5 Traits That Can Make You A Successful African Entrepreneur

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Are you wondering what do you need to become an entrepreneur? Well starting a business can be very challenging and it can be rather difficult to be a successful entrepreneur in Africa. Not only will you need to work hard on your start-up, but you will also need to have a good understanding of the industry, the market and the overall African and global economy.

How To Be A Successful Entrepreneur

To build a profitable business and to become an effective entrepreneur, you need to posses some specific skills and traits that will set you apart and keep you going even during the low times. Some people are born entrepreneurs, but for most of it needs some hard work and dedication. Hence, it is a good idea to pursue an MBA programme to acquire the necessary business skills and knowledge that will help you develop entrepreneurial traits and characteristics.

Here I am going to talk about the top 5 traits which you must possess as an aspiring African entrepreneur. Read on....

Leadership Qualities

Do you find yourself in various leadership roles in work and life? Are you employed in a management position? You need to have strong leadership traits to make it big as an entrepreneur in Africa. You must guide your team through various challenges and provide solutions so that the business goals are met effectively and within the set budget. As a leader you must have good communication skills and keep your team motivated so that the work is completed smoothly and effectively.

Passion

Being passionate about your work is a must-have quality for any aspiring entrepreneur. To become a successful businessman, one should be driven by a deeper objective than simply running a start-up. It is only your passion that will motivate you to pursue your business idea and make it a reality. If you do not have that special spark in you, then you will not be able to steer your business through various challenges and difficulties.

Self-Motivation

Do you see a glass half empty or half full? If you wish to start your own business, then it is imperative that you remain optimistic in your life. You must be highly self-motivated to face obstacles confidently and turn them into opportunities. You must work diligently and find solutions to daily problems with ease. Successful entrepreneurs need to be focussed on the overall goal and should be able to drive the business towards achieving these goals.

Identifying Weaknesses

Identifying your strengths as a leader is not enough; you also need recognise your own weaknesses as it will enable you to develop yourself and lead your business better. Understanding what you don’t know will help you develop further skills and work on your weaknesses. It will not only make you grow as a person, but also enable you to become a better entrepreneur.

Resourcefulness

As the owner of a start-up, you may not be able to access a wide range of assets and other resources to operate and expand your business. Hence, as an effective entrepreneur you must be innovative and resourceful to make the best use of whatever assets you have before you. It is also important that you know how to best use your network.

Learning Entrepreneurship

You may not be a born entrepreneur. But that does not mean you cannot develop the skills and abilities to become one. Fortunately, there are a number business education programmes available that offer to train entrepreneurs and help them develop the necessary traits and skills. Earning an MBA degree will provide to the confidence to face the challenges of the corporate world and grow your business. But pursuing a full-time MBA programme requires a lot of time and money, which can result in delaying your start-up. Moreover, the huge amounts of money spent on traditional MBA programmes can be better used as valuable assets for your business. Hence, I believe the best thing to do is pursue a Fast Track MBA programme online.

Studying an online postgraduate diploma in business programme will not only allow you to save a lot of time and money, but it will also help you acquire essential business skills leading you to fast track your MBA degree. As online programmes are highly flexible, you can work on your start-up throughout the day and focus on your studies during leisure hours as per your convenience. Moreover, you will also be able to apply your business knowledge immediately on your work and help your start-up grow faster. Going for a fast track MBA online also allows you to fast track your online business diploma to the second year of a recognised MBA degree. Your business knowledge will enable you to develop the necessary entrepreneurial traits to steer your business forward.

Being An Entrepreneur

Becoming a successful entrepreneur and building your own start-up is surely a challenging task. But by gaining the right knowledge, skills and abilities you will get the confidence and motivation to lead your team and your business towards success.

What other traits do you think an entrepreneur should possess? Feel free to add to the list or share your own list by commenting below. We would love to hear from you.

