The Industry 4.0 and Future of Education: School Reform in the Age of Post-COVID-19

Abstract

　Amid the COVID19 pandemic, children have become isolated, the educational gap between rich and poor is widening, learning loss is 30% in developing and middle countries, and 17% - 20% in developed countries, and lifetime wages lost by children amount to 14% of the global GDP. On the other side, the fourth industrial revolution is accelerating, with 52% of the world’s labor expected to be mechanized by 2025. Sixty-five percent of jobs held by current 12-year-olds will be more intellectually advanced than they are today. 　Industry 4.0 transformed education into a “big business.” The ICT education market in 2019 expanded to three times the size of the global automobile market （600 trillion yen）, and is expected to exceed 1,000 trillion yen al year. However, computer use in schools has only functioned negatively; the spread of ICT education is now putting public education at risk, and innovation in educational administration and policies is required. 　Keywords: Industry 4.0, ICT Education, Education Market, COVID-19, Educational Innovation