MARKETING INFORMATION
The Oscars In Education
Sector And Marketing Of
Education Services
By Isaac T. Ngatia
I
n late March, the education sector was
treated to a glamorous event in Dubai,
The Global Teacher Prize. It comes
with an award of US$1Million, presented
to the top nominee out of thousands of
entries from around the world.
In this year’s edition, a Kenyan teacher,
Peter Tabichi, bagged the award.
Congratulations Mwalimu! I always have
a soft spot for the teaching profession, as
my parents were teachers and I almost
followed suit.
Like any other award, this prize rewards
effort of individuals who have made
significant contribution to the education
sector. There is a rigorous process in
selecting the winner. This starts from the
thousands of nominations/submissions all
the way to the last 10. The process cuts
across countries, the different curricula
from around the world, and targets
teachers who interact with children, who
are of differing abilities. The rigor is in the
details of selecting that one teacher.
The overall impact lies in raising the
profile of the teaching profession. The
sector gains from not only wide media
coverage but also in connecting the
efforts of teachers to the daily lives of
many around the world. The thousands of
households around the world, who leave
the destiny of their kids, to a large extent,
be shaped by a teacher.
In many communities, especially in
Africa, demand for education has
always surpassed the available supply.
Hence, basic numeracy and literacy skills
and competences have been the key
objectives in many countries within the
In many communities, especially in Af-
rica, demand for education has always
surpassed the available supply. Hence,
basic numeracy and literacy skills and
competences have been the key objec-
tives in many countries within the con-
tinent. The push to ensure universal ac-
cess to these skills has led to a gradual
development in competences across oth-
er sectors, leading to a multiplier effect
from accruing benefits in the economy.
78 MAL29/19 ISSUE
continent. The push to ensure universal
access to these skills has led to a gradual
development in competences across other
sectors, leading to a multiplier effect from
accruing benefits in the economy.
However, the implosion of technology
and availability of resources is providing
the sector with new opportunities to avail
services for continuous education to the
target students.
existing curriculum; lack of unified uptake
of digital learning experiences among
other factors.
The reason for this situation is due to
various factors such as still the high
demand for basic curriculum requirements;
limited resources, especially in public
schools; low stimulating environments for
learning among other factors.
The market for education services is
therefore not only widely diversified, but
also highly fragmented. This provides
that niche to offer personalized learning
experiences.
Impactful,
functional
learning will not come from ‘mass market’.
This is the reason every student matters!
Could this be the reason for Bro. Tabichi’s
success, given the size of his school?
Does
personalization
provide
an
opportunity for players within the wider
education sector? What innovative
approaches can the stakeholders take to
enhance the learning experiences? These
are some areas to consider in developing
the sector.
Back to the award - in case one wants
to nominate a teacher for the next year’s
award, a nominee should demonstrate a
combination of the following factors,
according to the Global Teacher Prize
website:
- Employing effective instructional
practices that are replicable and scalable
to influence the quality of education
globally.
- Employing innovative instructional
practices that address the particular
challenges of the school, community or
country and which have shown sufficient
evidence to suggest they could be effective
in addressing such challenges in a new
way.
for a world where they will potentially
live, work and socialize with people from
many different nationalities, cultures and
religions.
- Improving the teaching profession
through helping to raise the bar of
teaching, sharing best practice, and
helping
colleagues
overcome
any
challenges they face in their school.
- Teacher recognition from governments,
national teaching organizations, head-
teachers, colleagues, members of the
wider community or pupils.
- Achieving demonstrable student
learning outcomes in the classroom.
- Impact in the community beyond
the classroom that provide unique and
distinguished models of excellence for the
teaching profession and others.
-
Helping children become global
citizens through providing them with a
values-based education that equips them
Isaac is a marketing research
consultant within the Africa and
Middle East region. You can reach
him on this and related issue via
email at: [email protected] or
on Twitter @IsaacTN.
The current situation therefore provides
a view of both the initial objectives in
basic literacy and numeracy as well as an
outlook of new realities of continuous
education as a life journey. There is a need
to bridge the gap between these views.
This implies stakeholders have a role not
only in meeting the basic objectives but
also bridging the gap within the learning
environment. There should be a gradual
expansion, not only within the explicit
curriculum but also the lifelong learning.
However, most schools have left all these
roles to the teachers. There is no marketer
or a communications department to push
the message.
Programs and even brands in education
sector within the continent are still
struggling with providing information
to help in bridging the gap from school
system to enabling continuous learning
facilities. This has forced many players
across the continent to stick to providing
products around the explicit curriculum.
E.g. most publishers only provide hard
copy textbooks; few learning management
systems, which stick and replicate the
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