Date: 18/04/2007

Source: Department of Education

Title: Pandor: Launch of Microsoft's School Technology Innovation Centre

Address by the Minister of Education, Naledi Pandor, MP, at the launch of Microsoft's School Technology Innovation Centre, Central Johannesburg College Campus, Troyeville, Johannesburg

18 April 2007

Dr Cheick Modibo Diarra, Microsoft's Africa chairman
Pfungwa Serima, Managing Director (MD) of Microsoft SA

Thank you for inviting me to the official opening of the Microsoft Schools Technology Innovation Centre, here in Troyeville, at a leading Further Education and Training (FET) college.

The objective is to create a centre for "best practice and innovation" in the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in teaching and learning. "Best practice" and "innovation" are both important. They are important because they imply drawing on success elsewhere and encouraging stakeholders to actively replace all traditional methods of teaching and learning. For example, given our identified challenges it may be possible to extract workable solutions for teaching reading and writing using technology.

But it is by no means certain that the traditional methods of teaching children to read can be replaced by the many and varied software packages that are available to teachers from the internet and elsewhere. So it really is important to have a centre where best practice, together with innovation, can guide our teachers in the use of new technology.

The government and this department are committed to investing in the use of information and communication technologies in the education sector. As John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems (a platinum partner in this project) says:

"There is a strong correlation between ICT spending and productivity. While ICT usage is a measure of the present, ICT readiness is perhaps a measure of the future. Proactive policies and investments by all levels of government - such as encouraging broadband network infrastructures, the education and literacy of citizens and ongoing skills training - are all components of the readiness measurement, and play an important role in building the foundations of a country's productivity."

Microsoft has recognised our readiness to expand the foundations of our productivity through our education system. It has chosen us to host their fifth regional schools technology innovation centre. This is definitely a vote of confidence in our country.

South Africa is the 20th largest consumer of IT products and services in the world and the leader of information and communication technology development in Africa. We lead especially in the field of electronic banking services, in revenue management, and in fraud prevention systems and we export to the world.

Our ICT and electronics sectors are expected to continue showing strong growth in the future. So the establishment of this centre comes at an opportune time in our social and economic development. It will play a strategic role in helping us to achieve our ICT goals in education.

Our policy on e-education sets a target for our schools.

"Our goal is to equip every manager, teacher and learner in general and further education and training with knowledge and skills to use ICT confidently, creatively and responsibly by 2013."

We recognise that to make a success of our objectives, we need innovative approaches. Most of our focus has been on providing resources in school, when in other parts of the world the emphasis has been to provide ICT resources at home. The use of computers and cellphones often divides children from their parents rather than bringing them together. MXIT, that South African innovation in instant messaging, is little understood by parents, but has the potential to bring parents and children closer in schools and in communities. Laptops and access to the internet at home allow parents to learn with their children.

Yet too many of our schools lack computers even for administrative purposes. Investing in ICT (laptops, software, infrastructure) is to be one of our priorities in the immediate future.

We are living through an era of extended growth in which a lack of necessary skills is a serious constraint on our future prosperity. Our attention, therefore, focuses not only on technology and infrastructure issues, but also on the process of learning and content issues. Our work also focuses on issues of context, effectiveness, and quality. We are examining the wider implications of ICT for curricula, for training and technical support, and for organisational change within schools.

ICTs in education may have eased some teaching burdens, but they have also created new imperatives. These include more demanding and complicated educational objectives. ICT has brought new possibilities into the education sector, but has also placed more demands on teachers' skills. We have developed a policy for the initial and continuing education of teachers. This focus on the professional development of teachers is aimed at providing structured opportunities for retraining, upgrading and acquiring new knowledge and skills.

The Department is also finalising a framework for ICT competencies for teachers. We are also looking at the development of a project to support and encourage teachers to acquire laptops for their personal and professional use.

In closing, a word about partnerships.

This centre is a clear example of what can be achieved through collaborative efforts - platinum, gold and bronze partners. We have some important lessons to learn from how this extensive and diverse range of partnerships has been put together. This centre demonstrates the extent to which our private-sector partners can and do assist government to reach out to more people and contribute toward the improvement of their lives.

I hope to see a far more systematic linkage between public schools and private-sector support in the future. I also believe that cross-sectoral partnership projects will increasingly become part of our way of life.

This investment serves as a true demonstration of private-sector confidence and interest in the success of our public schools. These partnerships will be a powerful means of linking the schools of today with the world of tomorrow. It is initiatives such as these that give substance to many of our ideals and visions. I wish the centre and its partners every success in the future.

I thank you.

Issued by: Department of Education
18 April 2007