6 New IT Roles That You Must Know About

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Businesses and organisations are striving to keep up with rapid technological advancements like service management, the cloud and virtualization. As more businesses are now focussed on information management, the fast pace of the IT industry has necessitated the recruitment of skilled workers. With changing technology, companies now need to modify the knowledge, skills and job roles required to develop, design, execute and organise such advanced technologies. But the fact is most IT firms are struggling to prepare themselves and cope with the growing demands of change.

A Crisis Of Talent

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A recent study by the CEB (Corporate Executive Board) shows that around 80 per cent of information technology firms fail to offer education, coaching or training for skills and abilities they think will enhance in significance. Andrew Horne, CEB Managing Director, says companies which do not have the right plan to cope with such needs can get left behind.

Horne said “The IT talent crisis isn’t new, but there’s a considerable shift happening in the skills that are in demand. We’ve identified six major roles we see as being the ‘future of corporate IT’ that we think most, if not all, innovative companies will need going forward.”

According to CEB, CIOs must aim to fill the following 6 IT roles in order to remain relevant, competitive and economical in 2015-

Collaboration And Social Media Evangelist

IT companies will get many opportunities to collaborate with partners, customers and even internally. However, most businesses are incapable of doing it right. This role will help in understanding why and how workers collaborate. As business is getting more digitised, it will help to create an effective collaboration and social media strategy.

Horne said “They’ll need to know what tools for collaboration and social engagement are available and which will work best within their organization. There will also be a need for the talent in this role to understand how best to foster communication and collaboration among teams.”

Technology Broker

A technology broker will offer purchase advice and support in negotiations to divisions throughout the organisation. This will ensure that make sure the sound purchase decisions are taken and ensure that the existing systems is compatible with the technology.

Horne said “In the past, IT was in charge of all technology purchase decisions and developed specific vendor negotiation and purchasing skills. Now, almost every department from marketing to finance has the ability to buy apps they feel will benefit their group, but in some cases these folks are more willing than able.”

Information Insight Enabler

Most companies tend to have a wealth of statistics, reports and information. However, they are unable to use this data effectively to make strategic decisions and drive their business forward, according to Horne. He said “And information insight enabler is something of a big data role; they act as coaches, not just technologists, to help business leaders and front-line employees to derive greater insight from management reports. These folks understand the data and know best how to put it to business use,” he says.

User Experience Guru

Unimpressive user experience is one of the main reasons that business cannot adopt conventional enterprise software properly. Horne claims “A lot of legacy enterprise tech just isn’t user-friendly, and people won’t use something that’s poorly designed or complex, and that impacts productivity in a negative way.”

He adds “When it comes to productivity tools for collaboration, analytics and mobile, employees will find a more usable alternative, even if it’s not ‘approved’ or provided by IT, so a user experience guru is necessary to understand and improve the user experience and improve collaboration and productivity.”

Cloud Integration Specialist

With the growing popularity of cloud, more and more business leaders are getting their applications and software packages. However, they usually fail to take in to consider the issues related to compatibility and integration with their current systems. This can result in serious obstacles for the business operations.

Horne said “A cloud integration specialist is dedicated to navigating these coordination and integration issues as well as managing and educating purchasers and users on compatibility and on working with vendors to ask the right questions.”

End-To-End IT Service Manager

IT services need proper integration of technology, information and business to develop end-to-end IT services which will improve efficiency and flexibility. Horne added “This end-to-end services model takes everything IT does and stitches it all together – all the technology, data, support, applications, and strategy – to create flexibility, responsiveness and efficiencies.”

These managers will work in senior designations with experience in technology marketing, business engagement and service delivery. Horne said “IT-as-a-service creates an environment where IT adapts to support current practices, current business needs, incorporates new and different technologies and makes it all work seamlessly.”

The Bottom Line

There you have it....six hottest new IT roles for your organisation that you must fill successfully. Horne said “Don’t try and make these hiring decisions in a vacuum or make them exclusive to executives. Don’t hide these roles from your IT team. Engage them in figuring out what holes need to be filled, what positions they need, and also who they have currently whose skills could have additional value.”

What do you think about these IT roles? Feel free to share your own thoughts and vies with us by commenting below. We would love to hear from you.

