Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential of online learning platforms to improve global access to education; and which platforms they consider most appropriate for international use.

Online learning platforms can certainly support children's learning. There are a wide variety of platforms available, and the best one for any context will depend on the availability of infrastructure and, importantly, student, teacher, and content readiness in each country.

Well-informed use of education technology (EdTech) has the potential to transform education systems for the most marginalised. Its use was particularly important during the COVID pandemic, when children and their teachers were forced to move to online education. However, EdTech is not a silver bullet and many interventions, particularly those focused on buying new hardware, have failed because of poor support to teachers and children beyond the hardware or weak fit with the specific context. More robust research is needed on impact, cost-effectiveness, and the equity implications of EdTech. Together with the World Bank and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the FCDO supports the EdTech Hub with £22 million of UK aid for research to help decision-makers take evidence-based decisions on EdTech. UK research has already helped over 85 million learners.