Tablet computers could help heal ailing education system

Finally someone is willing to jump out of the safety zone and try new ways of delivering quality education to our children.

Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi has said that those schools in the province that obtained a 100% matric pass rate last year will be rewarded with a complete digital makeover, including the provision of hi-tech tablet computers for all their pupils.

Some township and rural schools in the province will also benefit.

Each school has been provided with broadband and Wi-Fi technology, as well as 4G connectivity, so that pupils can work from home.

This takes education to another level. We hope that the problems associated with the delivery of textbooks will now be a thing of the past.

We are told that each tablet is loaded with lesson plans for pupils, educational apps, and a portal through which teachers and pupils can communicate with their counterparts at other schools in Gauteng.

The tenderpreneurs who used to milk the system and compromise the future of our children will now have to find other ventures to abuse.

The tablets will not only give pupils greater access to information but will also enable matrics to leave school technologically armed.

The decision to go hi-tech in our classrooms will allow us to close the gap between affluent schools and township and rural schools.

Better technology means better education and the prospect of South Africa producing quality results in all grades.

Said Lesufi: "We are making this investment so that we can compete with the best countries."

Now the challenge is to get parents and communities to embrace the project - and make sure that the tablets are not stolen.

Let us embrace the new world and redefine our future.

We are either brave or dead.