PC Training and Business College is offering every learner who registers at the college for a full qualification a free Telefunken tablet PC.
According to the college, this is part of a R100 million learning initiative to “enhance learners' learning experience and the education process” in SA. The college will be giving away 23 000 Telefunken tablets in January at all 70 of its campuses, the college says.
PC Training and Business College CEO Jay Ramnundlall says Telefunken was chosen based on research by the institution's MIS Department. He adds that the college partnered with Telefunken, tasking the manufacturer with providing learners with a user-friendly and responsive tablet. The college adds that the tablets are covered by a two-year warranty, the first year being a swap-out and the second year being a repair warranty.
Through the tablet PCs, learners will have access to e-libraries, real-time interactive learning experiences with lecturers and fellow learners, as well as free access to learning programmes. All campuses will offer learners free WiFi, the college says.
"This exciting and ground-breaking initiative will lead to the improvement of teaching and learning, and learner success rates,” says deputy minister of Higher Education and Training, professor Hlengiwe Mkhize. She adds that access to e-libraries will improve the student's capacity for research.
According to PC Training and Business College deputy CEO Muni Kooblal, providing learners with a tablet PC free of charge has not influenced its pricing structure. Kooblal says this is despite the retail price of the tablets being approximately R3 700 apiece.
“As part of our strategic plan, we will continue to order the tablet PCs in the ensuing years, having a capital infrastructural and support cost of R100 million over a four-year period”, Kooblal adds. He says the college expects to recover this expenditure from increased learner enrolment resulting from the initiative, as well as cost savings from no longer printing learning materials and increasing the use of the e-library infrastructure.
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