Blockchain in Education
Fake certificates, use of data in an unauthorized way, dealing with tonnes of paper applications — education sector today is in a poor state.
Blockchain, the underlying technology of Bitcoin, maybe just what the global education industry needs — a fresh and new approach to improving student access, lowering costs and making course material more relevant in the real world.
Edtech is a huge sector, it’s market is projected to grow at 17% per annum, to $252bn by 2020. Different technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality are already making their way into the Edtech sector and it’s only a matter of time before blockchain becomes mainstream too.
So let’s dive into the main problem areas of the traditional education system.
What are the Reasons that the Traditional system is Broken?
- The problem of fake certificates
- Tonnes of paperwork
- It is very expensive
- Data can be changed, hacked or lost due to natural disasters
- Use of data in an unauthorised manner
- Need for carrying of original certificates to verify the authenticity
Now that we know what exactly are the problems we face in a traditional education system lets see how blockchain technology fits into the education sector.
Blockchain technology can help in storing student credentials, identity verification, transfer of credits, reducing data costs and risks, and many other ways.
In the education sector blockchain technology can provide with a rich, secure and a transparent platform. Implementing blockchain will have the following benefits:
Digital Certificates
Paper-based school certificates, extra training certificates, and education diplomas can get lost and the original certificates can be lost over time. Other online certifications can easily be forged by seeing someone else’s certificates. By using the blockchain technology we can have a secure and tamper-proof way of storing certificates, these certificates can also be easily received and shared by students themselves.
MIT has already started issuing virtual diplomas to students. It is different from a paper diploma as it will never be lost and can’t be falsified either.
Eliminating the usage of paper
There are tonnes of paper applications, degrees, and many other certificates. Blockchain technology can help us save all this paper that is printed by educational institutions as it can store all records, certificates and awards, keeps track of learning achievements, securely and permanently for the lifetime.
Financing Education
Most popular use cases of Blockchain are in finance and cryptocurrency. Financial accounting is a very important component in the work of schools, universities and other educational institutions. Blockchain technology can help improve the system for calculating scholarships for students and salaries for teachers and will provide a transparent and fair mechanism for funding grants and projects.
Transfer of credits
Students are often left at a disadvantage when they must repeat courses to fulfil a new institution’s requirements. Currently, credit transfers depend on different institutions negotiating agreements to recognize each other’s credit subjects to some conditions, but these agreements are often not recognized.
But with a blockchain approach, these agreements could be written as blockchain-based smart contracts, whereby the credits would automatically be transferred upon fulfilment of the conditions of the contract.
Identity Verification
Identity Verification is a huge problem for educational institutions, requiring much manual intervention and presenting many opportunities for data tampering. When we use a digital process validation of a student’s identity happens only once.
Blockchain network stores the information about a document rather than storing the student identity document. So using blockchain can help students identify themselves online while still maintaining control over the storage and management of their data.
Several educational institutes like MIT, University of Nicosia, Open University UK etc. have implemented blockchain technology to enhance transparency, and improve access to higher education for students.
The traditional way of learning has become boring and leave students confused, so ZUBI is trying to provide students with a gamified approach where they can remain engaged in learning while enjoying the process at the same time.
