With Covid-19 restrictions and a fourth wave of infections rearing its head in 2021, MTN applauds the efforts of matriculants who persevered and excelled despite the obstacles that the year brought. MTN SA was a lead sponsor of the Ministerial Release of the 2021 National Senior Certificate examination results event on January 20, 2022 hosted by the Department of Basic Education and provincial education departments.
To mark the achievement of the class of 2021, the MTN SA Foundation has rewarded the 33 top matriculants with laptops to help kickstart their futures, the awards of the top learner extend to the top 10 students in each province, who will also be receiving laptops and backpacks. Each of the top 33 national students will also receive a MTN Pulse hamper that includes a Mobile Wi-Fi router and a once off 20GB data to go with their laptops.
“We are proud that despite the challenges they faced, our fearless South African learners persevered, defeated a stop-go year of teaching and school closures, and ended the year by producing a strong set of academic results,” says Kusile Mtunzi-Hairwadzi, General Manager of the MTN SA Foundation.
“We are committed to helping drive education that matters and supporting SA’s children reach their dreams. Our 2022 Back to School campaign is focused on driving access to education across SA and this is backed up by our MTN Online School platform providing broad and high-level educational support,” she says.
Back to School and support initiatives will build on the immense success of the MTN Summer School programme for grades R to 11, which ended on January 14 and apart from the learning support, has included free data bundle and laptop giveaways. Upcoming programmes include the sponsoring of an additional 50 tablets to help learners in Grade 10 from schools selected by the provincial MECs of the Departments of Education in partnership the MTN SA Regional offices.
“Through our initiatives MTN aims to create awareness and ensure the learners have enhanced access to e-learning offered by our MTN Online School portal. Our over-arching campaign will also help drive more learners to our Online School to help them with their studies and prepare them for their futures,” says Mtunzi-Hairwadzi.
The MTN Online School, a free online portal that offers a comprehensive digital curriculum for grades R-12 and additional features like video lessons, assessments and extra-tuition lessons for Grade 10 to 12 learners, was launched last year. It provides access to curriculum-aligned educational content, as endorsed and provided by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) in SA for Grades R-12 and for learners with Special Education Needs (LSEN), using a digital platform.
“Education is the cornerstone upon which a nation provides opportunities for social mobility, equity, social justice and democracy. Our aim is to take our basic education to the next level through these and future initiatives. We will continue to enable the youth to access educational fundamentals to tackle the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in a manner that allows them to access future opportunities,” concludes Mtunzi-Hairwadzi.
