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GOVT WOULD NEED E260M FOR ONLINE LEARNING

18/01/2021 00:20:00 BY SABELO MAJOLA

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MBABANE – The transition to online learning is an exercise that is piloted globally at the time of COVID-19 and Eswatini is no exception, with government projected to spend not less than E260 million.

Online learning is a modern educational approach where students, pupils and teachers follow a structured curriculum programme using advanced information technology that is mediated via the Internet. Modes of instruction include platforms like virtual study portals, apps and social media.

Pupils are not required to attend physical classes and so are able to participate in this method of learning from a distance, provided they have suitable hardware and software to facilitate the mode of instruction.

According to the latest MTN data, there are 980 000 subscribers and 900 000 of those are active while 750 000 are data active. 56 per cent of the data active subscribers are connected to smartphones, meaning they have access to the internet and the number is 420 000.

Connected

The number of subscribers connected to smartphones surpasses the number of pupils enrolled in both primary and high schools across the country, which is about 350 000. Typically, this means every pupil is one way or the other exposed to someone who is data active and has a smartphone for easy access to online learning.

However, the reality is that a majority of the smartphone holders are in the urban part of the country, leaving those in the rural areas unexposed to the internet.

At the pinnacle of the online learning is a teacher who compiles topics for discussion, assignments and assessments and the immediate platform reachable by all pupils is the instant messaging platform popularly known as WhatsApp.

For those pupils who do not have smart-phones to access WhatsApp, their immediate alternative is their parents. The cheapest smart-phone costs between E500 to E600. A combo of data and minutes costs around E20 and lasts for a week and this means a pupil would need a minimum E80 for data to last a month.

The assignments still need to be printed and usually, they are not less than 10 pages and the costs for printing would be E10. The pupil still needs funding for travel drop and the shortest distance, normally referred to as local (maximum eight km) is E15 return. The monthly cost would be E60.

Combined, the figures give a sum of E550 per month and that is for pupils who do not have a smartphone but opt to purchase one. For those who already own a smartphone or have access to it, the monthly cost is E150. This excludes resources like electricity for charging the phones as well as other online related material. That means it would cost government a minimum E260 million to roll-out online learning.

However, Sanele Sibiya, a lecturer of Economics from the University of Eswatini, shared a different view, as he stated that it would cost government a minimum of E1 billion to roll out the online learning to schools across the country.

Sibiya said the figure included gadgets like tablets for every child, data and training of the teachers for the transition.

He said rolling out online learning was not good for sustainable development, mainly because it was the middle class and the rich that would afford the online learning without the aid of government and that would mean leaving a great number of learners behind. This is based on the poverty levels in the country with a large percentage of the population living below the poverty line.

Gadgets

“Rolling out the online learning would mean government should make available the gadgets, data and training of the educators and that would cost a minimum of E1 billion, which is money we do not have. It has been reported recently that the country anticipates a decline in SACU receipts and this calls for a revised budget and tightening of the belt in the new academic year, so I don’t think we have the capacity to manage the transition from the culture of learning we are used to, to the online learning,” he said.

Sibiya said one option that government could consider was procuring the COVID-19 vaccine from countries like India; vaccinate a large number of the population so that things could go back to normal, instead of waiting for the vaccine anticipated to arrive in the third quarter of the year.

“We are a small nation and the much cheaper cost to absorb this situation would be to procure the vaccine from countries that would make it immediately available because multiple countries across the globe have started rolling out the vaccine and such countries are India, China and others. It would make a lot of economical sense to invest E1 billion in procuring the vaccine than to transit from the culture of learning that we are used to, to the online learning that would need a lot of resources at a very high cost,” he said.

Director of Health Services in the Ministry of Health Dr Vusi Magagula previously said there was no specific date for Eswatini to start receiving the vaccine as part of the COVAX initiative but it was a wait and see situation.

COVAX is co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and WHO. Its aim is to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines, and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world.

With the country experiencing a spike in COVID-19 fatalities, Dr Magagula said it was their wish that the vaccine could be rolled out in the country already, but did mention that accessing it anytime soon was not a reality.

Interviewed parents shared differing views on the subject.

Some were of the view that schools should remain closed until the environment was conducive for the return of pupils to class while others were cognisant of the fact that it had been about 300 days since pupils, especially in lower grades, set foot in a classroom and other means had to be explored for learners to catch up.

Postponed

Under normal circumstances, schools would be opening tomorrow as they usually open in the third week of January, but the Ministry of Education and Training postponed the reopening of schools over a week ago, looking at the surging numbers of new COVID-19 cases and related deaths.

Currently, there is no specific date for scholars to return to class.

Lettie Dlamini from Siphocosini said her two children were both in high school but they did not have smartphones to access the internet. She said even if they could use hers, she would not keep up with the demand of data for constant internet browsing.

“It would be too costly for me because I have a lot of responsibilities and I don’t think I can keep up with the demand for data. I think the ministry should monitor the situation and open when the environment allows for the safe return of the learners to school,” she said.

Siphelele Dube from Ezulwini said his son was doing Form II last year, owned a smartphone and frequented the internet hence online learning would be a welcome option.

“Not that I afford all the required resources for the exercise, but I think the implications of staying at home for this long are bad for the learners. Something must be done and quickly,” he shared.