The Sunday News
Walter Mswazie, Masvingo Correspondent
THE Government will provide 2 500 schools with Information Communication Technology equipment in the next five years under a $3,5 million grant from development partners as part of efforts towards implementation of the new curriculum, a Cabinet Minister has said.
Addressing school heads, teachers unions and educationists at Masvingo Civic Centre during a symposium on the new curriculum on Tuesday, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Professor Paul Mavima said all schools in the country should achieve a 95 percent ICT penetration rate in five years’ time.
Prof Mavima said the new curriculum would also see the construction of 2 056 state-of-the-art schools within a period of five years adding that the number of schools per province would depend on the need.
“About $3,5 million has been availed for equipping all schools with ICT. The grant is from our development partners and service providers are on the ground working on the project that has since started,” said Prof Mavima.
He said the Ministry of Information Communication Technology is seized with the matter and in its 100 days programme, a lot of ground would be covered.
He said his ministry would soon meet service providers to discuss further details of the deal adding that schools would get connected to electricity or solar power.
“We are working to ensure that each school gets internet connectivity and 20 computers under the schools ICT programme. About 2 500 schools should be connected to the internet and we have service providers working on the matter as we target 95 percent ICT penetration rate in five years.
TelOne is laying optic fibre and we also work with Zanet.
“I will have a meeting with them soon. The Ministry of ICT is working on making sure that they have covered a lot of ground within the first 100 days from the time President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration was ushered in,” he said.
He said of the 10 provinces Mashonaland West would get more schools because it has more satellite schools given many A1 farms it has.
“After the 17 schools which should be completed this year at a cost of $1,5 million per school, we are going to build another 166 schools. We are introducing state-of-the-art schools with science, computer laboratories, staff houses all connected to piped water and electricity or solar energy. My ministry has also been allocated $18 million for the implementation of the new curriculum in the 2018 national budget,” he said.
— @walterbmswazie3
