Closing the digital gap: Cell C, Vhembe district municipality usher technology in exemplary rural schools

TO Joshua Moela, closing the digital divide especially in education is a call that telecommunication company, Cell C, will heed within its means of operations.

Moela, the company’s managing executive for government relations, was all too aware that the digital divide between metropolitan and rural areas was enormous and the company had to respond within its means.

It has also been recognised that the administration in numerous schools in rural areas, such as in the Vhembe region in Limpopo, were still very manual.

It was against this background that Cell C heeded a request by the Vhembe district municipality to empower schools that excelled despite odds and situated in deep rural areas – stretching from Midoroni in the Ha-Kutama area to villages on the outskirts of Malamulele town.

At a ceremony in Thohoyandou on Wednesday, 17 schools were handed over laptops with modems loaded with 10GB of data, and headphones. The use of technology is expected to enhance quality of education, teaching and innovation at the schools.

“We have to listen and respond to the challenges of the communities. Where we have means to do more, we will do more,” Moela said.

Acting executive mayor, Rose Mathukha, described the donation as a “much-needed support that is unconditional”.

“Local government is the sphere of government that interact with communities where learners are found. Government alone cannot sustain the load. That’s the reason we reached to private sector.

“By using technology, the schools will be able to explore new and creative ways of teaching and learning, preparing learners for a digital future,” Mathuka said.

Like Moela, the acting mayor also appealed to the recipient school managers for the equipment not to gather dust nor become personal assets. She said the donation should serve to inspire other schools.

The local chief, Gole Mphaphuli, said technology was no longer an enhancement, but a necessity: “No student should be left behind in this rapidly evolving world.”

Mukondeleli Tshigomana, the principal at Mmilige Secondary School in Midoroni, Ha-Kutama area in the west of Louis Trichardt, was lost for words in welcoming the donation. She described the gesture as “priceless”.

“We work in poverty-stricken communities and it’s an uphill battle for a learner to get a laptop. The laptops will make a huge difference in our schools,” Tshigomana said.