Covid-19 has forced people to relook their way of work. Offices have gone virtual and online learning has become a prerequisite.
During a hard lockdown, those with no access to online resources were unable to study, thus placing them on the back foot of education.
Now, the Department of Basic Education is making strides to modernise schools.
Cosmo Primary School has become the first school in the Kwa-Zulu Natal province to implement paperless classrooms.
On 3 June 2021, KZN education MEC Mshengu Kwazi with Basic Education Deputy Minister Reginah Mhaule opened the school.
According to the department, it’s important that “learners receive quality basic education right where they reside.”
Online learning should not be a luxury, as Covid-19 has deemed it essential for children to have access to digital platforms.
ALSO SEE: Hybrid vs blended vs online learning: Looking at the best option for your children
Miss Zuma is a Grade 5 teacher at Cosmo Primary School and was also a pupil there until Grade 7. She is grateful for this teaching transition and adds that “the resources we have received will help us facilitate the new learning and teaching processes”.
Learners have also been given devices to access the internet, but are not allowed to leave the school premises. “We don’t want the learners to take them home,” Kwazi says.
SA’s e-learning initiatives have been delayed by theft, in which smartboards and devices are constantly stolen. In Gauteng, education MEC Panyaza Lesufi urged Minister Angie Motshekga to tighten security in schools four years ago when tablets were introduced to schools.
The security of digital resources in schools should be the responsibility of the entire community. The resources are supplied for the benefit of the learners and theft delays learning.
Kwazi says: “We will continue to mobilise communities, working with different community organs to ensure all schools are protected by the communities themselves.”
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.