Panyaza Lesufim Gauteng Education MEC, has called on the matrics of 2015 to return the tablets given to them last year as part of the province’s paperless classroom initiative. According to reports, about 16 000 tablets are still outstanding from the 88 000 that were distributed to Gauteng schools last year.
Oupa Bodibe, spokesperson for the Gauteng Department of Education, told Justmoney that the Department had collected 81% of the tablets that were distributed in 2015, with 19% still outstanding.
Of those that have been returned to the Department, four percent had minor screen damages, with the cost for repairs ranging from R650 to R1 000.
According to Bodibe, the cost of a tablet is R3 500. He noted that the Department will be spending R2 million to provided the selected matric and grade 11 classes with the tablets and smart boards needed for the e-learning and paperless classroom initiative.
In a statement released by the Gauteng Department of Education, it said: “The class of 2016 matric learners will have the advantage of starting the school year on an e-learning platform. The plan this year is to roll out the e-learning/paperless classroom to Grade 11 classes in all township schools and add schools that obtained a 100% matric pass rate. Further a school of specialisation will be launched in Soweto to mark a milestone for these types of schools.”
Currently 384 schools form part of the e-learning initiative, with plans to include 50 more township schools to the project during 2016, according to Bodibe.
“The Department is rolling out the paperless classroom initiative to all Grade 11 this year 2016; Grade 9 and 10 in 2017 followed by Grade 7 and 8 in 2018,” added Bodibe.