Karoo pupils join digital age with e-learning device

Broadening their educational horizons beyond their Karoo town seemed like a distant dream, but grade 11 pupils at Nqweba Secondary School in Graaff-Reinet are now connected to the digital world thanks to a cutting-edge e-learning device.

The Omang ed-tech tablet, developed and donated by Jendamark Automation, will help the 114 pupils to study remotely as Covid-19 continues to disrupt what remains of the academic year.

The device will also provide critical educational support as they progress to the final year of high school next year.

“We are over the moon,” headmaster Zolile Malotana said. 

Each pupil received a personalised android tablet, pre-loaded with their subject textbooks, educational websites and learning apps, plus 2GB of free data a month supplied by leading network providers.

“The Omang device will help me to focus and be more alive to my studies,” excited pupil Khazimla Pikashe said.

“It has been very difficult because it has been months that we have been at home.

“We don’t have access to the internet and we don’t have money to buy data every day so that we can interact with our teachers.

“We don’t know where we stand with our schoolwork.”

Graaff-Reinet executive mayor Deon de Vos said the youth of the town faced many socioeconomic problems such as unemployment and substance abuse.

“But there are those young people who stand out, and education is one of the tools they can use to liberate themselves from the conditions they find themselves in,”  De Vos said.

Describing the quintile-three school as a worthy beneficiary, he said Nqweba’s teachers and pupil were passionate about education, which was reflected in the 87% matric pass rate last year.

Malotana said his teaching staff were delighted to receive Omang devices too.

“It’s going to help the teachers a lot because now, learners can communicate with their teachers about any challenges they are having and, similarly, if there’s something that comes up from the educator, it is easy for them to communicate with learners through the devices.”

Jendamark group managing director Quinton Uren said the Omang device had been piloted among a thousand grade 12 learners from quintile one and two schools.

“Our research showed that what was needed was an affordable device that provides safe, controlled access to really useful educational resources.

“The result is our platform, which is essentially a protected digital classroom.

“What sets Omang apart is that it is a learning device, and not just a smartphone with data.

“For example, it cannot be used for unsupervised social media consumption, which can be both time-wasting and dangerous for children.”

HeraldLIVE