Why We Need To Make Education Accessible For Village Children In Nigeria

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Although a lot of efforts were made, but it seems that the educational goals set by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) almost 14 years earlier will not be achieved any time soon. The Nigerian federal government, which faced many obstacles in attaining the MDGs, claims that the accomplishments of these goals will remain challenging unless the material and human resources in Nigeria are utilised efficiently.

Need For Offering Quality Education

Considering various aspects related to accessing education, basic academic infrastructure, educational quality, instructional material and others, it is understandable that more efforts are required, especially in rural regions where there is a dearth of essential infrastructure and inadequate levels of awareness prevail.

Recently, the global NGO ActionAid Nigeria, in association with the non-governmental organisation Hope for the Village Child, Kaduna, visited a number of villages in Kaduna state in Nigeria for encouragement and refine exercise on the importance of providing access to children to high quality education. The focus was also how they can take part in motivating the children with disabilities and to help them access education.

Making Education Accessible For All

Back in 2000, world leaders met together and made a commitment to make qualitative education accessible for every child by the year 2015. However, now that 2015 is almost here, a number of nations, including Nigeria, are yet to achieve this goal of making education available to everyone. According to studies, it was found that around 57 million children across the globe are currently out of school; and more than 24 million children, who suffer from disabilities, are included in this figure.

The findings of the research have pushed students worldwide to voice their opinions and speak their right to quality education. Moreover the children are also aiming to remind the global leaders that all children must be able to attend classrooms in schools. This movement has made the catchphrase “Send my Friend to School” popular across Nigeria and other parts of Africa.

As an effect of this movement, Hope for the Village Child and Actionaid Nigeria became motivated to get involved in propagating and promoting quality and applicable education throughout Nigeria, especially in rural regions like Chikun, Igabi and Kajuru. The NGOs visited several villages, which included Kasuwan Magani, Panja and Ekuzeh in Kajuru local government area; Panzanto and Gwaraji in Igabi local government area; and Maraban Rido and Kujama in Chikun local government area.

Facing Challenges And Difficulties

Both the NGOs found that a number of difficulties were prevalent in most of the regions that were visited. These include lack of educators and shortage of sufficient education infrastructure. Moreover, the learners receive poor quality education and primary schools students are mostly unable to read and write. Moreover, the pupils in most schools can hardle speak in English, excluding secondary schools in Maraban Rido, Kujama and Kasuwan Magani.

It was also discovered that students in Kajuru local government sit on bare floors and most of the classrooms do not have a blackboard. Moreover many infrastructures were damaged as well. Apart from these, many other schools were visited and the scenario was almost same throughout different villages.

As of the now, the Nigerian government needs to take more severe steps to improve the state on education in the country. It is not only enough to improve our classrooms by providing necessary infrastructure and study materials, but we must make education easily accessible for all children in Nigeria.

What do you think? Share your own opinions and views by commenting below. We would love to hear from you.

How Educational Development In Nigeria Is Now Becoming A Reality

Nelson Mandela once famously said “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” I believe this why now there is a stronger need for us to focus on developing the Nigerian education system. A lot has already been said and written about the problems and challenges faced by our education system, but I think now it’s time that we concentrate on the positive efforts undertaken by the government, organisations and individuals to extend the reach of education and help our students learn.

Hence, here I am going to talk about the obvious challenges faced by the education system in Nigeria and how everyone is striving to better the scenario. Read on....

Struggling With A Polluted System

As an educationist and a researcher, I have visited various schools throughout Nigeria and have generally found the same scenario existing everywhere. Although we are generously gifted with vast natural and human resources, our education system is tormented with issues like underfunding. As a result of this, most schools are left to cope with poor infrastructure and corrupted learning environment. In my experience, I have seen schools facing a lack of adequate classrooms, laboratories, libraries, computers, projectors and other teaching aids. Moreover there is a scarcity of quality educators due to non-availability of training. In fact our schools are further haunted with various vices like child-hooliganism, cultism and examination malpractices.

