Telecommunication company, Airtel Uganda and UNICEF have hit a significant milestone in their partnership, after connecting the 130th school to high-speed internet.
The milestone was announced on Wednesday during the commemoration of the UNESCO International Digital Learning Day under the theme “Digital learning realities in low-resourced contexts”.
Kasengejje Secondary School in Nansana Municipality, Wakiso district became the 130th school to be connected as part of the partnership that started in 2022 in a bid to accelerate digital learning across Africa ensuring equal access to quality education for all children.
Speaking during the function, the Minister for Education and Sports, Janet Museveni, who was represented by Dr. Jane Egau Okou the Under Secretary in the Ministry of Education and Sports said the onset of the Covid pandemic changed the education dynamics in the entire world.
She noted that digital learning is the way to go.
“Digital learning is effective in enabling a more individualized way of learning based on the capabilities of the learners, leading to improve learning outcomes. This learning also supersedes the learners’ location and time, including their pace of interaction with the online content, due to the flexibility in learning, which is a key aspect of digital communication,” Mrs Museveni said.
“In this case, unlike in the past, learning is not limited to physical school facilities and time schedules, neither is the teacher’s assessment of the learners limited to the distance and the time required to reach the school.”
She hailed Airtel and UNICEF for the partnership that she said had benefitted Ugandan children and teachers.
“Through their efforts, they have promoted inclusion and equality by extending the reach of their services through programs such as adopt a school campaignwhere the learners planning resources in five schools have been enhanced with vulnerable children. I also appreciate them for taking the initiative to train teachers to integrate information communication technology in teaching and learning.”
Airtel Uganda Managing Director, Soumendra Sahu said the company is committed to contribute to Uganda’s education digital agenda.
“No child should fail homework in any household with a smartphone. This network is important for breaking barriers to equitable education and giving undeniable opportunities to children to grow to their full potential. We are creating this potential at the schools to ensure teachers can access modern online resources to deliver brilliant life-changing lessons to our learners,” Soumendra said.
“ We are committed to leveraging our extensive robust 4G+5G network to transform learning experiences for young people across the nation.”
Thomas Meyerer, the Deputy Representative Operations for UNICEF said the partnership will go a long way in improving education in Uganda.
“By increasing access to quality education, we can bridge the gap between urban and rural areas and encourage our children to compete favorably. We seek to achieve a brighter future for Uganda’s population,” said.
