Education ministry ‘rethinking’ tech in schools

The education system has yet to find the right balance between technology and traditional learning methods as it prepares for the future, Minister of Education Transformation Chad Blackman has acknowledged.

But he said the ministry was not yet ready to settle on a single approach to using electronic devices in education and was working with the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology to determine what would work best here – even as he noted a negative impact of heavy screen use on learning.

“We’re seeing a cognitive decrease in the ability of our students because of the overexposure to technology,” he told a church service on Monday to launch Education Month. “Am I saying we’re not going to use technology? No, I’m not saying that. But we have to now find the best fit for technological use, using the ‘writing on paper’, textbooks and reading.”