During the first quarter of this year, the education sector launched a new strategy for learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. While schools remain closed, the country is in the process of accelerating the National E-learning Strategy.
Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa while speaking during the post-Cabinet briefing said the objective of the National E-Learning Strategy is to transform the education sector through the development of adequate technological capacity for both learners and educators regardless of geographical location or economic circumstance.
In her exact words, the Minister said: “The Ministry of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services wishes to accelerate the implementation of the National E-Learning Strategy through the provision of free internet services to 400 schools that already have connectivity but are encountering difficulties in paying monthly bandwidth subscriptions.”
“The schools will be provided with data for nine months. An additional 180 rural schools will have been connected by the end of 2021, and will benefit from the same initiative,” continued Minister Mutsvangwa.
The Government also chipped in to meet all operational expenses, inclusive of staff remuneration. This is addition to the provision of free access to internet services at Community Information Centres, and Community Village Information Centres.
UNICEF also played a vital role in Zimbabwe’s education system as it also complements the National E-Learning Strategy through the UNICEF GIGA Schools Connectivity Project. The GIGA Schools Connectivity project is a response to the Covid-19 pandemic by UNICEF and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
The project caters for raising funding for schools connectivity, mapping the connectivity status of every school, connecting the unconnected and poorly connected schools to the internet, and linking connected schools and young people to digital public goods that provide job skills and remote working opportunities, among other benefits.
According to Minister Mutsvangwa, the GIGA project will be rolled out in all provinces. the overall objective of GIGA in Zimbabwe was to connect every school to the internet and afford every young person access to information.
