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SITEKI – Thumb signatories are being phased out as part of embracing digital transformation in schools.
The transformation will be accompanied by the election of illiterate school committee chairpersons familiar with internet banking.
Almost all the local banks have phased out cheques and introduced internet banking to all their clients, inclusive of schools.
As a result, schools have to make financial transactions using the electronic funds transfer (EFT) effectively this month.
On Tuesday, EswatiniBank facilitated a workshop to capacitate teachers on internet banking. About 30 head teachers of schools in the Lubombo Region were capacitated.
Khanyisile Fakudze from the bank facilitated the workshop which was held in two groups and it continued yesterday morning.
EswatiniBank electronic banking Supervisor
Neliswa Dlamini said the workshop was fundamental in capacitating the head teachers to embrace digital migration in their banking. Dlamini said the bank had phased out the use of cheques in payment and introduced EFT effectively at the beginning of this month. The supervisor noted that head teachers had to engage parents to appoint school chairpersons with literate capacity.
Workshops
She added that the bank would be hosting the workshops in all the four regions of the country.
“Effective this month, head teachers will not make payment of salaries for support staff and the purchasing of electricity units, post boxes, WiFi and telephone using internet banking. We will revisit some of the schools to make a follow-up on how best they understand and implement what they have been taught in this workshop. The need to have educated school committee chairpersons is a must now going forward,” Dlamini said. Lubombo Regional Education Officer (REO) Richard Dlamini commended the bank for taking the initiative to capacitate head teachers on the utilisation of internet banking.
The REO said they also engaged Standard Bank and the financial institution was yet to furnish his office with the scheduled dates of training.
“We will engage the other financial institutions to also hold these workshops. As a region, the rolling out of these workshops is to circumvent problems coming with internet banking and ensure that teachers are well capacitated,” he said.
Meanwhile, all financial institutions have migrated to paperless banking as a means to migrate to digital banking.
The use of mobile phones in making financial transactions for internet banking instead of cheques has been embraced by the majority of banks in the country.