The digital revolution is fast sweeping the world, with schools and colleges adopting digital solutions that have improved efficiency and learning outcomes.
What others have called the digital snare has come with immense benefits. This is why Africa cannot afford to be left behind in the new wave. School managers have an obligation to think outside the box and seek solutions that will make work easier while giving learners, teachers and parents best experiences.
Today's school managers should be privy to the wide choice of online and offline applications and software that can be used to automate various day-to-day operational activities of a school.
What never used to happen before can now be achieved, like enhancing communication between parents and teachers through mobile apps and text messages. An entire school system can now be operated like a dashboard, thereby saving time and improving efficiency.
The core benefit of a school management system is swift decision-making, control, analysis, coordination and visualisation of information.
The Lunna School Management system, developed by Africtec, a Pan-African communication and social commerce technology firm, does exactly this. It is an idea that education stakeholders in Africa should give a try.
The youth in remote areas can have low-cost smartphones that can help them access invaluable educational and tutoring content, which once downloaded using the one-shop Lunna app.
Available on Play store and App store, it provides invaluable resources to informal sector parents who may not be able to offer tutorial help to their children.
Courtesy of its three-way advantage, it delivers a Student Information System where parents can use an app platform to follow through on students' performance.
The system comes with up to date information on finances and school fees balances plus other financial updates besides resource planner like upcoming events and activities for parents and teachers like open day and school games days.
Similarly, the Lunna system has education material whereby teachers can come up with audio and video tutorials in order to simplify concepts to learners. And examinations and results can be uploaded for review on the app via a parent's phone.
With the demands of the 21st century, schools wishing to improve parent experience and communication with teachers and other school administrators should not be left behind on this all-encompassing technology.
Those who have used the Lunna platform will tell you that it elevates parents experience through unhindered communication which creates transparency and accountability.
At the same time, it is a digital asset store and has a monetisation value for the youth. The youth can be trained on improving apps on the Lunna platform and make money in return. Africtec has invested in many IT local gurus.
Lunna connects the youth to internship and employment opportunities through its job listings in specific communities. It has features to enable the collaboration of teachers, developers, and graphic artists to digitise local curriculums, create and monetise fun learning applets and make them available to learners even in disadvantaged areas.
It enables teachers to benefit by selling digitised notes beyond their schools where a teacher can collaborate with people who have different skills sets and reproduce learning materials through animation and make money on the app.
With the apps, it is now possible for students to access Kenya certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) and Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) papers that they can access even when offline.
While the Lunna platform addresses the needs of the informal sector which consists of more than 80 per cent of the economy to participate in the African digital economy, countries have an obligation to encourage productive sectors to take up technologies that will lead to positive outcomes.
The new world order calls for creativity in leading spaces. The world is now a global village and the education sector should not be left behind.
-Dr Briggs is CEO and founder, Afristec Int
