Khanya has computerised over 1 000 schools in Western Cape
“A tale that simply must be told
About the Khanya light
In Africa it does unfold
Illuminating bright”
This is the fourth verse of a poem called The Khanya Story, written by Kobus van Wyk, programme manager at Khanya.
On Thursday 2 April 2009, Khanya, a project of the Western Cape Education Department, celebrated reaching 1 000 schools. Khanya, meaning “Light” in Xhosa, was started is April 2001. It has now installed computer laboratories in 1 029 schools.
A function was held at Capricorn Primary School, a school in an economically deprived area in Cape Town. The first item on the agenda was a tour of some of the facilities at the school, including a “live” demonstration of how interactive whiteboards are used to teach numeracy to Grade 2 learners. I was fascinated by how engaged and enthusiastic the few learners who participated were; certainly the technology brought the subject to life and made comprehension simple. We also toured a computer lab at the school.
The Khanya project was set up to explore the potential of using technology in schools to improve curriculum delivery. One objective was to ensure each school had at least one connected computer. Ron Swartz, superintendent general of Western Cape Education Department, who officially welcomed all those who attended the event, commented: “The Khanya project has set the benchmark both nationally and internationally for schools. This has been validated by the many awards that the project has received to date.”
Duncan Hindle, DG and official representative of the National Education Department, also addressed the gathering. He noted the project had reached 20 000 educators and over 770 000 learners, who now had access to computers at their schools, and Khanya has served as a “pioneering” example. The Department of Education is currently consulting with the Teacher Unions about rolling our state-sponsored laptops to teachers countrywide.
Yousif Gabru, MEC for Education in the province, noted in his address that as so many learners come from poor homes, it is essential that they have a good experience at their school. He added that quality education should not be compromised.
Khanya proved that ICT can be implemented successfully on a large scale on this continent.
Kobus van Wyk, programme manager, Khanya
Most noteworthy is that this project, initiated during the term of Helen Zille as MEC for Education, has continued despite there being three successive MECs. They should be applauded for “leaving well alone”. The sustainability of the computer labs at schools has also been ensured by the involvement of the school community, in fundraising for the facilities into which the computers are placed.
Van Wyk listed the three critical success factors of the project: Sound management with the creation of a separate project; partners, including the schools, the Centre for E-Innovation, and the private sector; and the people in the Khanya team.
Van Wyk wrote the poem quoted from at the beginning of this article. This labour of love is 197 pages long, and is dedicated: “For 'die kindertjies” - all those children who never had access to computers before”. As he explains on the back cover of the book, and reiterated in his closing address “Implementation of ICT in schools in Africa does not have a good track record. Many well-intended efforts do not bring expected results to learners. The greatest contribution of Khanya is that it proved that ICT can be implemented successfully on a large scale on this continent”. Van Wyk noted that to date, 40 000 computers have been deployed in over 1 000 sites. This is a massive project by any metric.
The Khanya Story is available on the Web. Those of us lucky enough to attend, were given a free copy of the book. I shall treasure mine.
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