Boitumelong goes paperless
Addressing members of the media at Boitumelong Secondary School in Tembisa on Tuesday, the Gauteng MEC for Education, Mr Panyaza Lesufi, said they have started burying the chalkboard, the duster and the chalk in Gauteng Schools.
Grade 9 pupils were all given tablets and were using them when learning on Tuesday.
“Gone are the days when pupils had to write in exercise books and hand in the assignments. Pupils then had to wait for teachers to mark their scripts, which could take days,” he said.
All high school children in Gauteng will be provided with a tablet. He added that pupils will take the tablets home for learning purposes.
When asked if pupils would not be tempted to use the the tablets to watch movies and other social media platforms, MEC Lesufi said it was impossible for the tablet to be used for anything other than learning.
“The tablets are loaded with learning material only. There is no way pupils can use them for other things,” he said.
Security has also been increased at the schools where the tablet and other digital resources programme was launched.
“Here at Boitumelong Secondary School, we had two attempted break-ins in December last year. We are ready for whoever thinks he can come and steal the computers at the school. We will fight fire with fire when it comes to protecting what we have for the pupils,” he said.
On the question of pupils looking after the tablets at home, he said he met with all the parents at the school before the project was even started.
“I met with about 1 7 00 parents, one on one, and they all signed a pledge to make sure their children look after the tablets. There is nothing to fear. My priority is the education of the pupils, nothing else,” he said.
