Budget cuts, an increase in the number of learners and infrastructure challenges are taking a toll on the GautengOnline initiative.
The R500 million project aimed to roll-out PC labs and Internet access to all schools in Gauteng by 2006.
More than four years after the project was first announced, the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) says computer laboratories have already been rolled out to 1 100 schools, with an additional 900 schools to be covered.
However, ITWeb checked on some of the first schools to have received IT labs in Soweto, and found none of them to be fully functional.
Budget slashed
Dick Raynor, GautengOnline project manager for training and e-learning, concedes that the project is not running according to the original schedule, and says the completion date has been extended by two years to 2008.
Raynor attributes this to a number of factors, including budget cuts and a rapid increase in the number of learners in Gauteng.
The allocation of R200 million for this financial year has been cut by R100 million, says Raynor.
"It seems learners are migrating to the economic hub of Gauteng, where schools are relatively well equipped and educators are appropriately qualified," he says.
Raynor says last year`s learner number increase was about 65 000, and this year`s increase of 20 000 to 25 000 learners has placed considerable strain on the budget, as 65 000 learners equates to 65 schools, each with about 30 salaried staff.
The resulting unplanned overspend on salaries and schools has affected the provincial budget and cuts were therefore inevitable.
Raynor says the budget cuts have led to a slowdown in rolling out of the labs, with only 70 labs to be equipped this year; 250 labs are projected for roll-out in 2006 and subsequent years.
Staying operational
Another challenge the project faces is ensuring smooth operation of the labs that have already been rolled out.
ITWeb randomly selected sites, and discovered that the lab works as it was intended at Goedehoop Primary School in Boksburg. However, at Entshonalanga Primary School in Tembisa, eight computers are not working, there is no Internet access and the alarm cable has been cut. The principal, Mantwa Tsatsi, says the school has requested help from the department "endlessly", with no response.
The principal from one of the schools touted as a success story admitted her school`s lab had not been in use in the past year, as the computers are broken and have not been repaired. However, the principal, who did not want to be named, refused to grant an interview because "at last GDE has sent someone to assess our needs and I don`t want them to penalise us for speaking with the media".
Never used
At the JS Mpanza Primary School in Diepkloof, principal Grace Sithole says the computer lab installed in February 2004 has never been used because the school has no electricity. "The GDE has failed us," Sithole says.
There is some debate over whether the lab is a GautengOnline site or not, but Sithole is sure it is.
Sithole adds that even if the school had electricity, her teachers have not been trained to use the PCs.
Raynor says all educators were compelled to attend training in their labs. He says that so far, 22 000 educators have been trained. However, he admits that the training programme has not been perfect, with not all teachers showing up for training.
Raynor says any faults with PC labs can be reported to the call centre number 0800 123456.
Related story:
Setbacks delay GautengOnline
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