Education sector catapulted into digital transformation
South Africa had many educational challenges before the pandemic, and the tactical implementation of technology into classrooms was only beginning to really make a play in certain tiers.
With an addressable market of some 23,500 schools and 12.9 million students in South Africa, as well as over 400,000 teachers in the K12 system, it is encouraging that the South African government is driving multiple initiatives from the National Student Device project. This rollout plan to make devices accessible to teachers and learners alike will be more important than ever.
The goal of the project is to provide a digital workbook or tablet to every school child over the next few years, with the aim of moving to paperless classrooms and encouraging literacy enablement by allowing children to read in their mother tongue before moving to English.
This opportunity, suggests Natasha Davies, Pinnacle’s education portfolio manager, only grows further when considering the tertiary education environment, where there are 26 universities and 677 TVET colleges in SA to equip. Considering the ever-changing landscape of the South African education system, as well as the current Covid-19 situation, she adds that now is the ideal time for resellers to upskill and capitalise on the digital revolution and be part of the drive to get a device in every learner’s hands.
