GautengOnline receives lifeline

Johannesburg, 17 Sept 2007

The Gauteng Shared Service Centre (GSSC) has given the beleaguered GautengOnline a lifeline by inviting tenders to revive the project.

In a recent announcement, the GSSC said it is looking for someone to deliver the programme as a whole, with the deadline for tenders being 21 September.

GSSC media liaison officer Emmanuel Mdawu says this process will include "reviving all the infrastructure and security, including an audit of the current computer labs and looking at network infrastructure".

The project was first announced in 2001. Allocated R500 million over a three-year period, it aimed to provide computer laboratories, which include Internet connectivity, for more than 2 000 government schools in Gauteng. The project was managed by the Department of Education.

However, the project failed to launch on schedule, and also experienced some project management challenges, which resulted in only about 1 200 schools getting connected. Last year, the deadline for completing the project was extended to 2008. Earlier this year, the initiative was moved to the GSSC to be managed by that department.

The move followed accusations that the venture had been bungled and mishandled, with fingers pointed at project management leaders and broadband and Internet access provider Sentech.

In his state of the province address, in February, Gauteng premier Mbazima Shilowa said: "We need to do more to inspire passion in our learners in [the] critical area [of maths, science and technology] and strengthen the implementation of our strategy. This includes the development and training of educators and the continued roll-out of GautengOnline in schools."

Mdawu says, while more than 1 000 schools in the province have computer labs, not all of them have access to the Internet.

"The premier has set a target of 100% of learners in the province having access to Internet and e-mail by 2009," says Mdawu. "We are putting in place training for teachers and learners to form part of the broader e-government programme."

GautengOnline will be supported in future by initiatives such as Blue Umbrella. One of its aims is to improve the quality of matriculants in the province.