Vodacom unveiled the third of its nine provincial ICT resource centres in Sunnyside, Tshwane, recently, in partnership with the Department of Basic Education.

The centre is equipped with 50 computer terminals, Internet connectivity, educational aids and training facilities, and is expected to provide up to 1 400 teachers with access to higher quality ICT instruction tools.

The ICT resource centres are situated throughout the country – one in each of the provinces – and fall under the Vodacom Mobile Education Programme, introduced in October last year. The programme aims to reach 1 555 schools and 60 000 learners nationwide, and provide 3 830 teachers with ICT training.

Head of innovation and partnering at Vodacom, Portia Maurice, said: “Improving the quality of education is mission-critical for the future of SA and skilled teachers are a key element of the education value chain.”

The schools, buildings and teachers have all been identified by the Gauteng Department of Education, while the technology and content is supplied by Vodacom and its partners: Microsoft, Cisco, and Mindset Learn. The department also identified 20 schools in the area for specific teacher training in maths and science.