In their efforts to provide the most deprived schools with the benefits of the educational content available in its digital kit, Orange Botswana kick-started the rollout of its 2021 Digital School Programme in the Southern District on Wednesday this week.
This follows donation of 50 tablets, two mini-servers, 50 headsets, one projector and projector screen, one Bluetooth speaker, one laptop and 11 adaptors to Mosamowakwena Primary School in the Mmathethe-Molapowabojang constituency by the mobile network company.
Orange Botswana started the Digital School Programme in 2018 in an effort to bridge the digital divide by leveraging technology to improve access to education in primary schools in remote areas, thus working to promote sustainable digital inclusion.
Said Orange Botswana’s Director of Legal and Corporate Affairs, Lepata Mafa, at the handover ceremony of the digital equipment at Mosamowakwena Primary School: “The Digital School Programme is more than just a donation of ICT devices. It is a programme that is meant to successfully embed ICT in learning and teaching. We do not want the devices to remain unutilised. Therefore, teachers and students are trained on how to use the devices as a learning and teaching tool.”
Mafa explained that the two mini-servers are loaded with primary school learning material that was developed locally and has been approved by the Ministry of Basic Education. She said the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the urgent need to accelerate digitisation in learning.
“This is a call for all of us to invest more to bring technology to the classrooms,” she noted. “It is a call we are heeding as this year we will roll out this programme to 22 primary schools across the country.”
According to Mafa, Orange Botswana will donate 1100 tablets, 44 servers, 22 Bluetooth speakers, 22 laptops, 1100 headsets, and 22 projectors and projector screens to different primary schools this year. “It is our commitment at Orange Botswana to continue supporting the Government of Botswana’s efforts in transforming learning,” she said.
Also speaking at the ceremony, the MP for Mmathethe-Molapowabojang, who is also the Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. Edwin Dikoloti, said the government is grateful for the digital school project because it will make education more productive. “It is going to close the knowledge gaps and help teachers to connect to the global and regional teachers’ communities where they can share tips, ask questions to enhance their learning and subsequently provide complete knowledge to their students,” he said.
