An EdTech start-up based in Indonesia launched an app that helps students throughout the country to enter college using a digital platform. The developers said that the digital programme is part of their vision to ensure that 100 thousand Indonesian children can study using the app.
The developers said that the app strives to facilitate access to higher education for Indonesian children through cooperation with more than 400 campuses at home and abroad. During a pandemic like COVID-19, this provides easy access for high school students who want to find options for various local private universities (PTS) and universities abroad using one application on their smartphone.
The application’s Instant Approval feature allows high school students who wish to enrol in college to get confirmation of college admission in just one hour after registering and uploading their report cards to the application. This Instant Approval system is a concrete digital transformation for the fastest and cheapest college registration in Indonesia, where students will no longer need to fill out many forms to register with various universities, said the developers.
The developers added that all updates for students from the university are immediately updated on the mobile application. Whether waiting list, rejected, accepted, taking additional tests, all can easily be found from a checklist in the application. The app also aims to help students sustainably get digital lecture services, starting from registering many universities in one process, getting scholarships, taking care of campus activities, to getting internships and work after graduating from college.
The programme also has an incentive feature when someone invites high school students to register for lectures using the app. When the student uploads their report card to the application, the person who invited them will get IDR50,000 for each user.
The tech start-up strongly believes that features in this mobile application will greatly help students in Indonesia to be able to pursue higher education by taking advantage of technological advances. Now, more than 140,000 students are using the app for various student needs. More than 4,000 students have enrolled in lectures using the Instant Approval feature.
By embracing technology solutions, educational institutions can also support government programmes to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission, because all processes, both from the student and university side, can be done digitally without physical contact, added the developers.
Accordingly, reports from the World Bank says that while Indonesia has made significant progress on increasing access to education over the past few decades, learning outcomes remain low. In addition to key reforms in the public education system in terms of increased quality of spending, the use of information, communications, and technology for education (EdTech) provision holds considerable promise in improving educational outcomes. This is particularly the case in Indonesia, where the Minister of Education has indicated a strong interest in leveraging technology for learning.
The COVID-19 crisis has forced a very fast and broad increase in the use of EdTech, which is expected to have lasting effects on the market. Indonesian EdTech products generally aim at helping students with learning and upskilling, helping educators with student management, communication, and teaching, and helping educational institutions with administration.
There is no clear roadmap in the publicly released drafts for integrating EdTech into Indonesia’s education system. However, other countries with more developed EdTech ecosystems have a clear vision and strategy for integrating EdTech, which can make the often-private sector-led expansion more equitable. While the changing world of work and education may be challenging for middle-income countries such as Indonesia to navigate, the next industrial revolution is already underway, and Indonesia needs a clear, detailed, and implementable plan to help the country get potential gains from utilising these tech advancements.
