R1.7m education app is completely useless

Expenditure wasteful and irresponsible as all the information is incorrect and outdated, says DA

The Eastern Cape department of education has been accused of wasting R1.7m on an education app.

DA MPL Yusuf Cassim said the functions of the Sikuncede Njani app designed for citizens to report education-related issues and keep track of schools and district-related information

— were not operational.

While the application was a good idea, it was wasteful and

“irresponsible expenditure by

” the department, he said.

MEC Fundile Gade told the DA in response to parliamentary questions that the app was up to date with information that could be used by public citizens and department officials.

An inquiry sent to the education department s Vuyiseka

’

Mboxela had not been responded to by print deadline on Wednesday.

Cassim said the app was not up to date, as Gade had suggested in his response. After phoning no fewer than “

30 numbers of schools and officials listed on the app, there was not one single correct contact number.

Some numbers associated with schools are private numbers, some numbers do not exist, even the numbers given for department officials are incorrect,” he said.

The app link indicates that it was last updated on July 16 2018. Cassim said an app like Sikuncede Njani was meant to connect citizens to the department of education. Instead, it is a huge frustration “to try to get responses out of the department. From a parent s point of view, when

’ writing a letter to a department official or district, you never get a response.

The culture of officials being “non-responsive on queries is unacceptable, because issues that citizens may want to report are serious,” Cassim said.

In response to parliamentary questions dated October 2, which were seen by the Dispatch, Gade said the purpose of the app was to:

● Give citizens all the information they need regarding the schools in the province, including contact details of the department at head office, district and school level;

● Help citizens to report any issues related to the department; and

● Help officials capture and track all the complaints reported to the department and its progress.

Although this is a great initiative “that pushes the department towards the fourth industrial revolution, as it exists currently, it is simply wasteful expenditure, Cassim said.

” A capable state requires accessible “and responsive department officials.”

Cassim challenged the MEC “and his department to start working on updating and actively tracking the application so that it can be utilised to its full potential ”.

Not only will this benefit “members of the public, schools, and learners, but it would be of great use to the department with regard to resolving queries,” Cassim said.