Samsung Galaxy devices handed over to Gauteng school principals
The handover took place at Birchwood Hotel and OR Tambo Conference Centre on August 13.
A total of 2 200 Samsung Galaxy A30 devices were handed over to principals from various schools in Gauteng, all thanks to the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) and Vodacom.
The aim of the roll-out of these devices is to substitute reporting devices launched in 2014, whereby both mobile device and tablet were issued to principals.
The Samsung Galaxy A30 will yield the same result, with benefits of substantial cost savings.
The device, which has reporting platform applications, will allow principals to log learner attendance, educator attendance, maintenance issues and security issues timeously. Furthermore, it will also serve as a platform for all Gauteng principals to share information on best practices, among other issues.
Addressing the principals, Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi shared that the long-term partnership between GDE and Vodacom continues to promote the digilisation of school management in the province.
“Over the last years, this partnership has enabled schools to provide updates in time. The technology has also helped principals to remain in close contact with the department for speedy resolutions.
“Many of our schools lack basic communications infrastructure, such as telephones. These shortcomings have posed as obstacles, impacting the department’s ability to consistently receive incident and update reports from schools,” Lesufi said.
Rudi Matjokana, managing executive for Public Enterprise at Vodacom Business Group, said: “Vodacom’s partnership with the Gauteng Department of Education continues to promote the digilisation of school management as we work together to create an environment that is ultimately conducive for learning.
“Our partnership with GDE aligns with the South African government’s prioritisation of digital solutions to improve efficiency across all departments.”
These devices will be incorporated into the RT15 transversal contract, with numerous benefits, such as free calls to other RT15 users, bundled SMSes and more.
