Alcatel-Lucent and the Telkom Foundation, with the approval of the Department of Education, have built an e-learning centre - with DSL connectivity - at the Grassy Park Senior Secondary School, in Cape Town.
The centre, which also functions as a public Internet caf'e, will give students free access to Internet services, as well as provide the school's surrounding disadvantaged communities with access to communications services.
Alcatel-Lucent SA MD Mervin Kamoetie, as well as Telkom CEO Reuben September, had both been students at the Grassy Park Senior Secondary School. In addition, Alcatel-Lucent is one of Telkom's suppliers.
Countdown begins
Prelene Schmidt, head of the Telkom Foundation, says it hopes to connect 2 010 schools by mid-2010. So far, 200 schools have been upgraded, Grassy Park being one of them.
“The centres will offer computer literacy classes after school hours to the public. It will offer services, such as laminating, faxing and printing. The centre has been provided with smart interactive electronic whiteboards, projectors, laptops, 20 additional computers, laminators, fax machines and an overhead projector.”
Kamoetie notes that the initiative forms part of Alcatel-Lucent's corporate social investment programme to develop local talent and create learning opportunities for underserviced areas.
Reaching out
Thierry Albrand, VP of Alcatel-Lucent's Digital Bridge initiative, says: “This e-learning centre is not just a donation, it is part of our role for the community. We aim to sustain our global technological leadership and help the world communicate better, while meeting our obligations to communities we live and work in.”
In 2000, Grassy Park established a computer laboratory and three years later it joined the Khanya Project, an IT education programme rolled out by the Western Cape Education Department. Two more laboratories were established in 2006 with an interactive electronic whiteboard. The school currently has 50 PCs that serve 1 356 students; this amounts to a ratio of 27 students to one PC.
Share