Panyaza Lesufi, MEC for the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE), has thrown his weight behind government's ailing one teacher, one laptop; one child, one tablet initiative.
Speaking at the Business Connexion CEO dinner this week, Lesufi said government is committed in its approach to ensure access to technology devices for all South African teachers and school children by 2018.
"In this country, by 2018, there is going to be one child, one tablet; one teacher, one laptop; and one classroom, one interactive board," he said.
In 2008, government introduced the one child, one tablet initiative to transform the country's education system by providing access to the Internet and smart devices.
However, last year, Masibambane Junior Primary School in Orange Farm was the first beneficiary of the project. MoneyGram donated 250 tablets to the school located in the south of Johannesburg.
Lesufi noted government is still committed to achieve the one child, one tablet initiative, and is focused on providing access to technology devices in South African classrooms.
"We need to utilise ICT to respond to the challenges that we are facing in South Africa."
Biggest slice of the pie
Education accounts for the largest share of government's budget spend; however, the sector still faces skills, training and development challenges.
In the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement on Wednesday, finance minister Nhlanhla Nene noted the country's education and training capacity is not enough.
"We have to invest in quality improvements and meet new skills requirements," said Nene.
To address the skills shortage and enhance basic education, National Treasury has for the medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) prioritised provision of learner and teacher support material.
Basic education allocations over the MTEF will increase by 8.2%, said Nene.
Making strides
Last year, the basic education ministry placed ICT as a key priority across all provinces, including connecting schools, addressing teacher skills, and improving mathematics and science performance among pupils.
However, each of the country's provinces is left on its own when it comes to ICT rollout in schools, and provinces such as Gauteng and the Western Cape are leading the pack with prioritised technology in schools.
In Gauteng, the GDE has started with the rollout of tablets and smartboards in schools.
In July, 375 high schools switched from chalkboards to smartboards. According to the department, it purchased over 17 000 tablets for Grade 12 learners, and 1 800 3D LED interactive boards.
According to Lesufi, the ICT sector will be the economic hub of the Gauteng province.
In Gauteng alone, government is investing R17 billion in the education sector over the next three years, he said.
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