Govt ups establishment of computer laboratories in schools
GOVERNMENT has stepped up efforts in the establishment of computer laboratories in schools, with over 200 schools equipped with computer laboratories since
January.
The Ministry of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services through the Postal and Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) as directed by President Mnangagwa commenced a programme that is dubbed “A Computer Laboratory for every school” where they are establishing computer laboratories fully equipped with Information Communication Technology (ICT) gadgets and internet connectivity.
Responding to questions from Sunday News, Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services Minister Dr Jenfan Muswere said the target was to equip all schools in Zimbabwe with modern ICT laboratories (labs).
“Each lab will be equipped with 30 computers, projector and interactive whiteboard. Over 200 schools were equipped with computer laboratories since January 2022. The target is to equip all schools in Zimbabwe with modern ICT labs.”
He said since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Potraz, through the Universal Services Fund (USF), introduced a programme where the authority is paying for monthly bandwidth for schools under the ICTs for Disaster Management (ICT4DM) programme.
Dr Muswere said a total of 565 schools, mostly in rural areas had their bandwidth paid for by the USF in 2021 and in 2022 an additional 660 schools from all over the rural provinces have their data paid for by the Fund until December 31, 2022.
“This will allow school pupils to access online educational content. All schools submitted by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education will have their bandwidth paid for. The programme is ongoing and more schools are set to benefit from the programme,” he said.
The Minister said in terms of the 1 300 schools’ connectivity project, to date over 1 000 schools have been connected to the internet.
The project which commenced in 2016, the Government through Potraz contracted the Zimbabwe Academic Research Network (ZARNet) to provide internet connectivity to 1 300 schools in Zimbabwe.
“The scope of the project also included the provision of functional websites equipped with a Learning Management System, (e-learning) materials, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony, e-mail services and tele-education/video conferencing facilities. The project is being rolled out in collaboration with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. It will improve access and use of ICTs in learning institutions, research and management of schools’ resources. To date over 1000 schools have been connected to the internet.”
In terms of provision of ICT gadgets to schools, the Minister said the project ran from 2017 to 2019 and under this phase USF provided ICT gadgets to schools. Dr Muswere said the gadgets included computers, printers, projectors, and servers and a total of 4 332 computers were disbursed to 403 schools during that period.
“Additionally, 21 printers, three projectors and two servers were also distributed to schools. The project continued through to 2021 and it is ongoing with more to be delivered.”
He said the Ministry and Potraz through the USF have rolled out various e-learning projects to schools over the past years as a way of making ICT services universally accessible to unserved and underserved areas in the country. Dr Muswere said this was also meant to facilitate e-learning to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on education, with various interventions being done that are aimed at ensuring universal access to ICTs for purposes of facilitating e-learning in schools.
The Ministry has been playing a critical role to fulfil the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1)’s thrust of facilitating achievement of an e-enabled economy where all sectors embrace ICT to improve efficiency in line with the global trends.
The Ministry is critical to the attainment of a digital economy through the provision of ICT solutions and services across all sectors of economy, hinged on improving access to ICTs, increasing ICTs usage, improving ICT governance and ensuring ICT industry growth.