- Digital equipment to be donated to 22 primary schools countrywide
- Content material was developed by local experts and approved by govt
GAZETTE REPORTER
Leading mobile network provider Orange Botswana has begun their 2021 Digital School Programme which will see the company donating digital equipment to primary schools.
Through the programme that they started in 2018, Orange Botswana seeks to provide the most deprived schools with the benefits of the educational content available in their digital kit. This year, Orange will donate 50 tablets, two mini-servers, 50 headsets, one projector and projector screen, one Bluetooth speaker, one laptop and 11 adaptors to 22 selected primary schools.
Orange Botswana Director of Legal and Corporate Affairs, Lepata Mafa, noted that the digital school programme is more than just a donation of ICT devices but is a programme that is meant to successfully embed ICT in learning and teaching. “That is why we are training teachers and students (of schools that will get donations) on how to use the devices because we do not want them to remain unutilised,” she said during their recent donation to Mosamowakwena Primary School which is located about 24 kilometres from Lobatse.
Mafa stated the two mini-servers are loaded with primary school learning material which 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 said.
“It is a call we are heeding as this year we will roll out this programme to 22 primary schools across the country. It is our commitment at Orange Botswana to continue supporting Government of Botswana efforts in transforming learning.”
Through the programme, Orange Botswana also aims 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.