By Werner Joubert, Commercial SYS Business Director (South Africa & SADC) at ASUS

Over the last decade, there has been a focus on the relationship between South Africa’s education sector and technology. That focus was sharpened during the COVID-19 crisis when teleconferencing and education technology became critical for learners, educators, and institutions to engage with one another, conduct classes, and share curriculum material and resources.

Studies conclude that the crisis succeeded in pushing the boundaries of digital transformation and the need for education to become more learner-centred and technology-driven, but it is up to all sector stakeholders to continue that momentum to deliver a universal and enhanced digital learning experience for South Africa’s youth. Part of that effort involves re-aligning our education technology infrastructure to meet the needs of the sector’s administrative and student management processes. With the right deployments, the help of quality hardware, and strategic partnerships with vendors and solutions providers, our schools can serve as shining examples of education technology.

Building and connecting schools, server by server
South Africa has long been on a mission to prioritise digital transformation in its education sector with initiatives to provide basic infrastructure such as internet access and desktop computers. Indeed, the nation’s digital transformation roadmap outlines key priorities such as universal internet access and the provision of digital skills to enable wider usability of new technologies and future economic empowerment.

This is a foundation on which institutions can build upon. Strategic investments in robust networks and reliable hardware can enable institutions to adopt cloud-based solutions for data storage, processing, and accessibility. At the same time, institutions require on-premise servers for their critical applications, ensuring higher security and reliability levels in the event of network disruptions or security incidents, all driven by the goal of creating a secure, scalable, and cost-effective IT environment.

Another major factor to consider is also interoperability. By standardising infrastructure and platforms, institutions can form part of a nationwide ecosystem, working together to manage the distribution of education resources effectively, provide consistent support to students and educators, and build a national data framework that they can use to improve service delivery and enhance curriculum development.

Empowering learners and educators with the right hardware
While no two learning environments may be the same, learners and educators across South Africa require infrastructure and technology resources that meet basic sets of needs and usage requirements.

Both learners and educators, but educators especially, face demanding workloads related to curriculum resources, administrative duties, and classroom sizes, prompting the need for high-performance, high-reliability digital devices. Devices need to be compatible with the latest educational applications and platforms, which learners can also access and use during in-person and remote lessons. Those apps and platforms should also form part of a holistic curriculum delivery strategy with each one complementing the others.

Deploying the right hardware also sets the stage for the provision and expansion of digital literacy, enabling learners with the knowledge and skillsets essential for participating in today’s digital economy. Exposure like this empowers capabilities that extend beyond the classroom and into student’s homes and communities, helping to further close the digital divide, uplift entire groups, and invest in the professionals, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders that will take South Africa forward.

The value of strategic partnerships
Education is an exercise in stakeholder engagement and collaboration, with people and entities coming and working together to deliver results that propel learners and the country forward. That power of partnership extends to the digital platform and software vendors that can assist institutions in delivering an enhanced learning experience, optimised administration, and streamlined communication. Partnering with vendors, institutions can make vast improvements and enhancements in the following areas:

• Communication: Institutions can expand their reach and keep all stakeholders, including parents and staff members, in the loop through multiple channels and targeted messaging, all while adhering to privacy regulations.
• Administration: By streamlining data processes such as student registration, compliance checking, and others, institutions can unlock new insights about their organisations that can lead to new efficiencies.
• Finance: By centralising and unifying financial management functions, including budgeting and payments, institutions can enhance their transparency and accountability as well as improve their abilities to detect and identify fraud and financial mismanagement.
• Curriculum Management: Configuring and managing institutions’ curriculums are complex and time-consuming tasks. With the help of a dedicated management platform, they can better adhere to all frameworks and standards, accurately capture learner marks and information, and maintain regulatory compliance.

The marriage of quality, reliable and user-centric hardware and software is how South Africa’s education sector embraces a new generation of education technology and solutions. Solutions like those offered by ASUS Education enable institutions to address the immediate needs of today’s classrooms while laying a foundation for scalable, future-focused systems.

With the help of strategic partnerships and a drive to achieve top marks, schools can make the best choices for their learners and educators and provide the learning experience that they deserve.