Team probing school computers

By Leon Engelbrecht for Intel
Johannesburg, 06 Aug 2007

Government has set itself a six-year deadline to achieve computer literacy for all children in the country's 28 000 schools, but it has no clear idea on how to achieve this.

National education director-general Duncan Hindle says a task team is investigating which model or models should be used to achieve the set objective by 2013. He says the task team, which includes officials from the National Treasury, falls under Gauteng education department head Mallele Petje.

"They are conducting a feasibility study," Hindle says. It is still in its early stages. I expect a report at the end of the year and decisions will be made next year," he said last week on the fringes of the local launch of the Classmate PC, an e-learning sub-notebook developed by an Intel-led consortium.

"We are looking for the right model, the best way forward for ICT in schools," adds Hindle. Gauteng has had some good and some less good experiences," he says. "All provinces have substantial funds available to invest in ICT."

Desktop versus laptop

Asked whether the team would choose between desktop computers and laptops such as Classmate, Petje said it was too early to tell. He says the two are complementary and much depends on the circumstances in which they are to be used.

Desktops are generally considered best in a computer laboratory environment. However, the Gauteng education department, which is spending about R200 million a year on rolling out computers in the province's schools, has learned to its cost that these attract criminals.

At last count, the department was paying more to fortify these labs than it was spending on equipment to install inside. It has also caused criminals to change tack, with burglars by night making way for armed robbers by day.

By contrast, laptops can be locked in a school vault and do not require the security infrastructure desktops need to stay in place. They can also be utilised by learners over the entire school day. The downside is that they remain vulnerable to theft and even though the Classmate disables itself if removed from the school environment, this may not be immediately known to the criminal.

"The two models [laptops and laboratories] are working together," Petje says. "We tested both in a pilot about four years ago. Laptops were too expensive at the time. With a scaled roll-out, the price may come down," Petje says.