All schools in the province will have computer labs by May 2010, says the Gauteng Shared Services Centre (GSSC).
Following criticisms from education MEC Barbara Creecy in August that she was not happy with the performance of the project, the GSSC says it has implemented interventions to help it complete the project in 2010.
Gauteng Online is a provincial initiative to build a province-wide school computer network. The project aims to create 25-seat computer labs with Internet and e-mail capabilities at all public schools in the province, to be used for curriculum delivery.
Currently, there are 1 171 installations with 1 074 schools that have passed quality assurance, says the GSSC. On 15 September, finance MEC Mandla Nkomfe reported that 1 000 schools had computer labs.
“Schools that have an available classroom within which the infrastructure can be deployed will be completed in November 2009. Schools where a structure has to be established will be completed by May 2010,” says Khusela Sangoni, head of communications at the GSSC.
The GSSC says interventions have been in place for the last eight weeks and terms have been put in place to ensure the timelines for the completion of the project are adhered to.
“We revised the organisational arrangements to ensure the appropriate information got to the relevant level within both the Gauteng Department of Education and the GSSC to facilitate faster resolution of identified issues,” notes Sangoni.
Crime woes
While high levels of crime have plagued the project over the years, the GSSC has still not disclosed how much the project lost due to crime.
“We are not in a position to quantify the financial loss as the risk is carried by the service provider,” she says.
The centre says it has drawn up an integrated security plan which incorporates the Gauteng Department of Education and that “several considerations are being made relating to the target items within classrooms”.
Security enhancements introduced earlier would continue, says the GSSC. The centre maintains that less successful measures such as the deployment of thin clients along with community engagement are signs of “improved crime management”.
Related story:
Schools ditch Gauteng Online
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