Technology and Democratizing Education: Najelaa Shihab of Sekolah.mu

(Transkrip Bahasa Indonesia di sini)The online learning opportunity in Indonesia is simply massive. EduTech now stands as one of the fastest growing areas of investment in the venture capital world, along with Fintech and Healthtech. The country's basic educational needs moreover are acute: Indonesia is ranked #65 out of 73 participant countries in the PISA math, science, and reading ranking. Only 24% of Indonesian students passed level 2-or-above in math (PISA). This compares to 86% in Vietnam and 92% in Singapore. In this episode, we interview industry veteran Najelaa Shihab, Founder of Sekolah.mu. Najelaa addresses a number of topics; from the basic application (and frequent misapplication) of technology to pedagogy in Indonesia, to the intricacies of how the private sector works with the public sector in improving access to learning resources across Indonesia. We explore the issues and inequalities that the COVID-19 has laid bare, while also discussing signs of traction in STEM training (science, technology, engineering and math) across Indonesia's school system. Najelaa also profiles encouraging initiatives to reform Indonesia's educational system.