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

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
Source: Department of Education (http://www.education.gov.za/)