# Challenges of Using Blockchain in the Education Sector: A Literature Review
## 3 Results
### Challenges of Blockchain in Education
#### 3.2.1 Technological Barriers
While the consensus mechanism of blockchain technology efficiently enforces a list of specific rules on users of a certain blockchain, this does not imply that blockchain is standardized [19]. For example, most providers using blockchains to issue certificates store only the certificate hash in the blockchain; the vendor's software handles other non-standardized operations off-chain, such as issuing, sharing, and validation [19]. As a result, it is feasible that several educational institutions will issue certificates within the same blockchain, with each certificate requiring distinct software and vendor agreements to be used [19]. Several other solutions claim to enable interoperability between different blockchain networks, such as Ark [62], which offers universal interoperability, as well as cross-blockchain communication and transfers using the SmartBridges architecture. Cosmos [63]is another solution that uses the Interblockchain communication (IBC) protocol to permit blockchain economies to operate outside the silos and to transfer files. 2. _Challenge 2: The Complexity of Integration_ While data exchange between two separate blockchain systems poses a significant difficulty, there is also the issue of how to integrate blockchain technology with legacy systems, which is still difficult for educational institutions. This review showed that four articles [2; 13; 14; 15] addressed this issue. In most cases, if the educational institutions choose to employ blockchain, they must entirely reorganize their old system or develop a mechanism to adequately integrate the two systems. [PERSON] et al. [2] stressed that problems could arise when processes need to be restructured and/or aligned, and other interfaces have to be created to enable data communication and sharing between blockchain processes and associated legacy systems, such as the enterprise resource planning system. [PERSON] [13] raised doubts about the current realization of completely functional blockchain systems, claiming that the way blockchain interacts with legacy systems is still unclear. In addition, [PERSON] [13] argues that the ultimate objective of free and homogeneous data exchange between blockchain technology and legacy systems is currently in limbo, in terms of restructuring systems, processes, and IT structures. Furthermore, the complexity of integration increases as educational institutions often do not have access to the required pool of blockchain expertise to participate in the integration process, due to a shortage of skilled developers. However, this issue can be mitigated by relying on a third party [13]. [PERSON] et al. [15] used the Hyperledger Fabric, which is a distributed ledger solution that is built on modular architecture and provides flexibility and scalability. It consists of one or more networks, each of which manages different transactions, assets, and agreements among the various sets of member nodes. It is designed to be able to support the pluggable implementation of many components. They argued in [15] that blockchain technology could become a standardized platform for tasks such as issuing, verifying, auditing, and tracing immutable records, allowing the universities and the Federal Education Ministry (FEM) to integrate, attest, and investigate forge-proof versions of certificates quickly and easily. However, a regulatory authority such as the Higher Education Commission (HEC) plays a key role in managing degree attestation and verification standards, for example, the secrecy and integrity of candidate certificate credentials, system quality and reliability, safety, data protection, and the exchange of records between academic institutions and regulatory education authorities [14]. [PERSON] et al. [15] proposed a blockchain solution for the education sector, in the form of a Quorum-based platform for generating, managing, and verifying reliable certificates. This solution provides machine-readable certificates using an enhanced version of OpenLearn badges [15].