X Challenge: Develop the cheapest most effective school

Written by Gavin Chait When South African Airways was the only carrier a round-trip from Johannesburg to Cape Town used to cost over  $ 1 000 for the two-hour flight.  Hardly anyone flew and the two main cities in South Africa had very little interaction.  Kulula and 1Time have reduced these fares to around $ 100 return.  And, suddenly, business is booming and Jo’burgers consider it normal to have a holiday home for weekends in Cape Town.

How have budget carriers managed this miracle?  The simple expedient of having a wide range of competition lowers prices.  More importantly, though, budget airlines simply keep their planes in the air for longer, turning them as quickly as possible, packing in extra seats, and offering no frills at all.  You get exactly what you want and no more.

Where, then, are the development services based on the same principles?  Taking exactly the opposite route is Oprah Winfrey and her astonishingly overpriced Learning Academy¹ catering to a microscopic number of kids.  At $ 7 500 per year this is no cheap solution to educational problems.  Overnight Winfrey has created the most expensive school in South Africa.  A significant step in the right direction is the Tersia King Learning Academy¹ in Tembisa township on the East Rand.  They manage to offer independent-school quality learning for between $ 550 and $ 1 250 per year.  But that still isn’t cheap enough.

For those who think that computers may offer a solution, research by Thomas Fuchs and Ludger Woessmann of the CESifo economic research organisation in Munich declares not.  By analysing data from a study involving tens of thousands of students in 31 countries organised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), they show that higher computer use in schools correlates with lower maths scores and a reduced reading ability.  One laptop per child isn’t going to change this.

In essence the requirements are good teachers, a pleasant study environment conducive to learning (no guns, no gangs, and kids with enough food in their bellies to concentrate) and a basic education program designed to teach essential skills and self-study techniques.

The X Prize revolutionised commercial space flight by offering a prize to the first team to achieve a private space trip.

Well, here’s a challenge:  what would the most efficient and effective education system look like, and who will be the first person to offer it on a large, repeatable scale for $ 100 per year per student?

Anyone wanting to join us in developing this challenge please contact us.

---

¹ Whythawk has not rated either organisation and so expresses no opinion on the effectiveness of these organisations

---

< Prev		Next >