INTRODUCTION

Blockchain is a technology that allows the creation and exchange of digital records that are secure, transparent, and decentralized. Blockchain has the potential to transform various industries, such as finance, health, and supply chain, by enabling trust, efficiency, and innovation. Education is one of the sectors that can benefit from blockchain, especially in Africa, where there are many challenges and opportunities for improving access, quality, equity, and governance. In this article, we will explore how blockchain can revolutionize the African education sector and what are the benefits, examples, challenges, and limitations of this technology.

BLOCKCHAIN FOR EDUCATION: HOW IT WORKS AND WHY IT MATTERS

Blockchain is a technology that can provide many benefits for education, such as:

• Secure and verifiable records of academic credentials and transcripts, which can reduce fraud, corruption, and discrimination. Blockchain can store and share digital records that are immutable, transparent, and decentralized, making them easy to trace and verify. This can help students and professionals to prove their qualifications and skills, and to access more opportunities for learning and career development. Blockchain can also prevent the falsification of academic records, which is a serious problem in some countries. According to a report by UNESCO (2018), “the global market for fake degrees is estimated at $1 billion per year” and "in some countries, up to 40% of credentials are estimated to be fraudulent".

• Enhanced opportunities for lifelong learning and career development, which can increase employability, mobility, and innovation. Blockchain can support lifelong learning by allowing learners to create and manage their own digital portfolios, which can showcase their achievements, interests, and goals across different contexts and domains. Blockchain can also enable the recognition and validation of non-formal and informal learning, such as online courses, micro-credentials, digital badges, and apprenticeships. This can help learners to acquire new skills and competencies that are relevant for the changing labor market. As the World Economic Forum (2018) states, "blockchain has the potential to give rise to a new generation of lifelong learners who are able to reskill or upskill themselves throughout their lives".

• Greater efficiency and transparency for educators and administrators, which can lower costs, improve accountability, and foster collaboration. Blockchain can improve the efficiency and transparency of education systems by allowing educators and administrators to share and verify data, resources, and transactions in a trustless and decentralized manner. Blockchain can also automate some of the administrative tasks through smart contracts, which are self-executing agreements that are programmed into the blockchain. For example, blockchain can facilitate the payment of tuition fees, the enrollment of students, the delivery of courses, the assessment of learning outcomes, and the issuance of certificates. Blockchain can also enhance the quality assurance and accreditation processes by providing a secure and verifiable record of educational standards and outcomes.

• Increased student ownership and agency over their data and learning, which can empower learners, protect their privacy, and promote social inclusion. Blockchain can empower students to have more ownership and agency over their data and learning by giving them more control over how their data is stored, accessed, and used. Blockchain can also protect their privacy by using encryption, authentication, and consent mechanisms. Blockchain can also promote social inclusion by enabling access to education for marginalized groups, such as refugees, migrants, women, and people with disabilities. Blockchain can also support peer-to-peer learning and collaboration among diverse learners across geographical boundaries.

HOW BLOCKCHAIN IS CHANGING EDUCATION: A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE ON INNOVATIVE PROJECTS AND PRACTICES

Blockchain is not only a theoretical concept, but also a practical technology that is being used or piloted in education, both in Africa and elsewhere. For example, the Education Blockchain Initiative by the U.S. Department of Education and the American Council on Education aims to explore the potential of blockchain for credentialing, student records, and learning analytics (U.S. Department of Education, 2020). The initiative also launched the Blockchain Innovation Challenge, which awards grants to innovative projects that use blockchain to address educational challenges, such as credential portability, digital identity, and learning ecosystems.

Another example is the University of Nicosia in Cyprus, which offers a Master's degree in Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology. The university claims to be "the first university in the world to accept bitcoins for tuition" and to "deliver the first online course on cryptocurrency" (University of Nicosia, 2021).

