When education goes on the Blockchain, it achieves true democratization

Education in developing countries like India is full of problems. Poor infrastructure, teacher absenteeism and high dropout rates are some of the major problems plaguing our education system. The government has been trying different ways to improve things for decades now, but the battle continues.

Meanwhile, the development of blockchain technology has put forward various solutions and claims to solve all the problems – at once.

Web3 shows the way

Experts believe that Web3’s metaverse is the answer to most of the problems in the education sector in India. “If you look at the issues in the education system from a macro perspective – there is a lack of schools, teachers and quality education. In addition, there are school dropouts, falling numbers of female students in STEM and a general lack of inclusive education. There are different problems that can be solved through Metaverse. It can play a role in inclusion of education, says Manav Subodh, founder and MD, 1M1B, a skills and education platform.

Subodh added that in a country struggling with physical infrastructure issues, VR and AR technology can play a bigger role in solving the problem. Schools and science labs can all be simulated using AR and VR technology.

“So, if you talk about a virtual reality lab, the same science labs in education can be made available to students even in the villages. The innovation lies in making the AR/VR devices smaller or cheaper,” he said.

Gurgaon-based Edverse, a blockchain-based platform aims to democratize education through metaverse. “Virtual reality technologies can simulate real-world scenarios. Learning in this environment provides an immersive experience. The metaverse experience engages the learner and allows him or her to fully concentrate on the task at hand. This promotes conceptual understanding and increases content retention,” says Yuvraj Krishan Sharma, Co-Founder and CTO, Edverse.

He added that the platform’s aim is to make education accessible to all.

Education for all

Web3 may also hold the key to financial problems in education. The metaverse world will have tokenization to create financial benefits for the users. “If you spend a lot of time in the metaverse, you can collect some tokens that can be redeemed to avail courses. Also, there are educational NFTs, which can be bought and used in classrooms or used by institutions,” Sharma said.

Educational institutions have also started accepting cryptocurrencies. In 2014, Kings College in New York became the first institution in the United States to accept cryptocurrency (Bitcoin) as tuition.

In recent years, platforms such as LiveEdu and others have experimented with the use of cryptocurrency in education. In the LiveEdu platform, activities of students in the ecosystem are converted into Edu tokens, which can be redeemed for educational purposes.

Web3 is overhauling the education system by revolutionizing the entire process – education, financial aid and degrees. Experts say the blockchain can be used to issue educational degrees, which also solves the problem of fake certificates.

Blockchain verified degrees

In August this year, the Maharashtra State Board of Skill Development (MSBSD) issued around 100,000 digital diplomas based on the Polygon blockchain platform. According to experts, the blockchain-based degrees are tamper-proof and save job seekers and employers from the tedious process of degree verification.

Also, smart contracts used in education to award degrees can be linked to conditions where a student will receive a certificate from the institution. As these students proceed toward degree completion, their blockchain records can be automatically tracked and shared with potential employers in real time.

In 2016, the University of Nicosia in Cyprus was the first university in the world to issue academic certificates with authenticity verification through the Bitcoin blockchain. More recently, the University of Mongolia tied up with Polygon Technology, Ethereum-based Layer 2 solution, to provide its diplomas as Soulbound Tokens on-chain to students.

“Our emphasis has been on finding and building community through our Polygon University portal because we believe Web3 will generate opportunities for skilled developers at the same or greater scale as Web2 in the coming years,” said Alex Games, VP of Developer Education.