While broadband, in and of itself, is unlikely to solve SA's education dearth, connectivity is key to facilitating the process, but industry observers feel government is not sufficiently focused on ICT as a means of tackling the problem.
This comes as the world celebrates International Literacy Day - an initiative by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation that aims to highlight the importance of literacy as the foundation of education.
While education has historically been recognised as a human right, the UN this century officially recognised Internet as the same. Former communications minister Yunus Carrim noted this classification as interesting, saying in March: "The ubiquitous role of the Internet in all sectors of society has rendered it essential to improving the quality of lives of citizens."
SA's broadband policy, SA Connect, is steeped in education. Unwrapping the policy earlier this year, Carrim tagged "digital opportunity" as one of the four pillars upon which the policy is based. "[This] deals with interventions that will stimulate demand through the e-readiness programmes in schools and clinics, formal skills development in curricula and general awareness and e-literacy campaigns," he said.
"The high-level skills required by the sector, and the user skills necessary for social and economic inclusion will be targeted in schools, universities and community access centres to secure and create work. There will be an alignment of broadband initiatives with other government department programmes in research and development, innovation and entrepreneurialism."
In February, the then Department of Communications launched the Ikamva National e-Skills Institute in a bid to improve citizens' access to online education resources. However, the process has been stalled by the recent leadership shuffle, which saw the introduction of two ICT-related departments - a perplexing move that has been criticised as disruptive and unnecessary by industry observers.
In June, Department of Basic Education spokesperson Troy Martens said the department had embarked on an ICT project that aimed to digitise all its workbooks.
Exploiting ICT
Ovum analyst Richard Hurst says the South African government appears to be distracted or fragmented in its approach to harnessing ICT as a means of assisting in the education challenge.
"A decent starting point would be a coherent and all-encompassing policy. Other initiatives which could be undertaken would be the reduction of cost of services such as connectivity via subsidies and tax deductions for ICT equipment intended for educational purposes."
The role broadband plays in education, says ICT veteran Adrian Schofield, must not be underestimated. "Broadband connection to all schools is an essential contributor." He notes, however, that in order to eradicate SA's education problems, an overhaul of teacher training and the delivery of a curriculum that is relevant to the 21st century are crucial.
Schofield says government is not doing enough in this department, but "every little bit helps". Neither is business, he says, but it should be better incentivised to work with government to address the problem.
Industry initiatives
Today, African social network Mxit, together with the Nal'ibli reading-for-enjoyment campaign, launched an app to put children's stories and literacy tips into the hands of more South African caregivers and their children.
Accessible via the local social networking platform - which has around five million monthly users - the app allows anyone with mobile handset (including feature phones) "to help put their children on the path to educational success with access to regular stories, literacy tips and support".
Carole Bloch, director of the Project for the Study of Alternative Education in SA, notes not all South Africans have access to books and stories - particularly in their mother tongue. "In fact, reports show that 51% of homes in the country don't have access to leisure books and 85% of the population lives beyond the reach of a public library."
Industry observers and reputable studies have indicated cellphones - particularly in a mobile-first country like SA - will have a significant role to play in education into the future.
Andrew Rudge, CEO of Mxit Reach - an initiative that aims to improve lives through the development of solutions using the Mxit platform - says the app already has 60 000 subscribers. He says, through the mobile app, the company hopes to make a lasting contribution to the development of a reading culture in SA.
Last month, Vodacom introduced five zero-rated sites endorsed by the Department of Education. This free access, says the company's spokesperson Richard Boorman, is the first part of a larger programme it is putting together. Vodacom is also looking to supply free access to Wikipedia as part of that wider programme. "Our key overall concern is to provide access to resources relevant to the schools' curriculum."
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