JSE-listed Mustek, a branded assembler and distributor of PCs, notebooks and related products in SA, has appointed e-learning champion Kobus van Wyk to head up its newly established e-learning division.
Van Wyk, who joined Mustek as head of e-learning in 2011, is set to lead technology initiatives within the African education environment by advancing the use of technology to reach learners nationwide.
Having spent decades in the realm of IT and software development as a senior lecturer at the Cape Town University of Technology, and the CEO of Computer System Builders, Van Wyk was recruited by Helen Zille, then MEC for the Western Cape, to manage and facilitate an outreach project through which technology would be applied to schools within the province.
The Khanya Project, which means “to let the light shine”, focused on using technology such as desktops and laptops to solve problems within the education sector. This included educating teachers on how to use technology in their personal capacity, as well as within a classroom setting.
Under Van Wyk's guidance, the Khanya Project became a successful technology-based educational development effort. In just under a decade, the team was able to roll out 45 000 computers to 1 400 schools, train 27 000 teachers to use modern technology in an educational setting, and impact more than 900 000 learners' lives.
E-learning is the application of technology to the educational sector, with a view to addressing and solving existing issues such as a lack of teaching skills or access to a centralised curriculum.
“The Department of Education, as well as governments as a whole, are doomed to struggle to make a success of technology in education due to a significant lack of resources. As a result, the private sector needs to play a dominant role here. Mustek, as one of the largest distributors of technology in Africa, is ideally placed to assist the relevant parties across the continent in delivering this service to teachers and learners alike,” says Van Wyk.
Going forward, Van Wyk will work with government departments and NGOs to ensure the education sector in SA has access to technology. At the same time, he will focus on securing distribution partnerships for Mustek within these developmental efforts.
“[Through Mustek's e-learning initiative], we look forward to the opportunities to champion key technology initiatives and ensure that the education sector in SA has access to technology,” concludes Van Wyk.
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