The New Partnership for Africa`s Development (Nepad) and the Ugandan government have partnered with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and HP to implement computers and Internet access at six more Ugandan schools.
This is in line with the Nepad e-Schools initiative, started by the e-African Commission, to equip 600 000 African schools with ICT tools over a period of 10 years.
According to Sylvia Ufoyuru, Nepad project leader in Uganda, this is a demonstration project, which is intended to provide a continental learning mechanism, based on real-life experiences.
"By implementing ICT in schools across the African continent we will serve to inform the roll-out of the broader Nepad e-Schools initiative."
Six schools were selected by government to participate in the demo project, with three allocated to the HP consortium and the other three to the AMD consortium, she adds. AMD and HP are helping the e-School initiative with virus- and spyware-resistant personal Internet communicators, as well as Internet access, she says.
Execution of the initiative began last week, and is covering secondary schools in Mityana and Luwero, satellite towns outside Kampala, the country`s capital, she says. "The new partnership will help reach at least 4 000 more students."
Ufoyuru says MultiChoice has also partnered with the e-Schools initiative in the region, providing DSTV kits, television sets and DSTV education bouquets to the beneficiary schools in a bid to provide educational content.
Ufoyuru says it is important that an organisation like MultiChoice joins the project in Uganda because it is an African-based organisation. "It is important that Africa is driving African initiatives like the Ugandan e-Schools initiative."
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