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School for the deaf given cyber lab

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 06 Feb 2018
Deputy Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams.
Deputy Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams.

The Dominican School for the Deaf, situated in Hammanskraal, just outside Pretoria, is the latest recipient of a fully furnished ICT lab.

The public Catholic school caters for deaf learners from three to 18 years of age across the country. It was established in 1962 by the Irish Dominican sisters to give the disabled learners the chance to acquire technical and scientific knowledge, as well as the life skills they need to find a place in the society.

In terms of special schools, a committee comprising of the Departments of Basic Education, Telecommunications and Postal Services; and representatives of the Education sub-committee on disabilities, embarked on an extensive exercise to revise the minimum basket of ICT hardware for special schools.

The launch, facilitated by the Deputy Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, also saw her address learners about subject choice considerations and the various educational and career opportunities available in the ICT sector.

The cyber lab, which was installed by mobile operator MTN, comprises 20 computers for learners, two laptops for educators, Internet connectivity, an interactive board, projector, a digital camera as well as a sign language-teaching DVD.

Similarly, Vodacom last year unveiled a cyber lab at Sifonondile Senior Secondary School in the Eastern Cape, alongside Ndabani-Abrahams. The lab, equipped with 26 tablets, a desktop computer, Internet connection and an interactive whiteboard, aimed to help learners improve their chances of bursaries and widen their knowledge of career opportunities. The equipment contained the grade 8 to 12 curriculum.

MTN and Vodacom, as per the 2014 ICASA universal service licence amendments, are under obligation to provide full Internet access to 1 500 public schools, 1 250 000 SIM-card connection packages, 125 000 handsets, 140 institutions for people with disabilities provided with Internet access over three years, and 5 000 public schools provided with Internet access over eight years, subject to approval of an implementation plan. According to MTN, it has thus far connected 1 360 mainstream schools and 18 special schools.

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