The EdTech procurement problem hiding in plain sight
Schools spend around £900 million a year on education technology. Most of it is bought without any formal evaluation of whether it works. The companies selling it know this.
By Wistl Editorial · · Schools
UK schools spend an estimated £900 million annually on education technology. That figure covers hardware, software, platforms and services. It does not include the teacher time spent learning to use tools that are subsequently abandoned, the data shared with companies whose privacy practices were not scrutinised at procurement, or the money tied up in platforms that failed to deliver any measurable benefit. The sector operates with unusual permissiveness. A product can be sold into hundreds of schools without any requirement to demonstrate educational efficacy. Marketing materials routinely in