The initiative to distribute these devices comes from the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) MEC Panyaza Lesufi. It sees some schools switching from chalkboards to smartboards, while their learners receive tablets.
Sakhile Mkhize, a parent of one of the learners, says, “I feel that my child is at a disadvantage because their peers from other schools have tablets.”
The main reason for his disappointment is the lack of communication from the school and the GDE.
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Mkhize says, “The main issue is that we are hearing different stories. No one has taken the time to explain, even to the learners themselves, why they don’t have tablets.”
He also claims that the school’s previous group of Grade 12s were given tablets.
According to the acting GDE spokesperson, Oupa Bodibe, “The department can confirm that Tsakane Ext 8 Secondary School was not part of the ICT rollout programme in 2015. It is important to note that at that given moment the said school did not have Grade 12 learners.
“Subsequently, the school hosted their first Grade 12 class only in 2016,” said Oupa Bodibe.
The GDE claims that, “The school, after consultation with the parents, decided to reject the tablets.”
The school gave as their main concerns serious safety issues and thefts experienced during the short period that the learners had the tablets in 2016.
• Also read: Thandie Eleanor Sibeko Secondary School goes digital
Bodibe says the GDE has since “placed the school on the Alternative Construction Technology (ACT) priority list for the 2017/18 infrastructure plan.“
This means that the learners of Tsakane Extension 8 Secondary School will only have access to tablets after completion of the said infrastructure project.
