Tebogo Monama
Tebogo Monama
The Gauteng department of education's aim to ensure all pupils in the province are computer literate by 2013 might not be realised.
The plan was to have all schools equipped with computers by April 1 this year, but that is unlikely to happen because the company assigned with installing the machines is not doing as promised.
Gauteng Shared Services Centre awarded SMMT a R2million tender to install 25-seat computer labs to at least 400 schools by September last year.
The rest were supposed to be online by next month.
The consortium, SMMT Online, comprises SMM Telematics, Hawkstone Marketing, Sifikile, Self Empowerment International, Beget Holdings, Tebfin, Enlightened and Vimba security companies.
There are 2100 schools in Gauteng and only 140 are currently online while 720 others use other networks.
Yesterday, the Gauteng Online Steering Committee, comprising school governing bodies, met to discuss the project.
Spokesman Emmanuel Mudau said 80percent of the schools would be online by April.
On why they did not reach their targets, he said: "As the roll-out model was changed fundamentally, the focus has been on establishing the central service node and the local service nodes.
"The delivery network is central in ensuring the achievement of the key outcomes of the programme. The programme was thus re-prioritised to accommodate this reality."
SMMT spokesman Kgomotso Mogoshoa said: "The company inherited a bad product.
"We had to reassess our plans and realised that we could not deliver on time. We will deliver to 80percent of the schools by March 31."
Mogoshoa could not say when the rest of the schools would be connected.
"What is also hampering delivery is that in some schools we had to build labs as there were no spare classrooms.
"The department said the containers we wanted to install in schools posed a health hazard to pupils."
But the problem with the implementation of the programme was security.
project stalls
Tebogo Monama
Tebogo Monama
The Gauteng department of education's aim to ensure all pupils in the province are computer literate by 2013 might not be realised.
The plan was to have all schools equipped with computers by April 1 this year, but that is unlikely to happen because the company assigned with installing the machines is not doing as promised.
Gauteng Shared Services Centre awarded SMMT a R2million tender to install 25-seat computer labs to at least 400 schools by September last year.
The rest were supposed to be online by next month.
The consortium, SMMT Online, comprises SMM Telematics, Hawkstone Marketing, Sifikile, Self Empowerment International, Beget Holdings, Tebfin, Enlightened and Vimba security companies.
There are 2100 schools in Gauteng and only 140 are currently online while 720 others use other networks.
Yesterday, the Gauteng Online Steering Committee, comprising school governing bodies, met to discuss the project.
Spokesman Emmanuel Mudau said 80percent of the schools would be online by April.
On why they did not reach their targets, he said: "As the roll-out model was changed fundamentally, the focus has been on establishing the central service node and the local service nodes.
"The delivery network is central in ensuring the achievement of the key outcomes of the programme. The programme was thus re-prioritised to accommodate this reality."
SMMT spokesman Kgomotso Mogoshoa said: "The company inherited a bad product.
"We had to reassess our plans and realised that we could not deliver on time. We will deliver to 80percent of the schools by March 31."
Mogoshoa could not say when the rest of the schools would be connected.
"What is also hampering delivery is that in some schools we had to build labs as there were no spare classrooms.
"The department said the containers we wanted to install in schools posed a health hazard to pupils."
But the problem with the implementation of the programme was security.