UK Government presses technology sector to reform school system
Damian Hinds, the UK Education Secretary, has pressed technology industry leaders to innovate for the education sector. He has asked them to introduce technology including robotics and AI into schools in a bid to aid teaching staff at schools, colleges, and universities.
At this month’s World Education Forum, the secretary called for all technology players to contribute more to the education of the nation’s young people. Offering better education tools or innovative new technology-based teaching practices could make the working lives of educators far more productive and effective, said Hinds.
He added that while education centres across the country have the power to add technology tools themselves, a working partnership with the tech sector would lead to sustainable and focused solutions. This, he argued would be more beneficial for those in education than the current model.
In the interest of making the lives of teachers easier and allow them to focus educating learners, Hinds indicated five areas the tech industry must address. These included improving teaching and assessment practices, training teachers more effectively, transforming admin processes, and offering support for those who have left formal education. Hinds claimed that the benefits teachers would see if these areas were addressed would enable them to concentrate on teaching children rather than other administrative tasks that keep them away from the classroom.