisations, government bodies, global foundations, and NGOs. The confluence of education leaders from across the world delved into ed-tech and its ability to drive high-quality learning outcomes and how it can be leveraged to deliver social impact in government schools and low-income segments.
Key aspects addressed at the conference included how funders and policymakers can fine-tune ed-tech investments to improve learning, the role of teachers in driving ed-tech, whether smart classes are effective, how hardware alone will not bring about a difference and how strategic philanthropy by corporates can create accountability and make ed-tech initiatives more outcome-based.
“That said, one must choose ‘what’ to fund in ed-tech, wisely. While it is easier to fund initiatives like Smartboards, they have not shown to deliver any significant improvement in learning outcomes for students. On the other hand, ed-tech solutions like Ei’s Mindspark have a proven track record of boosting learning outcomes in the remotest towns of Rajasthan and slums of Delhi,” Muralidharan added.