Africa-Press – Botswana. The digital divide prevailing in Botswana clearly shows that communities are not on the same level, says Vice President Slumber Tsogwane.
He told guests during the presentation of an ICT equipment donation by Orange Botswana to Moreomaoto Primary School Friday that government would not tire to address digital inequality and exclusivity.
The Boteti West MP said digital inclusion and access was the direction the world was headed and that Botswana had made positive strides.
“Government is on course to develop ICT infrastructure and this is an area that government holds in high regard, to advance the economy, it is also included in government’s agenda,” Mr Tsogwane said.
In addition, he said, government had come up with the Rural Development Programme and Rural Development Council as a way of ensuring that non-urban communities were not left behind.
Stating that Orange Botswana’s efforts complemented government initiatives aimed at attainment of Vision 2036, Mr Tsogwane said empowering learners with ICT skills early would ensure all Batswana became techno savvy.
The gadgets include 50 tablets, 50 head headsets, two mini-servers with built-in Wi-Fi, a projector and projector screen, laptop, printer and Bluetooth speaker.
The donation is part of Orange Botswana’s Digital Inclusion Strategy’s digital schools programme that began in 2018 providing digitised learning material tailor-made for young minds.
The Moreomaoto school is the nation’s 60th beneficiary.
Orange Botswana’s corporate and legal affairs director, Ms Lepata Mafa-Nthomola said the company was conscious and intentional in coming up with the strategy because it believed with education, opportunities were abundant.
“It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mine worker can become the head of a mine, that the child of a farm worker can become president of a great nation,” she said quoting the late former South African president, Nelson Mandela.
Ms Mafa-Nthomola said Orange Botswana recognised the importance of education in shaping young minds and the country’s future and had taken it upon itself to play a meaningful role in improving quality and access to education for all children regardless of geographical location.
Recommending that the gadgets should be used daily, she explained that they contained learning material that was highly interactive and fun.
Orange Botswana has roped in and capacitated Ministry of Education and Skills Development officers to train learners on the use of the gadgets.
The school enrolls learners with special needs and it is hoped they too will benefit.
The company also donated five laptops and two printers towards empowering Boteti youth which would go to different NGOs dealing with youth empowerement issues.
Ms Mafa-Nthomola said currently, close to 30 000 learners across Botswana had benefitted from equipment donated by Orange Botswana with more than 590 teachers trained on using the gadgets.
Moreomato pupils, Romeo Gaketshele, 10, who aspires to be a wildlife officer and nine-year-old Same Watlala, who hopes to be a doctor some day, expressed excitement at the equipment and said they planned to use them to the fullest.
Both said they had never used a computer before.
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