# Challenges of Using Blockchain in the Education Sector: A Literature Review
## 3 Results
### Challenges of Blockchain in Education
#### 3.2.1 Technological Barriers  
[PERSON] [30] defined the technological context as comprising the technical capability, complexity, difficulty, and availability of the technology being considered for adoption. For the adoption of blockchain, this category includes barriers arising from the blockchain's technological limitations [30]. Therefore, this review classified immaturity, the complexity of integration, immutability, lack of flexibility, security, privacy, and data unavailability as falling into the technological group (see Table 2). 1. _Challenge 1: Immaturity_  
The first challenge is related to the immaturity of blockchain technology. Fourteen articles [6; 7; 8; 9; 11; 12; 18; 19; 23; 26; 27; 28; 29; 31; 32; 33] reported that blockchain still suffers from certain immaturity problems. The blockchain, according to [PERSON] et al. [12], is still regarded as an immature technology because it is still in the early stages of development. Thus, technical issues, such as a lack of scalability, poor usability, and limited interoperability and standardization, arise as a result of immaturity [49; 50]. Therefore, this review classified these challenges as falling into the immaturity barriers group (see Table 2). \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline
**Refs.** & **Blockchain Technologies Used** & **Limitations** \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{[14]} & Hyperledger Fabric (permission-based private blockchain network) & There is a need to design customized digital contracts and certificate authority verification policies among stakeholders and automate (smart contract) them, along with the digital signature. \\ \cline{2-3}  & \multirow{2}{*}{The Ethereum blockchain} & This adds a monetary cost to the process. Adding a certificate to the blockchain, for example, entails transaction costs that must be paid by the certifier. \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{[15]} & An agent-based blockchain technology to secure data against insider threats, based on Ethereum’s Proof of Authority (PoA) consensus algorithm \\ \cline{2-3}  & & This adds a monetary cost to the process. Adding a certificate to the blockchain, for example, entails transaction costs that must be paid by the certifier. \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{[16]} & An agent-based blockchain technology to secure data against insider threats, based on Ethereum’s blockchain. \\ \cline{2-3}  & & This adds a monetary cost to the process. Adding a certificate to the blockchain, for example, entails transaction costs that must be paid by the certifier. \\ \cline{2-3}  & & The overall cost of transacting on the Ethereum blockchain. \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 2: The blockchain technologies used in the identified publications. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline
**Context** & **Challenges** & **Refs.** \\ \hline \multirow{8}{*}{[14]} & \multirow{2}{*}{Immaturity} & Poor usability [6; 9; 23; 31; 33] \\ \cline{3-3}  & & Lack of scalability [7; 8; 11; 12; 18; 26] \\ \cline{2-3}  & & Limited interoperability and standardization [19; 33] \\ \cline{2-3}  & \multirow{2}{*}{Complexity of integration} & [2; 13; 14; 15] \\ \cline{2-3}  & & Security issues & [16; 23; 24; 41; 42; 43; 44] \\ \cline{2-3}  & & Privacy & [7; 27; 28; 29; 44; 45; 46] \\ \cline{2-3}  & & Immutability and lack of flexibility & [9; 19; 43; 47; 48] \\ \cline{2-3}  & & Data unavailability & [1; 18] \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{**Organizational**} & Lack of adequate skills & [20] \\ \cline{2-3}  & \multirow{2}{*}{Financial barriers} & [7; 9; 12; 18; 19] \\ \cline{2-3}  & & Lack of management commitment and support & [9; 11; 20] \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{**Environmental**} & Legal issues and a lack of regulatory compliance & [11] \\ \cline{2-3}  & \multirow{2}{*}{The market and ecosystem readiness} & [11; 25] \\ \cline{1-1} \cline{2-3}  & & Sustainability concerns & [8; 20] \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: The reviewed articles’ categories.