The Wired for Life project, which provides students and teachers with access to cutting edge education technology, is well on its way to impacting 80,000 classrooms and empowering 1 million learners across the province.
As South Africa celebrated World Teacher Day on 5 October, it is critical to draw attention to leaders and companies that are working to strengthen and uplift the country’s embattled education system. One such leader is Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi, who has made it his mission to ensure that Gauteng learners and teachers are equipped with tools that will allow them to succeed in a rapidly digitizing, tech-driven world.
“We need to be a part of what is termed the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’,” says Lesufi. “It’s about robots, it’s about driverless cars, it’s about coding, and our learners need to be part of that world. I want them to be a part of global innovation.”
Having realised that local schools and classrooms lacked the facilities and access to digital content and tools that would propel them into a competitive marketplace, Lesufi sought an education technology provider with an innovative and accessible solution. After researching and considering a number of technology partners, he chose VastraTech, the South African distributor of SMART Technologies.
In partnership with VastraTech and SMART, Lesufi launched Wired for Life, a programme that aims to provide every learner with a tablet, every teacher with a laptop, and every classroom with a SMART Board.
“I travelled across the world to explore and determine where the world is [with education],”says Lesufi. “I was at an expo in London, and I went through lots of products. When I saw the SMART product I said, ‘this is what I want.’”
Lesufi emphasizes that he recognised that SMART would provide a solution which could essentially ‘grow’ with South African learners, and that would be sustainable in the long term.
“MEC have chosen SMART and VastraTech as partners because we provide solutions designed specifically for education, and have the expertise in efficacy and implementation to make the rollout successful,” says Gary Bekker, CEO, VastraTech. “This is a hugely important project, because it aims to ensure that youth in South Africa have equal access and opportunities to 21st century tools – and seeks to enable them to compete in a highly competitive global marketplace.”
“When students have access to high quality technology, purpose built for learning, it can change their lives,” says Jenna Pipchuck, Director of Sales EMEA, SMART Technologies. “We’ve seen it happen around the world. We’re delighted to be working with Gauteng province to help its learners discover and develop the greatness within them.”
Early Signs of Success
The pioneering Wired for Life project is now entering the fourth phase, and the rate of adoption and engagement is exceeding expectations.
“With more than 6000 classrooms equipped, the fourth phase of the rollout is showing promising early data around increases in student enrollment and the reduction of abandonment rates in the local education system,” says Bekker.
Teachers are reporting that learner engagement has increased and that SMART boards are creating a community of learning amongst students. Learners are able to work on their own as well as in groups and the introduction of technology is providing exciting future opportunities such as coding in schools.
Notably, the strategic initiative has required a significant level of commitment to drive it forward in order to transform the education system. This commitment includes teacher training, with VastraTech undertaking to train SA teachers around the use of interactive whiteboards and other cutting edge technology tools.
“We have over 200 facilitators on the ground, involved day to day in the lives of these teachers,” adds Candice du Preez, COO, VastraTech. Since the launch of the project, over 4800 teachers have been trained to use the new technology and effectively implementing it in their classrooms.
The strategic decision to invest in purpose-built tech for education will put South Africa on par with countries such as the US and UK.
Turning Ambition into Opportunity
Although the technology is at the core of Wired for Life, Lesufi emphasizes that success is ultimately about the students and teachers, and giving them the tools to shape their own futures.
“The interactive nature of the software is important, because you need to bring the power of the teacher back – and the teacher must be in control,” he explains. “The SMART product brings that power to the teacher, and it has become a product that is very close to my heart, and that can take us where we want to go.”
For young learners, SMART is a way of bridging the digital divide, and learning to both compete and succeed in a global environment fueled by innovation, disruption and constant learning.
“I’m giving ordinary South Africans opportunities to prosper,” adds Lesufi. “To me, it’s an investment in the future.”
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