DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 24/04/2020

INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 12/2020

632.     Dr S S Thembekwayo (EFF) to ask the Minister of Basic Education:

 Whether her department is putting measures in place to provide learners with WIFI?                                                                                                                     

Response

School connectivity is the mandate of the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT). Since the financial year 2014/201, the then Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services placed obligations on Network Operators to connect schools as part of their licensing obligations. A total of 5 250 schools were to be connected by 2019/2020 April. This number included ordinary schools and special schools. All the ordinary schools under these obligations, have been connected; and work has started to bring connectivity into special schools. This connectivity did not include provision of Wi-Fi into schools.

Department of Basic Education (DBE) will consider engaging the DCDT to instal Wi-Fi in schools in the next phase of connectivity rollouts to schools. We hope and believe that DCDT fully understands the technological advancements that include Wi-Fi Technologies.