South African e-learning to reach excluded.

South African e-learning to reach excluded. Tablets, laptops and digital learning are increasingly being used to reach students with little or no access to education, according to an international report from the ITU/Unesco Broadband Commission. This is especially crucial in the developing world, where Unesco says the digitilization of learning could be a means of accelerating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, such as ensuring access to primary school for all children. This process is already evident in Africa, which according to Unesco has 30 million primary-age children not attending school, over half the global total. Yet the continent is overcoming challenges surrounding lack of internet access and electricity to become a major player in the e-learning space. According to a recent report from Ambient Insights, Africa is the region globally where e-learning revenues are most likely to increase, with South Africa the leading market on the continent. The University of South Africa (Unisa), which teaches through distance learning, has over 310,000 South African and international students enrolled. The mobile operators have launched digital learning projects, such as Vodacom's "e-school" offering online educational content.All over the country, companies of all shapes and sizes are tapping into the growth of the digital learning market. Chris Rawlinson, founder of South African e-learning company, 42courses, says: "We are living in a world where two billion more people from mostly emerging markets are about to get online." continue