Moalim : “AI at the service of the learner, a vector for academic excellence”

By Nadjoua Khelil in Algiers

Moalim (teacher in Arabic), launched in 2020, is an innovative tool to support students (lower and upper secondary), teachers and parents in a cyclical approach: « The teacher optimizes his time and identifies the learner’s strengths and weaknesses in real time. Pupils can personalize their revision, self-correct and self-assess, and become organized and autonomous. Finally, parents can monitor their children’s progress without any prior educational knowledge or pressure, » explains Dr Saïd Babaci.

This is an « ambitious social project » that offers « intelligent, relevant and inclusive learning and tutoring for all, aimed at raising the level of learners and empowering them, combining the pedagogical and psychological aspects ».

The platform is based on a number of key elements. First, the competency-based approach. « Our approach is based on Bloom’s pyramid of educational objectives, which includes levels of intellectual ability from the simplest to the most complex: knowledge, understanding, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. It is modelled on the national curriculum. Moalim also uses the learning-by-doing method to support and reinforce the knowledge imparted at school. AI is used for automated learning through intelligent algorithmic solutions. Interactivity and empowerment allow students to interact with a virtual guide who helps them without directly providing the solution. An automatic corrector will evaluate their answers, » he explained.

In addition to summaries of the lessons in the syllabus, the personalized content, tailored to the learner’s level, includes activities, exercises and quizzes to test their knowledge: 33,000 MCQs, 10,500 exercises and more than 600 subjects for 7 school levels. It is available as a quarterly subscription at the ‘affordable’ price of 3,000 Da (around €20.50).

« Tackling school failure, achieving 100% school results »

By using AI, Moalim aims to take long-term action to « strengthen the education sector and improve human capacity ».

Can Moalim’s learner assessment system, which can identify shortcomings and potential, help combat the phenomenon of school failure? In the three years that Moalim has been supporting its students, it has helped them « improve their overall average by 3 points and achieve 100% success in school, thanks to the time saved. It has also enabled them to learn from their mistakes, develop self-confidence and make progress. So, in effect, we’re fighting against school drop-out and against wastage, which is something that can be curbed, » says Mr. Babaci. Applying the concept to secondary school students « reduces the failure rate to over 70% ». Moalim, properly applied to the secondary cycle, achieves the same result, » he added.

In Algeria, the dropout rate in the junior cycle is 2%, according to the authorities. According to a study by the Algerian Council for Secondary Schools (CLA), 500,000 pupils fail each year, or 10 million over two decades.

Moalim in Africa, the Middle East and Europe on the horizon

Moalim has over 7,000 members. The aim is to reach « 42,000 (subscribers) per year, with a target of 4.2 million. The tool will soon be extended to pupils of 5th year in primary school.  

The Moalim system has proved to be « effective », which encourages the startup to expand abroad.  

Given the « existing need, we are planning to roll out Moalim in Africa, the Middle East and Europe, adapting it to the education systems of the countries concerned ».