Schooling 2025 and The Action Plan Towards 2014 are two endeavours hoping to create computer-literate Grade 3 pupils, with a focus on e-learning. The National Department of Basic Education has a vision for education in SA. Released in 2010, the blueprint entitled "Schooling 2025" outlined objectives for government to work towards.
In 2013, just 12 years away from 2025, are we anywhere near achieving those goals?
Schooling 2025's long-term plan lays down a set of measurable indicators that cover all aspects of basic education. The Action Plan Towards 2014, which serves as a short-term operational guideline towards Schooling 2025, also puts forward deliverables that focus on improving school infrastructure, sanitation and pupil retention.
Importantly, Schooling 2025's initiatives strive towards creating computer-literate Grade 3 pupils. The Action Plan Towards 2014 also states that the department aims to 'improve the frequency and quality of the monitoring and support services provided by district offices to schools, partly through better use of e-education'.
Private educational institutions aside, our schools appear to be nowhere near the 2025 goal of having computer-literate Grade 3 pupils.
The '2011 National Education Infrastructure Management System (NEIMS) Report (May 2011)' states that 77% of ordinary schools in SA don't have an on-site computer centre. Moreover, only 10% of these computer centres are stocked. The National Department of Basic Education Annual Report 2011/12 states that nine provincial ICT Resource Centres with the required infrastructure (45 laptops, interactive whiteboards and an LCD screen) in the Proof of Concept districts were established in various provinces. The Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal centres will be completed in May 2013.
This is where corporate social investment has stepped in. Initiatives like Vodacom's Digital Classroom are rolling out nine ICT resource centres across SA - one for each province - to empower teachers, learners and the larger community with computer skills. These centres are built in partnership with the Department of Education, and form part of the Vodacom Mobile Education Programme. This nationwide teacher development initiative exists to improve the quality of instruction in all subjects, with particular emphasis on mathematics, mathematical literacy and physical science at Grade 10 to 12 levels. In March this year, a Vodacom Mobile Education ICT Resource Centre was launched in Vhembe, Limpopo. By working in partnership with the Department of Education, Vodacom has been able to augment the drive towards computer literacy within schools.
Recent media reports have highlighted an overwhelming lack of basic materials and infrastructure for an effective public education system within SA. Even with president Jacob Zuma's announcement during his recent State of the Nation addressthat government was actively working towards a 100% broadband penetration rate in the country by 2020, the 2025 goal for computer-literate pupils seems like a pipedream.
First published in May issue of Brainstorm magazine.
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