Yesterday I was reminded of the famous line by American author Zig Ziglar who wrote: “You were born to win, but to be a winner you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.”
The reason I remembered the line was an email I received informing me that my son, Gareth, had been accepted for Grade 8 at the high school that he had chosen.
In the email, the school promises to nurture Gareth to reach his full potential.
I am thrilled by the high school’s promise that when Gareth graduates in five years, he will have fluid innovation skills that will help him thrive in the changing digital economy.
Initially, I was excited, but later I had mixed feelings.
I was happy my son’s pathway to progress was clear, but deep down I was concerned that other children from poorer neighbourhoods were being left behind.
It bothered me that my son was “born to win” and his less fortunate cousins, whom he loves dearly and spends a lot of time with, were not.
This is so simply because Gareth’s cousins live in areas where schools do not have broadband access.
It dawned on me that my son was going to be designated as a “digital insider” benefiting from fibre broadband access at school while his cousins would remain “outsiders excluded from the new economy”.
As an insider, Gareth will be privileged enough to take advantage of the opportunities the digital economy presents.
In contrast, it will be impossible for his cousins to do so while they live in cramped, crowded conditions without broadband access.
So what needs to happen for this digital exclusion to disappear?
Everyone knows the government, which is failing to implement other important plans, cannot be relied on to tackle digital exclusion by providing equal access.
I believe the SA government should make it attractive for companies to invest in transforming our schools.
There are a few local and foreign companies carrying out successful projects to be emulated and supported.
For example, SA fibre network operator Vuma installs a free uncapped 1Gbps line at every school located in an area where it has set up a network.
Imagine if Vuma’s network ran through townships such as Alexandra, the Cape Flats, Gugulethu and KwaMashu, schoolchildren would be able to enjoy broadband access.
If this were to happen, many of the children living in these areas could become digital economy insiders.
The government should therefore encourage companies to imitate what Huawei is doing to close the digital and education gap for students in SA.
Through its DigiSchool programme, Huawei is supporting the efforts of education non-profit Click Learnings and is introducing students to digital education through Rain’s 5G technology.
Huawei says since its launch in July 2020, the DigiSchool programme has connected nearly 100 urban and rural primary schools and reached more than 50,000 students.
The programme has benefited learners in four areas including connectivity, devices, content and skills.
“This initiative has brought great opportunities to our learners who would not be normally exposed to them,” explains Thami Sibanda, principal of Tlamatlama Primary School in Thembisa, one of the DigiSchools.
On the other hand, MTN and Vodacom are required to equip 5,250 state schools with internet connections and ICT equipment as part of their amended Universal Service and Access Obligations of 2014. With their e-school platforms, Vodacom and MTN are already playing an important role in enabling free access to education.
Creating an enabling environment for companies that want to turn children into digital citizens will help SA’s young people to seize the opportunities of the digital economy.
However, those who became successful after attending dilapidated urban and rural state schools need to help.
Some of them have since become successful business people benefiting from the empowerment laws.
Sadly, some of these wealthy individuals are shamelessly neglecting their alma mater schools in poor neighbourhoods but are quick to celebrate and support the universities they attended.
South Africans, especially those from townships and rural areas, need to have an open conversation about contributing to the recovery of their former schools that have become rundown.
It’s not only the right thing to do but a necessity for poor communities to participate and contribute to a vibrant economy.
Every child deserves a chance to be a winner and be part of the new economy.
A black business mogul could, for example, invest in building hi-tech schools in a rural Ngcobo village in the Eastern Cape, where he got his basic education.
Such a move would likely inspire other beneficiaries of empowerment to ensure that a Morena in Modimolle in Limpopo expects to win in the digital economy and not be a perpetual consumer.
• Lourie is the founder and editor of TechFinancials.
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