This initiative is part of the 2016-17 WISE Accelerator Cohort.
What they do
Edukasyon.ph is a social enterprise in the Education Technology sector established on the belief that every student deserves a quality and relevant education that leads to employment. Through the website, the project empowers students by giving them choice, advice and convenience in finding the right school for their dream career. Based in the Philippines, it offers Filipino students choice with a school search engine (2,000+ universities, 80,000+ courses, and 4,000+ scholarships). Students gain advice by filtering and ranking offerings based on price, quality and relevance, and navigating through 200 career pathways. And finally, it offers convenience by allowing students to apply to schools online directly. With a current reach of 50,000 users every month, the website has witnessed user growth of over 20 percent a month. It has signed up over 100 schools, who receive applications from prospective students, and guide current students in their education to career pathways. In addition to the website, the project also conducts career clinics and a multiple stakeholder training in high schools across the country on college and career awareness.
Why it matters
Edukasyon.ph was created in 2013 to solve two problems: students dropping out and youth unemployment. Every year, 1.5m high school students in the Philippines graduate high school, with little to no guidance on how to navigate their college (or employment) options. They pick universities based on who has a celebrity endorser, who spends more on bribing their guidance counselor, or who has the best basketball team, or based on rumors and where their friends are going. The statistics are dismal: 1.5m finish high school, only 900,000 pursue higher education (the rest can’t afford it), then 600,000 graduate (the rest drop out because they picked the wrong course, or can’t afford it), then at best 300,000 get a job (over 50 percent of college graduates go to low quality universities or study topics that are not in demand, and are thus unfit for employment). This contributes to the 30% unemployment rate in the country.
Tractions so far
The project seeks to resolve this nationwide issue by continuing to grow the largest database in the history of the country. With 13,000+ senior schools and colleges, 80,000+ courses and 4,000+ scholarships, Edukasyon.ph provides unprecedented choice to students, who can filter schools and courses based on location, duration, cost and entry requirements. Moreover, Edukasyon.ph offers advice on what and where to study based on students’ desired career, as well as convenience in applying online to their chosen schools. Today, Edukasyon.ph reaches over 50,000 students, parents and guardians every month as it supports the Philippine youth’s important decisions on their education and careers. Additionally, the project engages the various stakeholders in a student’s education to career trajectory in its holistic College and Careers Awareness and Readiness Sessions (CARES) program.
Edukasyon.ph continues to grow to ensure that every student receives a quality education that leads to employment. The project plans to develop mobile apps and expand to online education. It is building towards an online ranking system embedded in the website to support students in making the best decision for their education and career pathway. Edukasyon.ph plans to develop gamified career assessment tools. In addition, Edukasyon.ph plans to expand to other ASEAN countries in 2017.