In an effort to help advance literacy development, Vodacom and Huawei, together with the Department of Basic Education and the Nelson Mandela Foundation, yesterday unveiled the e-Libraries programme in Midrand.
An educational content application, which is freely available on Huawei tablets at the existing 61 Vodacom ICT resource centres situated across the country, forms part of the initiative.
The project will provide learners with digital skills and help fight illiteracy in the country.
There are 140 ICT resource centres across the country under the ministry of education, and Vodacom provides connectivity and equipment to 61 of these. The mobile operator hopes by the end of the year, it will have equipped and connected 20 more.
Each centre will have six tablets, WiFi connectivity and high-speed Internet connectivity, as well as a local server, and e-books will be downloaded from the Vodacom Cloud Centre.
Huawei donated 400 tablets that have been loaded with a collection of e-books available in all 11 languages.
The content is made accessible by publishing partners, Via Afrika, Oxford University Press, Shuter & Shooter Publishers, and FunDza, and from the Department of Basic Education and the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
Access to reading material is a major challenge in SA - many learners do not have access to libraries and reading material, said Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub. This initiative will help address literacy challenges by broadening access to content, he added.
"Our aim is to use technology to help make a difference in the communities where our customers live. Through this initiative, Vodacom seeks to enable learners and community members to read e-books at the centres for free."
Deputy minister of basic education, Enver Surty, said learners require skills and abilities to utilise ICT in the 21st century, and no child should be at a disadvantage because of lack of resources.
Through utilisation of ICT, SA will be able to overcome the burden of poverty and inequality, and other social economic challenges, he added.
There is a data revolution happening and if SA is able to grasp this revolution and empower its children with digital skills through education, the country will be able to eradicate poverty more quickly and effectively, said Joosub.
The initiative forms part of Vodacom's broader teacher development initiative, the Vodacom Mobile Education Programme.
The project has seven components: the Vodacom Mobile Education ICT Resource Centres, the Web-based Vodacom Digital Classroom education portal, the Vodacom Mobile Education Virtual Private Network, the Vodacom Mobile Education Training Programme, Vodacom e-school and Vodacom Millionaires.
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