GOVERNMENT has installed solar power at 29 primary schools in Matobo District and 11 of them are already connected to the internet in line with the ‘ICT Lab per School’ project being spearheaded by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education which has a target of 1 500 schools per year.
The solar installation project started in September this year targeting mainly schools not on the Zesa grid and situated in remote areas of the district with a low revenue base.
The Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Edgar Moyo, commissioned an ICT Lab at Tohwe Secondary School and handed over of 150 laptops to five schools in the district yesterday. Matobo district has a total of 82 primary schools and 30 secondary schools.
Tohwe Secondary School, Whitewater Primary, Headway Primary, Mbembeswana Primary as well as St Sebastian Secondary School received 30 laptops each. Deputy Minister Moyo said the laptops were donated by President Mnangagwa who made the pledge in August this year.
The all-inclusive digital-based learning project that the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, in collaboration with the Information, Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services has embarked on is aimed at increasing accessibility to ICT-enabled educational resources for every child in schools, promote equality among learners and educators by having access to standardised content in a cost-effective way and to develop digital literacy skills and awareness among learners and educators.
The project also seeks to leverage ICT capabilities especially virtual platforms to combat the shortage of human and material resources and empower communities and reduce the digital divide.
Speaking during an interview on the sidelines of the ceremony, Deputy Minister Moyo, who is also Matobo North, MP said the idea which Government has always had is to digitalise all schools in the country, which it is now doing.
“We can’t remain manual when the whole world is going digital, so we realised that for us to roll out that programme we needed power in our schools and the electricity deficit necessitates that we have alternative power, especially going the green energy route as well.
This is why we have now installed solar in 29 primary schools that are off the national power grid. This will also arrest the high teacher turnover in the district because power is vital,” said Minister Moyo.
He said Government is committed to ensuring that children receive the best 21st-century compliant education.
Deputy Minister Moyo said the laptops were donated by President Mnangagwa who made the pledge in August this year.
“The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is making strides to develop ICT competencies in both teachers and learners through the Competence-based Curriculum which seeks to address key issues such as the development of ICT literacy, application of ICT in learning areas and infusion of ICT across all learning areas.
“The Ministry has a responsibility and mandate to provide all learners with ICT gadgets. It has tried to ensure that all learners are exposed to ICT tools from as early as Early Childhood Development level up to Advanced level,” said Deputy Minister Moyo.
He said ICT innovation is fast developing and has been adopted increasingly in all sectors of the economy because of the effectiveness with which it enhances the capacity to produce and supply information and as such the education sector values ICTs as essential tools that drive human development and considers ICT education as an integral part of the Zimbabwean education. – The Chronicle
