South Africa launches paperless classrooms

South Africa on Tuesday launched its first paperless classrooms which make use of information and communications technology (ICT) and tablets as tools in teaching and learning.

The classrooms, first implemented in Gauteng Province, will be introduced to other provinces in due time, authorities said.

The use of technology in classrooms will raise standards to international levels and encourage children to take pure maths instead of maths literacy as a subject, the Gauteng Provincial Education Department said.

The project is expected to make Gauteng's schools internationally competitive.

The classrooms in the pilot project will receive state-of-the-art internet connection and each pupil will receive a tablet, turning ordinary schools into "classrooms of the future."

Tablets will be connected to a server through broadband, Wi-Fi and 4G connection.

Through the paperless classrooms, the government is defining and moving closer to the realization of the envisioned future -transformed, modernized, connected and accessible with the education of the African children at its centre, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) said.

"We believe that this project will improve the quality of teaching and learning in our schools," ANC national spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said.

In its 2014 General Elections Manifesto, the ANC pledged to introduce paperless classrooms by distributing learning content digitally. Endit