Students, teachers get laptops
As the Ministry of Education and Skills Development gears up for digitalisation, legislators have called on authorities to ensure all goes according to plan to get value for their money.
The minister, Douglas Letsholathebe announced to Parliament on Thursday that they would be rolling out laptops to all students and teachers starting with senior secondary schools when the third term begins.
“My ministry is moving with speed to embrace the opportunities offered by digitalisation. As I speak today, laptop devices are being delivered to senior secondary schools across the country.
Every teacher and every learner in every senior secondary school will be issued a laptop beginning next term. The devices are distinctively colour-coded Botswana blue and installed with a security tracking system and a remote cut-off mechanism to render them unusable should they fall into the wrong hands,” Letsholathebe said.
“These laptops will remain the property of the school and will be returned to the school upon the departure of the teacher or learner.
However, as the laptops will contain much of the students’ work, notes, assignments and reading material, learners will be expected to carry these devices with them at all times as their principal learning tool.”
The minister added the objective of the initiative is to enhance teaching and learning in schools. He said the opportunities that these laptops open up for collaborative teaching and learning are immense and the access that the devices provide to local and international content of educational import is transformative.
He warned that with this access also comes responsibility.
“Teachers will have the responsibility to teach learners to view content with a critical eye and extract that which is useful from that which is not. Learners will be expected to look after the devices and to ensure that they are used wisely. Parents are called upon to assist their learners to care for the devices and use them for learning. I appeal to you Honourable Members to help us in this regard. The community is urged to take notice of this development and assist our young people to look after these devices,” he said.
Letsholathebe said while his ministry works towards the closure of Phase I of the School Digitalisation Project, it has already started preparations for Phase II which targets the provision of individual devices to Junior Secondary School teachers and learners.
The third and final phase will then see the delivery of devices to primary schools on an individual basis for all teachers and learners in upper primary and as mobile ICT labs for use by preschool and lower primary learners.
While legislators congratulated the ministry for the initiative, Gaborone Central legislator Tumisang Healy called on the minister to ensure that Batswana do benefit through the manufacturing and supplying of the gadgets.
Bobonong legislator, Taolo Lucas suggested that the ministry should have started with primary schools and not secondary schools as it is where learning begins. He also said at rural areas there are issues like poor network connectivity which could make the programme barren.
In response, Letsholathebe said they looked at the fact that they already have content for secondary schools. He further assured that efforts were made to improve connectivity where learning and teaching take place.Maun East legislator, Goretetse Kekgonegile quizzed whether laptops were more of a priority than other pressing issues like shortage of classrooms and accommodation for teachers. He also called on the minister to grow IT departments within the schools to ensure value for money invested.
My ministry is moving with speed to embrace the opportunities offered by digitalisation. As I speak today, laptop devices are being delivered to senior secondary schools across the country