IOHK has formed a partnership with the Ethiopian Ministry of Education in order to implement a blockchain-based national identity solution for 5 million students and 750,000 teachers.
According to a tweet by IOHK Media this will be the world’s largest blockchain deployment to date.
Cardano (ADA) had also previously announced that they are working closely with Ethiopian private and public sector in order to “democratise social and financial services for the world’s 1.7 billion ‘unbanked’ people in Africa”.
How Will Digital Identity Help Students?
By using blockchain technology, qualifications attained by individuals can be verified by the system and therefore ending fraudulent university and jobs applications. Employers will be able to verify the individuals credentials without a third party.
Student IDs will also be paired with data from Learning Management Systems and harnessed by machine learning algorithms to drive personalised teaching, a dynamic curriculum, and data-driven policies and funding.
All teachers and pupils will be issued with tablets with a dedicated network where students can access their academic records. This infrastructure will open the doors to higher education and employment for 80% of students who live in rural regions.
This forms a key plank of our National Digital Transformation Strategy and will underpin a uniquely transparent, data-driven education system based on a dynamic curriculum.
Getahun Mekuria, Ethiopian Education Minister
Is Ethiopia Ready For Such Radical Change?
Doing business in Africa can be difficult due to lack of infrastructure as well as political instability in most countries. Ethiopia is no exception with their inhabitants experiencing Internet shutdowns as well as military forces fighting in the Tigray region. In a report by the Guardian almost 2,000 people killed in more than 150 massacres in this area.
However on the positive side there is a strong belief that blockchain technology is a possible catalyst to end digital exclusion and increase access to higher education.
Ethiopia’s Sheba Valley is already recognised as the leading AI hub in Africa, 70 per cent of our university graduates are in STEM subjects and we are now leading the way in using blockchain to digitalise education.
Getahun Mekuria, Ethiopian Education Minister
IOHK have set major goals, and it seems that they have quite the task ahead to be able to make their vision a reality amid the harsh realities surrounding them in Ethiopia.
Join in the conversation on this article’s Twitter thread.
Disclaimer:
The content and views expressed in the articles are those of the original authors own and are not necessarily the views of Crypto News. We do actively check all our content for accuracy to help protect our readers. This article content and links to external third-parties is included for information and entertainment purposes. It is not financial advice. Please do your own research before participating.
Credit: Source link
