Teacher laptop scheme gazetted

By Siyabonga Africa, ITWeb junior journalist

Johannesburg, 11 May 2009

In her final move as the education minister, Naledi Pandor ratified regulations for the Teacher Laptop Initiative, which was tabled in the government gazette last week Friday.

According to the Employment of Educators Act of 1998, permanently employed teachers will be eligible for an allowance to purchase a laptop as of 1 July this year. The teacher laptop initiative will provide a stipend of R195.83 per month, over 60 months, to more than 400 000 educators in SA, for a laptop package worth R11 750.

A statement from the Department of Education (DOE) says the initiative is part of a critical strategy to take forward the objective of improving ICTs in teaching and learning. The initiative aims to ensure every teacher owns and uses a laptop.

The Teacher Laptop Initiative has been in the making since late last year, when it was announced at the social cluster directors-general briefing. The initiative gained prominence after the DOE snubbed a mobile computer contract, which the South African Democratic Teachers Union nearly penned for a R330 million deal with Rectron, to provide its 240 000 members with ultra-mobile low-cost notebooks.

Under the Teacher Laptop Initiative, teachers will be expected to source the laptop packages, which meet the DOE`s minimum requirements and conditions, on their own. The allowance will run for five years and is renewable after the initial 60-month period.

Minimum requirements

The DOE has prescribed a number of technical requirements, which the laptop package is expected to meet. The laptops themselves must have a 160G hard drive, wireless LAN, Ethernet LAN and voice-fax modem Internet connectivity and a Windows XP, or higher, operating system.

The laptop must be loaded with Microsoft Office software, which will be available under a DOE-Microsoft agreement to the teachers at a discounted price. The DOE will also provide content, such as a school administration package and national curriculum materials, which will also be installed in the laptop.

Some of the basic conditions teachers will have to adhere to include making the laptop available for inspection by DOE officials, and e-mailing the department at the beginning of every month to ensure the laptop is in working order. Teachers will also have to get an insurance policy for the laptop, which will also be subsidised within the allowance.