The adoption of technology in schools for educational purposes has become more common globally. Singapore is no exception.

More educators are using technology to aid them in their teaching ("More schools tap tech tools for learning"; Feb 8).

But before the Ministry of Education (MOE) decides to dive deeper into tech-aided education, it should review the current policy of outsourcing online education services to ASKnLearn.

The monopoly enjoyed by ASKnLearn may have resulted in its inefficiency in providing e-learning services.

For example, on Nov 11 last year, a day before the A-level paper for H2 maths, online resources uploaded by teachers on ASKnLearn vanished, causing students preparing for the exam to panic. The materials were never recovered.

ASKnLearn is ultimately a platform for teachers to upload resources online to add value to the learning experiences of students.

If private e-learning platform providers cannot supply students with a stable platform with operational resources round the clock, especially during exam periods, then the MOE ought to consider building a national online platform, as well as localised ones, to replace private ones.

If schools had their own local e-learning platforms, they could have done something to fix breakdowns more efficiently, particularly since schools have a vested interest in the performance of their students.

It is time to rethink our subscription to ASKnLearn.

Ng Jun Jie