Schools could be largely replaced by online learning by 2030, with the traditional role of the teacher rendered obsolete, according to a survey of education experts.

Fewer than half (42 per cent) of the global specialists polled by the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) believe that academic knowledge will remain a fundamental part of education in 15 years’ time.

A similar proportion (43 per cent) of the 600 experts surveyed believe that the most important source of knowledge will be online learning, with fewer than a third (29 per cent) expecting that the physical school building will remain the primary location for learning.

Accordingly, fewer than a fifth (19 per cent) of those surveyed argue that a teacher’s most important task will be to “deliver knowledge”. Almost three-quarters (73 per cent) say the job will instead entail “guiding students along their autonomous learning paths”.

“No more ‘teachers’, lectures or imposed curricula,” says the WISE report. “Henceforth, the brick-and-mortar school will no longer be a place where students are taught theoretical knowledge, but instead a social environment where they receive guidance, enabling them to interact with their peers and build a diverse toolkit that will better prepare them for professional life.”

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