Ethiopia Government has partnered with IOHK, the company behind the Cardano protocol, to develop a blockchain-based system to improve the quality of education in the country.
- Ethiopia’s Minister of Education is working with IOHK on a blockchain-based system to track student performance in the African country’s schools.
- “This initiative is about bringing technology to improve the quality of education,” said the minister, Getahun Mekuria, in a video conversation with John O’Connor, IOHK’s director of African operations, livestreamed by the company Thursday. “It’s very practical to think of the blockchain technology [as a way] to improve the quality of education.”
- The project is still in its early stages. IOHK said that it is only beginning to develop the code for this project, and does not expect to launch anything before January 2022.
- As part of the project, 5 million Ethiopian students will receive a Cardano blockchain-based ID that will allow the ministry to track their academic performance, Mekuria said Thursday, and 750,000 teachers will get access to the system.
- The Ethiopian government struck a deal with a Chinese manufacturer of tablet computers, which will be distributed to the students.