Walter Sisulu University (WSU) has spent R5.2-million on buying tablets for students amid financial challenges relating to shortage of infrastructure.
However, WSU spokeswoman Yonela Tukwayo said yesterday the purchases were critical to WSU’s core business of teaching and learning development.
She said the tablets would also improve quality and quantity of throughput.
“This initiative is a critical intervention in the university’s endeavours to improve this and provide appropriate learning and teaching materials to some of its students.”
She said the money was allocated by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) through the Foundation Provision Grant.
“The grant is used to enhance throughput by providing appropriate learning and teaching support through provision of learning and teaching materials, course development, enhancing undergraduate research capacity, and language development,” Tukwayo said.
She said the provision of the device mitigated institutional under-provision of computer labs and internet access.
More than 1000 students across WSU’s four campuses in Buffalo City, Mthatha, Butterworth and Queenstown had benefited.
Tukwayo said this was specifically intended to improve teaching and learning in the institution’s extended curricular programmes (ECP).
About 1375 first-year ECP students studying engineering, information technology (IT), analytical chemistry and public relations received Samsung tablets.
The spokeswoman said there were discussions to roll out the project as students progressed in their studies.
There were no responses to questions to DHET spokesman Khanye Nkwanyana and WSU Student Representative Council (SRC) president-general Buhle Noah-Tetyana at the time of writing.
WSU’s ECP institutional coordinator Thabile Loqo said the tablets acted as tools to provide electronic copies of student support notes, electronic research papers, and electronic versions of textbooks
(e-books).
She said the provision of the devices would enable internet access to students via Wi-Fi.
Loqo said students would be able to enhance their own learning by engaging more with IT and research in the English language medium, which was critical in the performance of first-year students.
The tablets also allow lecturers to develop e-learning mechanisms on par with national and international standards.
Other advantages included learning software that provide video and MP3 tutorials and access to virtual laboratories in which students could conduct laboratory experiments.
Loqo said this had massive potential of leading to research on different teaching methodologies and on methods beneficial for student success. — msindisif@dispatch.co.za
WSU forks out R5.2m on tablets amid shortages
However, WSU spokeswoman Yonela Tukwayo said yesterday the purchases were critical to WSU’s core business of teaching and learning development.
She said the tablets would also improve quality and quantity of throughput.
“This initiative is a critical intervention in the university’s endeavours to improve this and provide appropriate learning and teaching materials to some of its students.”
She said the money was allocated by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) through the Foundation Provision Grant.
“The grant is used to enhance throughput by providing appropriate learning and teaching support through provision of learning and teaching materials, course development, enhancing undergraduate research capacity, and language development,” Tukwayo said.
She said the provision of the device mitigated institutional under-provision of computer labs and internet access.
More than 1000 students across WSU’s four campuses in Buffalo City, Mthatha, Butterworth and Queenstown had benefited.
Tukwayo said this was specifically intended to improve teaching and learning in the institution’s extended curricular programmes (ECP).
About 1375 first-year ECP students studying engineering, information technology (IT), analytical chemistry and public relations received Samsung tablets.
The spokeswoman said there were discussions to roll out the project as students progressed in their studies.
There were no responses to questions to DHET spokesman Khanye Nkwanyana and WSU Student Representative Council (SRC) president-general Buhle Noah-Tetyana at the time of writing.
WSU’s ECP institutional coordinator Thabile Loqo said the tablets acted as tools to provide electronic copies of student support notes, electronic research papers, and electronic versions of textbooks
(e-books).
She said the provision of the devices would enable internet access to students via Wi-Fi.
Loqo said students would be able to enhance their own learning by engaging more with IT and research in the English language medium, which was critical in the performance of first-year students.
The tablets also allow lecturers to develop e-learning mechanisms on par with national and international standards.
Other advantages included learning software that provide video and MP3 tutorials and access to virtual laboratories in which students could conduct laboratory experiments.
Loqo said this had massive potential of leading to research on different teaching methodologies and on methods beneficial for student success. — msindisif@dispatch.co.za
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