South Africa has initiated a pilot program to test the benefits of providing tablets to students in rural areas. Rural area schools do not have the same access to quality education as schools in urban areas. Authorities hope technology will bridge this gap by providing access to new educational materials and resources previously unavailable in these areas.
Through the Information and Communication Technology Initiative for Rural Education Development, the Department of Science and Technology provided tablets and training to 144 teachers at secondary schools in the Eastern Cape district.
“What better way to fight poverty than through education? It is even more impressive that these children are improving in maths and science, subjects that are needed for our economy to grow,” said Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, Mike Masutha.
The pilot project demonstrated that tablets as a teaching aid have the potential to increase student enthusiasm and dedication towards education. These improvements showed up in passing rates for senior students which drastically increased in just one year. Prior to the introduction of the pilot program, senior students had a 41% passing rate, then with the introduction of tablets those rates increased to 71%. With dramatic results like these, the South African government wants to extend the tablet program to other rural schools throughout the country.
The tablets given to these students contain lessons on subject like math and science, along with additional tutorials from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. They also allow students to review their old exams and papers, and to record lessons they attend in school to revisit at a later time.
Student Ayanda Ngxambane explained, “since I was given this tablet my enthusiasm for education has grown…this tablet feels like walking around with the teacher in our pocket, because we can access teaching material anytime. We are sure that with these tablets we will improve our Grade 12 results and pave the way towards a better future.”
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Written by Amanda Lubit