Education 4.0 must be goal to meet future challenges

In his third law of motion, Isaac Newton stated that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is upon us and there is a need for an equal reaction to balance it off. The  Covid-19 pandemic is here and there is a need for an equal reaction to balance it off.

In the same manner, World War 1, World War 2 and the Industrial Revolution were felt and the whole world reacted. In these historical epochs the position of the education system has always been central to realising an effective reaction to revolutions and disruptions.

The education system socialises a society, and creates and disseminates knowledge which becomes the foundation for improving a nation.

After the 1994 elections, won by the ANC,  then-president Nelson Mandela envisaged a democratic and egalitarian society. In the past two decades, the focus has been to ensure that education plays a central role in building democracy by promoting inclusiveness and social mobility. It is undeniable that SA has achieved a lot in this time.

However, 2020 and 2021 have been and are really unique years. The two disruptions of Covid-19 and a technological revolution clearly imply new perspectives for the education sector once again. The world will never be the same and reforming the curriculum has become more important than ever. For SA  not to be left behind, there is surely a need to consider and take seriously so-called education 4.0.

Education 4.0 means increasing the technological and cyber elements in education. The approach to education has already changed remarkably to make sure technology plays a bigger part.

There is a need for more research into how recent technological developments such as non-technologies, the internet of things, artificial intelligence and robotics can benefit our societies.

The current classification of subjects and departments whereby entrepreneurship, medicine,  business management or information technology are viewed  as standalones seems inappropriate.

Education 4.0 should identify core curriculum areas such as entrepreneurship, information technology and robotics as compulsory central components to it rather than as standalone departments. Such curriculum changes are important to ensure that graduates are empowered to be creators rather than users.

Education 4.0 ought to harness the opportunities associated with widespread use of technologies to create employment. Calls to consider small businesses based on 4IR technologies (SMME 4.0) are on the rise and there is every reason those in power must  listen.

The South African education sector should revamp its curriculum and promote these trends: after receiving education 4.0, a graduate should then go on to create an SMME 4.0. While the promotion of entrepreneurship has been a critical element of educational policy in  SA, it has suffered several challenges at the grass roots levels. These include an inadequate education system, attitudinal issues as well as resources.

The 4IR has presented a new chance to promote successful entrepreneurship: technology has the capacity to bring entrepreneurs and markets closer through various technologies, 4IR technologies have created a whole new industry or sector that is ready to accept new entrants, while technologies offer a way of penetrating sectors that at present are monopolised by big businesses.

Despite, the challenges and negative effects arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, it has opened our eyes to new ways of doing things. Educational institutions, in particular, have been made to appreciate the role of technologies to ensure continued learning amid the pandemic.

The 4IR has been instrumental in ensuring continued operation of educational institutions through virtual work arrangements, including working from home, other remote working and teleworking. This has been commendable since it ensured education continued despite the disruptions of restricted mobility and lockdowns. It seems imperative that this trend should be accelerated.

 In other words, Covid-19 provided the starting point and, as we move ahead, adoption of new technologies and 4IR should be consolidated and strengthened. Research should continue and accelerate to identify new avenues to achieve the vision of total digitisation in line with education 4.0.

The move to 4.0 requires full engagement of all stakeholders in the up- and downstream systems. The central government, local government structures, civic societies and non-governmental organisations should appreciate these necessary changes and assist in attaining a vision for a fully transformed curriculum that attends to current matters, empowers graduates and ensures that the unemployment problem is tackled.

Given these discussions, one would suggest that the starting point is to institute a commission of inquiry into the state of the education system in South Africa and the possibility of curriculum transformation in line with the 4IR.

South Africa should continue to be the heartbeat of the African continent. Education 4.0 will ensure that it continues to lead. What used to be science fiction is becoming a reality and the education system in South Africa must react by recurriculating in response to these major changes to the world.

Dr Thobekani Lose is a manager and researcher at the Centre for Entrepreneurship Rapid Incubator at Walter Sisulu University.