MTN, Huawei and government join forces to increase access to eLearning in the North West
The MTN SA Foundation, in partnership with Huawei and the North West Department of Education, today handed over tablets to a no-fee paying school in a drive to increase access to eLearning.
This partnership saw Mampho Secondary School in Migdol, Schweizer-Reneke, being identified as a school with some of the greatest needs for ICT tools in the province.
Grade 10, 11 and 12 pupils studying Computer Applied Technology (CAT) and Information Technology (IT), each received a Huawei tablet. With this being their final year at secondary school, all other Grade 12 pupils at the school also received Huawei tablets – so that they too are able to harness the power of technology in their final year of secondary school, and beyond.
“At the MTN SA Foundation, we are focused on bringing about socio-economic upliftment in the key areas of education and community development. We owe it to SA’s youth to prepare them for the future and are always pleased to partner with like-minded corporates such as Huawei to make this possible. It is through collaborations like this that we are given the opportunity to use connectivity to enrich the learning experience for those who might otherwise not have access to it,” says Kusile Mtunzi-Hairwadzi, General Manager: MTN SA Foundation.
Today’s handover in the North West forms part of a broader eLearning initiative for the month of September. This sees MTN handing over two state-of-the-art multimedia centres in Gauteng, each equipped with hardware and software to the value of R1.2 million. Huawei will be contributing a total of 700 tablets, valued at R2 million, to selected schools in Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Gauteng and North West, as part of this public-private partnership.
Having graced today’s event, Education MEC, Mmaphefo Lucy Matsemela, says, “Through the MTN SA Foundation, our schools have been equipped with countless multimedia centres over the years. . This includes the contribution of a fully-fledged computer lab at this very same school, Mampho Secondary, in 2017. The multimedia centres from MTN have boosted the department’s efforts in moving towards digital education, which is very much in line with what the fourth industrial revolution is calling for. We have been able to play a part in this by working with our partners to provide the necessary tools and Computer Applied Technology (CAT) lessons for Grade 10 – 12 pupils at the school.”
It is a well-known fact that South Africa has been gearing up for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This demands that SA’s youth embrace subjects, and ultimately careers, in technology to assist in driving the country, and our economy, forward.
Jackson Zhu, Huawei’s MTN SA account director, said, “As Huawei, we’re committed to bridging the digital divide, especially in these trying times. We will continue working with partners like MTN to provide access to the digital world.” Zhu also addressed pupils at Mampho Secondary School, encouraging them to use the tablets to ‘unleash their potential’.
And, South Africa is indeed blessed with a young population that is technologically-savvy.
“We urge the pupils at Mampho Secondary School to take full advantage of the information and communications (ICT) equipment supplied. They have the opportunity to improve their ICT literacy and learn new skills, so that they can become active participants in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. They can learn about things, like coding, so that they might move on to develop apps and tech solutions to help solve challenges in their communities – and even for the African continent,” concludes Mtunzi-Hairwadzi.
ISSUED BY:
Leigh-Ann Chetty, Senior Manager: Public Relations, MTN SA
Cell: 083 209 1310
E-mail: Leigh-Ann.Chetty@mtn.com
Mthokozisi Ndlovu, Manager: Communications and Public Relations, MTN SA
Cell: 083 209 2683
E-mail: Mthokozisi.Ndlovu@mtn.com
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