Finally, BitHub Africa is a case of using blockchain for digital literacy and skills development. BitHub Africa is a "pioneering Web 3 Community dedicated to accelerating adoption of Blockchain, AI, IoT & Proof-of-Work cryptocurrency protocols across global African communities" . The company also provides training and consultancy services on blockchain and other emerging technologies (BitHub Africa, 2021).

CHALLENGES AND LIMITATIONS OF BLOCKCHAIN IN EDUCATION:

Blockchain is a promising technology for education, but it also faces some challenges and limitations that need to be addressed before it can be widely adopted in the education sector. Some of these are:

• Data security and privacy concerns, which require robust encryption, authentication, and consent mechanisms. Blockchain can store and share sensitive data, such as student records and credentials, but it also raises issues of data protection and ownership. Who can access, modify, or delete the data? How can the data be encrypted and decrypted? How can the users give or revoke their consent to share their data? These questions need to be answered by using appropriate cryptographic techniques and protocols (Chen, et al, 2018).

• Scalability and interoperability problems, which require common standards, protocols, and platforms. Blockchain can handle a large amount of data, but it also slows down the transaction speed and consumes a lot of computing power. How can the blockchain scale up to meet the growing demand of users and data? How can the blockchain interoperate with other systems and platforms, such as learning management systems, credentialing platforms, or digital identity systems? These questions need to be solved by using common standards, protocols, and platforms that can ensure compatibility and efficiency.

• Cost and technical complexity, which require adequate infrastructure, resources, and expertise. Blockchain is a complex technology that requires a lot of technical knowledge and skills to implement and manage. How can the educational institutions afford the cost of setting up and maintaining the blockchain infrastructure? How can they train and educate their staff and students on how to use the blockchain technology? These questions need to be addressed by providing adequate infrastructure, resources, and expertise that can support the adoption and use of blockchain in education.

• Legal and regulatory uncertainty, which require clear policies, frameworks, and guidelines. Blockchain is a new technology that challenges the existing legal and regulatory frameworks in education. How can the blockchain comply with the laws and regulations that govern data privacy, security, ownership, accreditation, certification, etc.? How can the blockchain deal with the potential disputes or conflicts that may arise from its use? These questions need to be clarified by developing clear policies, frameworks, and guidelines that can provide legal certainty and guidance for the use of blockchain in education (Sharples & Domingue, 2016)

CONCLUSION

Blockchain is a technology that can transform the education sector in Africa and beyond. It can provide secure and verifiable records of academic credentials and transcripts, enhance opportunities for lifelong learning and career development, improve efficiency and transparency for educators and administrators, and empower students to have more ownership and agency over their data and learning. However, blockchain also faces some challenges and limitations, such as data security and privacy concerns, scalability and interoperability problems, cost and technical complexity, and legal and regulatory uncertainty. Therefore, it is important to address these issues and to foster more research and innovation on the use of blockchain in education. It is also essential to engage and collaborate with various stakeholders, such as policymakers, educators, students, employers, and civil society, to ensure that blockchain is used in a way that benefits the African education sector and its people. Blockchain has the potential to restructure Aww education in Africa, but it requires vision, commitment, and action from all involved.

References

BitHub Africa. (2021). About us. Retrieved from https://bithub.africa/about-us/

Chen, G., Xu, B., Lu, M. & Chen, N. S. (2018). Exploring blockchain technology and its potential applications for education. Smart Learning Environments, 5(1), 1-10.

Sharples & Domingue (2016). The blockchain and kudos: A distributed system for educational record, reputation and reward. In European Conference on Technology Enhanced Learning (pp. 490-496). Springer.

U.S. Department of Education. (2020). Education blockchain initiative. Retrieved from https://tech.ed.gov/blockchain/

UNESCO. (2018). A guide for ensuring inclusion and equity in education. Retrieved from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000262823

University of Nicosia. (2021). MSc in digital currency. Retrieved from https://digitalcurrency.unic.ac.cy/

World Economic Forum. (2018). The future of jobs report 2018. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-future-of-jobs-report-2018