Union pens teacher laptop deal

Johannesburg, 20 Aug 2008

The SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) has brokered a R330 million deal that aims to arm all 240 000 of its members with ultra-mobile low-cost notebooks - about 70% of the country`s teaching fraternity.

The union has blasted government for not doing enough to advance the ICT agenda and not delivering on its promise to give teachers laptops.

Collin Fidelis, executive head of business development at Rectron, announced last night that Sadtu would roll out Asus`s EEE PCs to its members under a scheme financed by Bayport. As part of the deal, teachers would have to buy their own laptops.

Rectron will supply the units, as well as elementary training to the teachers, to provide what Fidelis says is "a meaningful solution to the mobile PC problem".

Sadtu chairman Thokile Nthola says the Department of Education (DOE) had failed to provide the union`s members with the necessary resources, despite expecting it to produce human resources for the country.

"Our members` job is to produce skilled resources for the country, but after 14 years of independence, 90% of teachers are still computer illiterate. That`s a difficult task confronting us. If you are going to revolutionise education, you should make ICT an important part of everyday activities."

Inappropriate spending

Nthola says SA cannot escape the effects of globalisation. "The demand for resources is growing and, therefore, we need to explore every avenue to create advantages for our citizens." He notes that 70% of schools in the country do not have computers.

"The state should be leading us - not spending money on arms deals."

Government has committed itself to rolling out a laptop to every teacher in the country, something that was to be put before Parliament before year-end. The Universal Services Access Fund could potentially be used or this, if there is no duplication with other initiatives taking place.

For Nthola, the question remains: "When will this happen [the state rolling out laptops to teachers]? Can they tell us when? When are they implementing it?"

Sadtu and the DOE still have to "find each other" on the issue of ICT, he notes, but in the meantime, the union has decided it is time to roll out its own ICT solution to schools.

An EEE PC costs between R1 500 and R2 500.

Nthola says Sadtu has to lead the way as far as ICT in schools is concerned. "We have to revolutionise teaching and IT will make it easier."

He explains that the EEE PC initiative is an "essential start" to ensuring ICT is part of the "repertoire of skills" with which children leave school.

"The idea is to permeate our institutions with ICT so it can become a live experience, instead of a pipedream - it is a pipedream as we speak."

Subsidy urged

Asus launched the latest range of EEE PCs at a gala function attended by its distribution and vendor partners and Sadtu last night. The new EEEs incorporate Intel`s latest Atom chipset, have longer battery life, and the options of larger screen sizes, built-in conventional hard drives and Bluetooth.

Under the Sadtu deal, teachers will be given a choice of which laptop they want to buy, with Bayport facilitating financing. The deal took three to four years to broker.

According to Nthola, the laptops can be used for things other than teaching, but the idea is that classes can be prepared and stored on them.

While Rectron will provide basic training, he says the union will call on the DOE to step up its ICT training efforts in order to overcome the issue of teachers` computer-illiteracy.

Nthola believes government should subsidise up to 90% of the cost of the EEE PCs, but no discussions in this regard have taken place yet.

Fidelis says even though Rectron`s core capacity is in distribution, its national infrastructure of service providers means it will be able to provide the necessary teacher training without becoming over-stretched.