Yoti is once again highlighting potential applications of digital identity technology in Africa. The company has previously argued that the tech could help with ground hornbill conservation efforts in Zimbabwe, and is now turning its attention to Angola with a hypothetical case study that looks at the country’s educational system.
In that regard, Yoti noted that Angola has spent much of the past 20 years trying to rebuild its educational infrastructure following decades of civil war. The country’s government estimated that the illiteracy rate was as high as 90 percent when it gained independence in 1975, and the subsequent civil war decimated schools and derailed any efforts to create a consistent educational program for the country’s youth.
The problem is especially pronounced in rural areas, where much of the population is poor and does not have access to modern digital technologies. Yoti nevertheless believes that digital identities could help with the distribution of educational resources. The pitch focuses on Aid for the Development of the People by the People (ADPP), an NGO that has partnered with the Angolan Ministry of Education to build secondary schools in rural areas. The Training Colleges for the Teachers of the Future (CTFs) are set up to train teachers, which will in turn create a pool of educational professionals that can instruct the next generation of Angolan children.
Unfortunately, many of the people enrolled in the CTFs have only limited education themselves, and may not be able to afford textbooks or an internet connection. Digital identities would allow them to gain access to those materials through their schools. The CTFs would collect each student’s face and fingerprint biometrics when they register for their courses, and the students would use their fingerprints to enter the library or use a campus workstation.
The schools would also be able to issue physical ID cards to their students to use as proof of identity. Angola has struggled with the distribution of national ID cards, so the school IDs would be particularly useful for people in more remote parts of the country.
The CTFs offer three-year training programs. Students would presumably have access to the library for the duration of their study, and for a set period of time after their graduation.
Yoti itself has launched a Humanitarian Tech Support Programme to assist organizations that advocate for socially beneficial causes.
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