25 May 2023

Orange Botswana has been commended for engaging in outreach programme partnerships geared towards transforming and improving education.

The Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Mabuse Pule said at the launch of Orange Botswana Foundation Digital Schools Project at Ramonaka on Tuesday that such partnerships were in line with government’s digitalised learning system goal.

He said the tripartite between Orange Botswana Foundation, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development was handy for schools in the rural areas. Mr Pule said the outreach programme further resonated with the education ministry’s strategy to digitalise learning at an early stage by providing a balanced, modern and robust holistic education that responded to the challenges of the 21^st century learner.

“It is gratifying to note that government has been able to provide the necessary interventions in the form of outreach programmes for constructive partnerships with the private sector,” he said

Mr Pule, who is also Mochudi East MP said the ICT gadgets provided conducive learning and teaching in schools. 

He emphasised stakeholders collaboration in following up events that had the potential to facilitate Botswana’s yearn for inclusive society.

Meanwhile, Orange Botswana Director for Corporate and Legal Services, Ms Lepata Mafa-Nthomola said the Orange Botswana Foundation project in partnership with government sought to facilitate lifelong learning by providing educational content in a digital format using modern technology to adequately resource learners.

She said the programme also targeted children with special needs and people with disability at primary schools across the country and further provided learners an opportunity to share practical experience of ICT in education. She said the programme further equipped them with requisite skills and learning tools in the digital era.

She said Orange Botswana’s education strategy also developed programmes for bridging digital divide and skills to rural communities, especially to learners, women and young people.

“This programme also bridges the knowledge gap and creates a conducive learning and teaching environment at schools,” she said

Kgatleng District regional education director, Mr Mothusi James hailed Orange Botswana for helping government to transform education through other policies such as Maitlamo ICT policy, the Revised National Policy on Education and the Education and Training Sector Strategic Plan (ETSSP), which, he said were driving the utilisation of ICT in teaching and learning.

He said their initiatives to capacitate schools with ICT gadgets further resonated with the country’s Vision 2036 of achieving prosperity for all which recognised human capital as a critical enabler in the development of knowledge based economy.

“The project is a plus for the Ministry of Education and Skills Development, which was on a robust course to transform our education system in order to meet the country’s needs and drive the economy through our human capital,” he said.

He expressed delight that Ramonaka and Letsebe primary schools in Kgatleng East would be a step ahead with e-learning by the time the pupils’ progressed to secondary schools.

The consignment donated by Orange Botswana Foundation include 50 tablets for each school, Bluetooth speakers, projectors, laptops and two servers. Ends