Throughout my career, I have met many people who think that the disturbing decline in the goals and objectives of Nigerian school system has been mostly caused by the military intrusion into politics. Every time I open a newspaper, the headlines scream at me about corruption and bribery allegations against our educators; students involved in cult wars, rape incidents in campuses, brutal initiation of unwary students to cult groups; campus prostitution supported by public office holders and many more.

But even in this dark and murky environment, I still see a ray of hope for our education system and our learners. The Nigerian government has taken a number of steps to bring education to our grass roots. However, there is still lot more that we need to do to effectively improve the current educational structure.

Empowering Our Youths

Apart from the Nigerian government, a number of establishments have also come forward to boost our education system and provide various development opportunities to our youths. One such company is Airtel Nigeria, which has constantly invested in youth development and created a number of reliable platforms, including Catapult-a-Start-up, the One-Mic music initiative, Airtel Rising Stars, and the Adopt-a- School programme, for Nigerian youths.

Recently, Airtel launched special programme named Catapult-a-Start-up for upcoming Nigerian entrepreneurs. Segun Ogunsanya, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director of Airtel Nigeria, explained the initiative as a solid step in enabling our youths to pursue their career dream and achieve success.

Ogunsanya said “At Airtel, we are passionate about building a community for young talented Nigerians. We know that there are thousands of young people who are blessed with the skills to develop relevant apps, but most of them do not have opportunities to showcase or develop their skills.”

He added “So through the Catapult-a-Startup programme, we will not only be able to identify the talent, but also encourage local content through this initiative...Airtel will continue to go the extra mile to empowering them to succeed in their respective endeavours.”

Earlier this year, Airtel Nigeria introduced the Airtel One Mic programme which aims to discover young and talented musicians in different campuses across the country. Moreover the organisation has also provided an excellent platform for skilled athletes in the field of football through their Airtel Rising Stars initiative. 

Thousands of skilled players, both boys and girls, are given the opportunity to demonstrate their talents and take part in regional, national and international championships. However, the biggest and most important contribution by Airtel is in the field of primary education. It has associated with the government for the long term development of primary education.

Ogunsanya said “Our Adopt-a-School programme is a robust intervention that thrives on a singular mantra: when we adopt a school, we adopt for life...Schools we have adopted will continue to benefit from us indefinitely.” He continued “Without a doubt, quality education offers children the best opportunity in life to realise their dreams and become the leaders of tomorrow. A great environment is also critical to the development of a sound mind. It is, therefore, in recognition of the importance of education and as part our Corporate Social Responsibility vision that we have committed to the adoption of public primary schools across Nigeria.”

Training For A Better Future

Just like Airtel, the Intel Corporation is also taking efforts to improve the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector and boost the Nigerian economy. Recently Intel has provided training to more than 80 undergraduates from Nigeria with the help of their Intel Galileo Board.

The 80 Nigerian students were selected from 8 universities across the nation, including-

• Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), Ondo State
• Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, Kaduna State
• Imo State and the University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Kwara State
• Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State
• Federal University of Science and Technology Owerri (FUTO)
• Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State
• Ekiti State University (EKSU), Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State

Wolf Witt, member of Intel Education Service Corps, explained that the Intel Corporation was dedicated towards the development of engineering and technology in colleges and universities in Nigeria. I found it interesting when Intel Nigeria Corporate Affairs Manager Babatunde Akinola requested the participants to be pioneering and innovative by discovering the various potentials and opportunities offered by the Intel Galileo Board.

He said “Galileo is a platform for you to express yourself. It can spur you to being creative and innovative. There is a wealth of resources on our platform that you can use.”

Taking The Right Step

But as the government and other organisations are trying hard to improve the overall scenario, I think our students also need to be proactive and take the right steps to accomplish their academic goals. But what can our students do at this stage if the Nigerian school system is unable to provide quality education currently?

If you are committed to earn a recognised qualification and start building your career, then I would suggest that you study for an online university degree. Being an educator myself, I was initially wary about the benefits of online learning, but as I learned more I discovered that it is perhaps the best option for Nigerian students.

Why Go Online?

