Math Education in Africa

Edulution Holdings SA

Math Education in Africa

An inclusive platform to transform numeracy and literacy levels at scale

Cape Town, South Africa

ZAF

Nonprofit

Sub-Saharan Africa has a learning crisis, with the youngest and fastest growing population in the world, and the highest rates of children failing to learn. Maths education is particularly in crisis for learners at all grade levels. In 2023, only 16% of Zambian Grade 7 students reached or exceeded the minimum proficiency level in mathematics. In South Africa, grade 5 learners came last out of 65 countries in the 2023 TIMMS international math assessment; and only 1% of children who start Grade 1 will matriculate with a mathematics pass of 65% of higher. A weak grasp of foundational math skills has a compounding effect that eventually leads to poor educational performance and renders learners uncompetitive in the job market. Early success in math builds confidence and a positive attitude towards the subject. Conversely, early struggles can lead to a lack of confidence and a fear of math, which can be hard to overcome later. Ensuring students from vulnerable communities in Africa have a strong foundation in primary school can help close achievement gaps and promote equity in education. Improving equity and access is crucial to eliminate the disparities in education that continue to leave African students far behind their peers.

Edulution’s vision is to combine traditional learning methods with the power of edtech in a blended learning platform that is aligned to and co-created with the public school system. The solution operates within the school day and combines traditional teaching, coaches to facilitate edtech delivery on tablets and data sharing. The solution, with the support of the public school system, will be delivered in the school day initially by a teacher and a coach. The presence of the coach helps address teacher’s reluctance to engage with edtech, but eventually the solution will be delivered by teachers. This will result in improved learner outcomes and increased teacher skill level, increasing the solution’s sustainability. At the heart of our solution is Ei Mindspark’s personalized, adaptive learning software for numeracy and literacy that tailor’s instruction to each student's level. By assessing a student's current understanding, the platform directs learners to content that address specific strengths and weaknesses, ensuring that each child progresses at an appropriate pace.

Our solution serves 3 target groups: learners, coaches and teachers. Learners: Our primary beneficiaries are primary school learners in grades 4-7 from the neediest quintile 1-3 public schools in rural and peri-urban areas who are currently several years behind their grade level. Improving their numeracy skills improves their chances of completing school and greatly enhances their future prospects in the job market. Coaches: Our second beneficiaries are previously unemployed youth (18–26 year-olds) who are drawn from the communities in which the schools are located. Edulution provides a life-changing opportunity for them to acquire market-relevant skills (ICT, management, education) as well as soft-skills like communication, presentation, and facilitation skills which they can use in the classroom and in other spheres of life. Teachers: South Africa and Zambia are currently experiencing a teacher crisis, with dwindling numbers of new teachers, low levels of subject competence, limited technology exposure, large class sizes and limited interest to be placed in rural schools. Edulution’s solution will minimise the grade-level gap making it easier to cover the curriculum, reduce administrative tasks, provide critical data to enhance their teaching plans, and accelerate teacher adoption of technology which will enhance their credentials and employability.