Despite recurring theft incidents, the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) will continue with its roll out of paperless classrooms to create a tech-enabled learning environment in township schools.
This is the word from GDE MEC Panyaza Lesufi, speaking at a media briefing about the Gauteng schools online registration process for the 2017 academic year. "The department will continue with its paperless classroom initiative to benefit grade 11 learners in all no-fee-paying schools in the townships."
Last year, the GDE began the paperless classroom initiative by equipping more than 300 Soweto high schools with high-speed broadband connectivity, interactive smartboards and e-content, and giving tablets to grade 12 learners, while teachers received laptops.
In his budget speech, Lesufi said the department will expand the project to cover grade 11 in 2016/17' grades 10 and nine in 2017/18, and grade eight in 2018/19.
The department's ICT initiative, however, is constantly being sabotaged as criminals continue to break into the schools to steal the smart devices meant for educational purposes. Earlier this year, the GDE revealed more than 100 smartboards had been stolen from schools since the rollout of the ICT programme in July 2015.
Most recently, the department announced thieves broke into one of the schools that received paperless classrooms and stole three smartboards. However, with the help of the South African Police Service and Gauteng Province Community Safety, the department was able to recover the smartboards.
To counter theft of the smart devices, the department says security officers have been deployed to all schools with ICT equipment and all the tablets and smartboards are fitted with tracking devices.
"No amount of criminal activity will deter us from providing quality education for all our learners," he said.
Lesufi also noted the department weathered the rocky start of the online schools registration process, as more than 220 000 grade one and eight learners successfully registered for the next academic year.
To drive online school registrations, the provincial department launched a Web site for learner admissions. As part of its technology adoption mandate, the department advised all parents whose children will be doing grade one and eight in 2017 to apply online for their school admissions.
According to the GDE, for the 2015 academic year, it received 30 000 late applications, which resulted in the department supplying additional alternative classrooms to accommodate learners. The department set up the online system to minimise long queues.
Lesufi stated he was pleased with the outcome and the department has already started the process of placing pupils in various schools in Gauteng. Parents will now be sent an automated SMS to inform them at which schools their children have been accepted.
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