The government has failed to fulfil a promise made by President Cyril Ramaphosa six years ago to ensure every learner had access to digital learning by 2025, it emerged in parliament on Tuesday.
In February 2019, Ramaphosa announced in his state of the nation address that every schoolchild would be provided with digital workbooks and textbooks on a tablet device in the next six years. But due to lack of high-speed internet connectivity and a shortage of funds to pay for infrastructure, devices and teacher training, thousands of state schools are still unable to realise this aspiration.
More than 16,000 state schools have yet to be connected to the internet by mobile network operators, the basic education department’s chief director for mathematics, science and technology and curriculum enhancement programmes, Seliki Tlhabane, told MPs.
Mobile network operators have been obliged to connect schools to the internet as part of their licence requirements for more than a decade.
Mobile networks partially fulfil obligations
Initially, network operators were required to provide connectivity, devices and teacher training, which they did for more than 4,800 schools. They are now required only to link schools to the internet, while the department of basic education is responsible for ensuring schools have the requisite devices and suitably trained teachers, said Tlhabane.
Realising the commitment made by the president in his state of the nation address would have cost R30.6bn, according to the department of basic education’s estimates, Tlhabane told the portfolio committee on basic education. “Government unfortunately did not have that kind of money.”
Phased approach prioritises vulnerable schools
The department of basic education had adopted a phased approach to expanding digital learning that prioritised schools for children with special needs, multigrade schools and those serving the poorest communities, he said.
Provincial education departments had spent more than R7.1bn over the past three years in efforts to improve access to digital learning, but many schools were still underresourced, said basic education minister Siviwe Gwarube.
“More than half a million learner devices and about 30,000 teacher devices have been provided, and over 10,000 classrooms have been equipped. Yet the challenges remain, particularly in rural and special schools where there are huge infrastructure gaps,” she said.
The department was working on a new digital education strategy as the 2004 white paper on e-education did not envisage the emergence of AI and big data, said Tlhabane. The strategy had been approved by provincial heads of education, and would shortly be submitted to the council for education ministers, he said.
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