The answer is simple. Online degrees are highly affordable accredited programmes that allow you to learn what you want, where you want at your own pace. This means you can study from your own home and work at the same time without emptying your bank account. You can easily avoid the corruption prevalent in our higher education by studying online as you will not be required to physically visit the campus. Moreover, when you acquire university degree online, you will get excellent job opportunities in various fields as most employers across Nigeria now recognise and accept online qualifications.

I personally believe that online education can give our students the edge they need to compete with others in the global job market. As most online degrees are accredited, you will receive high quality education that will bring you at par with international students.

The Bottom-Line

As we strive to better our flawed education system, we are all aware that it will take some time to get the wheels in motion. Several important steps have already been taken, but we still need to go miles. In the meantime, you should do all that you can to add value to your resume and gain the necessary skills and knowledge. And one of the best ways to do that is certainly online education.

What do you think about the current state of our education system? What more can we do to make it better? Share your thoughts and ideas with us by commenting below. We would love to hear from you.

How Rich Parents Can Afford Poor Students’ College Education

Are you getting prepped for college? But are you ready to face the university financing problem? Nowadays there seems to a buzz about the vanishing middle class and this is depicted clearly when our kids go to college and we have to pay for it.

Apparently most parents now feel that they are too rich for taking financial aid and too poor for paying for a college degree. Numerous families throughout the nation are facing this problem right now. This scenario has been created as a result of several issues like rising tuition fees, complicated financial aid calculations, amounts of financial grant available, stricter regulations which increase the financial burden on the parents for paying college fees, even if they cannot afford it. This gap is eventually affecting our students and their scope for pursuing higher education.

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Are You Too Poor For Paying For College?

 

I am sure all parents become excited and happy when their kids get accepted to a prestigious college and pursue their academic dreams. But when the parents realise how much money they will have to shell out for the degree, the excitement quickly turns into concern. Did it happen to you? Richard Morais faced a similar situation when his daughter got accepted to the Johns Hopkins University. Although the family was ecstatic initially, but when the admissions packet arrived with the financial aid award and the cost of attendance, the mood at the Morais house changed. Pursuing a degree at Johns Hopkins University would cost the family $54,470, which included room and board, in just 1 year. 

As the total financial aid package was merely $6,000, Morais would need to $48,470, or his daughter would need to take student loans. What can a normal family do? Paying $48,000 for college is undoubtedly a real challenge for any household. If his daughter took a student loan, then she would be burdened with almost $200,000 debt after her graduation, which is unacceptable. This is why most families in the US feel too poor to pay for college.

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Are You Too Rich For Taking Financial Aid?

 

Conversely, several families feel they are too rich to accept financial grant. Generally your financial aid depends on the Free Application For Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is eventually utilised to determine the Expected Family Contribution. This is mainly what the government thinks about how much your family will be able to pay for college education.

This helps educational institutes to calculate the amount of need-based financial aid that a student requires and should receive. However there is a problem with this calculation and formula; it does not consider the family expenses, requirement for saving for your retirement, and the costs of education for other children. 

Hence, even though the government may believe that you can afford to pay thousands of dollars for your child’s college education, in reality your family may not be able to pay that much. This is why most families in the US are thought to be too wealthy for financial assistance.

What Can Parents Do?

 

If you wish to avoid getting trapped in this scenario, then you need to take some steps immediately. You can start by saving for college in an education savings account. The FAFSA calculations treat these savings amounts differently. Hence you can get higher need-based financial aid.

Moreover, you can also apply for financial assistance, which are not need-based, like grants and scholarships. Thus by beginning early and by applying for various grants, you can accumulate a good fund for college.

What do you think about college fees and financial aids? Are you too poor for college? Or are you too rich for financial support? Let us now. Share your thoughts by commenting below.

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African Education Needs Quality, Not Just High Enrolment

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According to a 2013 United Nations report, the state of global education has developed since 2011 with net enrolment rising to 90 per cent in developing nations and 77 per cent in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, there is a negative aspect to this. The rise in student enrolment has not been complemented by a rise in quality of education. 

Is Quality Rising With Quantity?

