MTN, Huawei go back into SA schools with ICT tools during levels two and one of lockdown

This past Heritage Month saw the MTN SA Foundation, the Department of Basic Education, and Huawei joining forces to enhance access to digital learning in rural schools. With the recent easing of lockdown restrictions – and more children going back to school, more frequently – the partners physically travelled into schools to contribute valuable ICT tools.

To open the door to critical digital skills and opportunities, 700 Huawei tablets, to the value of R2 million, have been handed over to grade 10, 11 and 12 students at schools where the subjects of Computer Applied Technology (CAT) and IT are being studied.

Added to this, the MTN SA Foundation set up two brand new multimedia centres at no-fee-paying schools to the tune of R1.2 million. The telco is also providing free data to the schools for a period of 24 months.

Thaba Chweu Boarding School in Mpumalanga, and Sapphire Secondary School in the Sedibeng West District, Vanderbijlpark, were the recipient schools of the two state-of-the-art multimedia centres from MTN.

Sapphire Secondary School also received tablets from Huawei, along with these other schools:

Izimbali Boarding School in Amsterdam, Mpumalanga
Rutasetjhaba Secondary School in Evaton North, Gauteng
Mampho Secondary School in Schweizer Reneke, North West

The MECs of the Department of Basic Education, Hon Bonakele Majuba in Mpumalanga, Hon Panyaza Lesufi in Gauteng, and Hon Mmaphefo Matseme in the North West Province, attended and delivered keynote addresses at the handover ceremonies.

The month-long series of handovers formed part of the MTN SA Foundation’s broader drive to bring digital education closer to SA’s youth. It has never been more important to enable more children to access the digital world as the fourth industrial revolution opens the door to a vista of new opportunities – and plays its role in rebuilding the SA economy.

Kusile Mtunzi-Hairwadzi, MTN SA Foundation’s General Manager, says the Foundation “is always looking at ways to work together with like-minded partners to make a meaningful impact in the lives of SA's people”.

The contribution of this technical equipment and support continues to build on an existing partnership with the Department of Basic Education, both at national and regional levels.

“One of the biggest focus areas for us at the MTN SA Foundation is to help lift ICT skills training for teachers and students, offer technical support, digitise content and ensure that schools and pupils remain connected. It’s really about benefiting a wide range of people – be it children at township or rural schools, skills development at rehabilitation centres, or assisting people living with special needs to fully participate in the economy,” says Mtunzi-Hairwadzi.

The majority of the interventions are ICT-driven, with the Foundation supporting the use of technology to address the socio-economic challenges experienced across SA’s communities.

“While a lot of the work that we have undertaken this year has been rolled out via virtual channels, it has been truly refreshing and rewarding to once again be going back into the schools – interacting with the students and teachers in the real, physical world.”

“We are excited to be able to provide these children with the tools that will help them to emerge from the COVID-19 storm – and to achieve their dreams so that they are filled with hope for a better tomorrow,” concludes Mtunzi-Hairwadzi.