The Sunday Mail
Sunday Mail Reporter
About 500 schools in underserved and rural communities have been connected to the internet by the State-owned telecommunications company TelOne.
This has been done through an initiative aimed at closing the digital divide between urban and rural schools.
The Government, through the internet service provider, has embarked on an ambitious online learning drive aimed at upgrading and expanding broadband infrastructure in rural areas, where digital penetration and connectivity remains low.
The initiative seeks to increase access to information and communications technology in the education sector.
In an interview, TelOne head of corporate communication Ms Melody Harry said: “We have a schools’ connectivity programme that we have embarked on that seeks to connect the underserved communities.
“Just in the third quarter of this year, we have connected more than 500 schools and now working on a 12-month target to connect 4 000 schools across the country,” she said.
TelOne is offering a special package for rural schools, where parents are asked to pay at least US$1 for setting up connectivity.
“To make sure we leave no one behind, we have put together a special package where parents pay as little as US$1 so that a school can raise US$600 for the initial connectivity.
“After that, during the first year, they are supported through funding from the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ).”
TelOne managing director Mrs Chipo Mtasa said the introduction of internet to rural schools was being funded through the Universal Services Fund (USF).
USF is a pool of financial contributions made by all telecoms operators in Zimbabwe, which is collected and managed by POTRAZ.
“We are on a mission to deploy the internet to almost 4 000 schools in rural areas through the USF. This will also allow us to extend to other areas like rural clinics and other Government centres and growth points.
“We are also working with the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works to map growth areas, where we can as well deploy our network.”