 

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The details of this topic was discussed at the 2014 African Economic Conference in Ethiopia. Participants at the conference listened to the findings of the research presented by scholars who worked on finding solutions to this dilemma. Esther Mumbi Kinamu, a South African Researcher, analysed and examined the importance of education in economic progress in developing nations. He said that numerous learners who have already completed 9 years of education in Africa, possess skills and knowledge below the global average level. 

She said “They simply cannot compete with their peers from the developed world at that level. For the type of primary education offered to be of significant value, research finds that it should not entirely be theoretical but at least impart some basic skills.” 

Kinamu further quoted works by reputed educationalist Eric A. Hanushek and claimed that as public plans for general education remained the key prerogative of the government, a constant rise in the public investment on academic infrastructure is imminent. She added “Our findings considered neighbourhood characteristics such as access to piped water, toilet facilities and communication facilities, most of which is the work of government. Increased expenditure per pupil also has a significant effect on the quality of a child’s education.” 

Her research, entitled “The effects of pupil-teacher ratio and expenditure per pupil on education attainment in South Africa”, states that in lower grades a low student-teacher ratio has a stronger impact on the quality of education. She added “Family characteristics are important determinants of educational attainment. Our results show that having a parent with at least some secondary education increases the likelihood of attaining a higher level of education, compared to having a parent with no formal education.” 

Focussing On Removing Illiteracy

 

Jennifer Okwonkwo, another renowned education researcher who primarily focused on Education reforms in Francophone West African countries, believes that the African education system should be restructured to enable our students to eradicate poverty, eliminating illiteracy and improving health, instead of encouraging them to dream about having a good life. 

Okwonkwo said “Many African countries have carried out reforms in their education systems, however, the quality of education in Africa remains strikingly low. While some argue that there is no relationship between funding and reform outcomes, others conclude that increase in per-pupil expenditure has a significant positive impact on reform achievement.” She added “Our research finds that increased funding in education is very crucial, but its impact depends highly on how it is used.” 

Need For Better Quality Education

 

However, as per the 2014 Millennium Development Goals Report, most nations are set to achieve their primary education enrolment targets. The report was developed by the African Development Bank in association with the United Nations Development Program, the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. The study reveals that 25 nations have reached enrolment rates of over 80 per cent; while 11 countries have enrolment below 75 per cent. But it backs the notion that poor quality education is still a key challenge in spite of having high enrolment ratios, said the Africa Economic Conference research papers. 

What do you think about the quality of education in Africa? Share your thoughts and experiences by commenting below. We would love to hear from you.

Can Low-Cost Private Schools Change the Education Scenario in South Africa?

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The focus has again shifted to the quality of education provided by the South African education system as the required pass marks for grade 7, grade 8 and grade 9 have been increased recently. Affordable private schools are becoming more and more popular as these institutes claim to offer world-class private education at only a part of the regular costs. How do you think this will affect the future of education? Let's find out.... 

Affordable, But Not Cheap

 

Numerous private schools that charge low fees are gradually gaining ground across South Africa. For instance, the Spark Schools, established under the administration of the eAdvance Group, are among these affordable institutions that are raking in students from all over the region. The primary schools were founded by Ryan Harrison and Stacey Brewer while both of them were studying MBA at the Gordon Institute of Business Science. The institutes offer low-cost private education by following the blended learning approach. The property management branch of eAdvance manages to keep the rental costs low. 

The initial Spark School was established in 2013 and acquired ground-breaking academic results. The model seems to prove effective as the founders are now gearing up to open the 3rd and 4th Spark Schools opening in Maboneng and Bramley, Johannesburg by January 2015. 

Stacey Brewer, CEO of eAdvance and co-founder of Spark Schools, says “Our blended learning model allows for high-quality education at an affordable cost. By using online learning together with conventional classroom teaching, we capture data on all our children, and based on how they’re achieving, we’re able to address every child’s individual needs so we can differentiate our instruction accordingly.” 

