STUTTERHEIM- Eastern Cape Department of Education(EC DoE) visited St Thomas Special School in Stutterheim on 6th February 2025 to handover tablets to grade 12 learners.This initiative is part of the department’s efforts to bridge the digital divide and ensure that learners across the province from rural and township schools have access to digital technology.
According to EC DoE ICT Director Lethu Ndzube, “This project is led by the Eastern Cape Education MEC Fundile Gade and aims to provide learners with the benefits of digital technology, we want to ensure that all learners regardless of their location or background have access to the same digital tools and opportunities.” The department has allocated a budget of R200 million for this initiative which is expected to run for several years, as part of the program each learner will receive 50GB monthly of data from MTN Eastern Cape the service provider.
There are only five Grade 12 learners in St Thomas Special School who received the tablets out of a total of 60 learners in the school, officials are hoping to distribute the devices to Grade 11 and 10 learners as well depending on the availability of additional tablets.
In addition the acting School Governing Body(SGB) chairperson at St Thomas Special School Zoleka Zondani said, “We are grateful that the department of education has remembered us as a school with kids with special needs, now our kids will study using technology which will help them learn even more. We already have a 100% pass rate and we believe this technology will take us to the next level.”
Furthermore Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee at EC DoE Monde Sondaba has expressed enthusiasm for the province’s education department prioritizing e-learning. Sondaba stated that, “We’re pleased that the education department is placing e-learning at the forefront of teaching and learning this development is part of a broader initiative to integrate technology into education which has already shown promising results in the province with a significant increase in matric pass rates.”
This initiative is a shining example of the department’s commitment to inclusivity and equality in education.
By providing digital tools to special needs schools like St Thomas the ECDoE is helping to level the playing field and ensure that all learners have the opportunity to succeed.
Photograph: supplied
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