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Thoko Mokgosi-Mwantembe, HP South Africa CEO, explaining the structure of the new school.
April 2007 -- South African President Thabo Mbeki has launched South Africa’s first NEPAD e-school – a school equipped with an HP computer lab and an audio-visual room stocked with servers, PCs, printers, scanners, copiers, digital cameras and projectors combined with wireless connectivity.
The launch took place at Maripe secondary school in Mpumalanga province in eastern South Africa as part of the pan-African NEPAD e-Schools demonstration project. The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) e-Schools Initiative, led by the NEPAD e-Africa Commission, aims to connect schools throughout Africa to one another via a computer network.
HP is leading a consortium of private companies to partner with the South African government and the NEPAD e-Africa Commission.(1)
“HP aims to apply the potential of technology in education,” said Thoko Mokgosi-Mwantembe, HP South Africa CEO. “HP’s commitment to the project goes beyond the donation of equipment. Through our workshops, teachers and the local community will be able to learn the ICT skills that are needed to participate as equals in the global knowledge economy.”
“I am pleased about the partners and businesses that have contributed to make this project possible. This project will help to develop the brain power that is needed to defeat poverty," said President Thabo Mbeki, who officially launched the project.
South African President Thabo Mbeki and HP South Africa CEO Thoko Mokgosi-Mwantembe attending the launch ceremony.
HP has projects underway across the African continent to help people harness the power of information and communications technologies, touching communities that would otherwise be excluded from the benefits of the information revolution. Less than 20% of the global population has access to Information Technology (IT) while in Africa only 1 in every 130 people has a computer.(2)(3)
The NEPAD project aims to use Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to improve education and help young Africans develop digital skills. HP is firmly committed to NEPAD’s goal, sponsoring 18 e-Schools in six countries in the demonstration phase of the project. HP and NEPAD opened the first African e-School in Uganda in June 2005, and launched Egypt’s first e-School earlier this year.
NEPAD e-schools rely on the private sector to provide and maintain the required technology as well as the training, connectivity and content. In addition to South Africa, HP is helping to launch NEPAD e-schools in: Mozambique, Nigeria, Burkina Fasso, Uganda and Egypt.
Dr Henry Chasia, the Executive Deputy Chairperson of the NEPAD e-Africa Commission explains: "We believe that the public-private partnerships are the most effective way to address the challenges of imparting modern ICT skills and knowledge to the African youth, which will enable our youth to participate as equals in the ever changing information society and global knowledge economy, thus defining their future.”
NEPAD e-Schools are aimed at helping African youth graduate from school with skills that enable them to participate in the global information society. The HP e-Schools solution will not only provide ICT infrastructure, but will also address issues around health and empowering the community through information.
Maripe Secondary School has been transformed thanks to a state-of-the-art Computer Lab and an Audio Visual Room. The Computer Lab is fully stocked with PCs, printers, faxes, scanners and copiers combined with wireless connectivity. In addition, other innovative education solutions have been implemented, including a Smartboard (an interactive whiteboard), school administration system, ICT adapted into the national curriculum, a learning channel via cable TV as well electricity was provided to the three schools. The server allows for education and health content as well as audio visual lessons in Science and Biology.
The Audio Visual Lab is a cinema style set-up which is ideal not only for demonstrations across the education spectrum to learners, but also for educating the broader community on issues such as nutrition and awareness around HIV/AIDS.
Most importantly, teachers have been trained in basic PC literacy and two teachers who have been identified as the school’s “ICT Champions” have been given technical training to provide first level support at the school. HP will also be hosting a number of workshops, (an ICT development and implementation plan) with the school and the community to ensure sustainability and to get the maximum mileage out of the project, now and in the future. HP has also trained and assisted community members to establish a food garden at the school, where the fruit and vegetables are sold to provide funding to purchase consumables and paper for the PC lab.
HP’s technology vision for education in Africa does not entail simply installing hardware in schools. Central to HP’s approach is sustainability, ensuring that solutions implemented today can be built on for many generations to come. By working with governments, like-minded business and organisational partners and communities, HP develops complete solutions that address every aspect of education, including learning content.
“I firmly believe that all organisations in our country have a role to play in improving the lives of South Africans,” said Thoko Mokgosi-Mwantembe in her speech at the inauguration. “ICT is a massive enabler, especially in emerging markets. If I look at what has been done at a community level to develop ICT skills, it gives our industry a sense of purpose and perspective on our role in South Africa's overall development.”
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The HP consortium includes Eskom, Mindset, Multichoice, Motorola, Canonical, Edupac, Edutouch, Smart Technologies, Computers 4 Kids and LearnThings.
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| (2) |
ClickZ Network and CIA World Factbook.
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| (3) |
ITU; United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) statistics.
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