Merging Technology And Education

 

Taking inspiration from the Spark Schools in Johannesburg, eAdvance has developed long-term plans to establish similar institutions across South Africa. Apart from them, Curro Holdings, an independently-owned and operated Christian private education group, is also striving to provide low-cost private education by merging traditional learning and technology. The establishment is expanding rapidly with more than 33 nursery, primary and high schools throughout South Africa. They aim to establish over 80 schools by the year 2020. 

Moreover with the advent of Pioneer Academies, a new private school network, affordable private institutes with low-cost private schools with inventive education approaches are becoming more popular. 

The group is established by Chinezi Chijioke who formerly led the African Education Practice of McKinsey & Company. With support from private investors, the group is determined to offer cheap yet comprehensive education with sufficient focus on academic as well as emotional development. The network will start their first school next year in Ormonde. 

Brewer of eAdvance believes that affordable private schools are undeniably the future of education in South Africa. She says “We’re providing an education model that’s affordable to the country. One of the greatest proportions of our national budget goes to education, yet we can provide education at the same costs that government is spending, but our quality outcomes are internationally competitive.” 

What do you feel about the present state of education in SA? Do you think low-cost private schools can change the South African education system? If you want to share your own views and opinions on this topic, then feel free to comment below. We would love to hear from you. 

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Online Educators Act As Mentors, Not Lecturers

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Online education has become one of the most popular and preferred modes of learning in the last few years. Numerous aspiring learners are now going online to acquire higher education as well as secondary education qualifications. With growing demand for web-based learning, many reputed universities and institutions are now offering their programmes online to expand the reach of education. But can our students benefit from learning over the Internet? Let’s find out.... 

Making Education Better

 

Being an educationist, I have seen a number of schools, both public and private, modify their operations with the help of online academic tools. Although I am not an expert on online education, but I do believe that all children should have the opportunity to study and learn. I don’t think that online learning is some magical solution to current academic challenges; however it is an important tool which can enable educators to teach students better. 

Helping Non-Traditional Students Learn

 

It is only with the help of education we can reach and educate those students who are incapable of pursuing education in a classroom environment. For instance, those children who cannot attend school for medical reasons can be successfully taught through online learning programmes. Moreover, various other types of individuals, like teenage mothers or working professionals, can earn high school and college degrees and also focus on their personal and/or professional commitments while studying with the help of online education.

Furthermore, online learning has made it easier for aspiring athletes to dedicate adequate time in training and yet manage time to pursue their education. I have known students who are pursuing higher education online while they are training for the Olympics. 

Offering Higher Flexibility

 

I can assure you that traditional education can never match the level of flexibility and convenience offered by online learning. You can earn a high school degree or diploma from a brick-and-mortar school while working or being a mother. With the help of educational technology and online learning, students in different parts of the globe can access high quality education irrespective of their financial backgrounds, location and previous qualification. 

Online education can undoubtedly help various people achieve their academic goals in an affordable way. However it is essential that online programmes offer high quality education and excellent learning experience to enable our students build their careers successfully. 

Is There A Need For Concern?

 

But I believe that when our teachers are taken out of the scenario, we need to start getting concerned about the effects of online learning. Teachers are an essential part of the learning experience and there will always be a need for educators to guide and mentor our learners. 

However, I don’t think this necessitates face to face instruction. It can also be effectively done online via video chats, live chats, email, social media and other forms of digital communication. As a result of this, the role of the teacher changes drastically from purveyor and administrator of knowledge to coach and mentor for students. The focus is now to guide the learners to accomplish their goals, instead of just giving lectures 

Turning Teachers Into Mentors

 

Online educators constantly stay in communication with their students and regularly keep track of their progress. Online educators can check exactly what the students are learning and how they are learning. Moreover, they can easily identify weak students who have fallen behind and help them progress. A traditional teacher will not be able to access such information in a classroom setting. 

As technology develops and the reach of education expands, I believe that more and more schools will implement online learning tools in their classroom by using blended learning techniques. Moreover increasing number of students will also opt for learning online instead of going to a traditional classroom to earn a degree. 

What do you think about online education? Can it help our students learn more effectively? Share your thoughts and ideas with me by commenting below. I would love to hear from you.