Johannesburg - Six more Gauteng schools are planned to go paperless, according to Premier David Makhura.
Earlier this year, the province launched its ‘smart schools’ initiative at Boitumelong Secondary in Tembisa. At that stage, Boitumelong was part of a first batch of seven schools to receive tablets as learning tools.
The Gauteng Department of Education said at the Boitumelong launch that it plans to roll out the paperless project to all Gauteng township and rural schools by the end of the 2017/2018 financial year at an estimated cost of R17bn.
The department said all high school children and Grade 7 pupils in primary schools are eventually planned to be provided with a tablet.
In the meantime, thirteen schools in total are set to benefit from the project, Makhura said during the State of the Province Address on Monday.
“We are converting existing schools into smart schools. In addition to the seven schools launched in December, six more schools have been identified,” said Makhura in his speech.
“We have, in addition, provided 88 000 tablets for use in our schools and will continue to advance e-learning.
Makhura in his State of the Province Address also said Gauteng has provisioned a total of R2.6bn for education infrastructure delivery.
“Through this programme we are moving closer to the kind of society envisaged in the National Development Plan; a society where opportunity is not determined by birth but by ability, education and hard work,” he said.