Vodacom's technology helps improve communication between education department and Schools

East London  - To help address challenges that hinder on effective service delivery and communication, Vodacom now makes use of technology to improve administration, teaching and learning systems between the Department of Education and public schools in and around the Eastern Cape Province.  

The technology solution, which is in the form of an app called the Principal Engagement/Teacher Engagement App, allows school teachers and principals to report incidents to the Department, including a daily report of the number of teachers vs learners at schools on a particular day.

Previously, communication channels have failed to clearly link schools to the Department of Education. As a result, this has caused some delays in resolutions to issues such as burst geysers and other incidents at schools.

The introduction of the Principal Engagement/Teacher Engagement App, will put an end to the delays, allowing the Department of Education to act hastily when an issue at a school is reported.

The app will require principals to fill in, and send nine forms to the department. These forms will answer questions relating to the number of learners at the school, the number of teachers, general information about the school, such as the address, and what the feeding scheme will be feeding the children on a particular day, as well as the lessons that will be provided. Most importantly, the app will allow principals and teachers to report any incidents that might have taken place at the school. Information that the Department would have only found out about on the news due to a lack of communication.

Dinah Kheswa, Acting Managing Executive for Vodacom Business Public Sector, said: “We are proud to have been a part of the introduction of the Principal Engagement/Teacher Engagement App. We are not, in any way, cutting out the middle man with regards to the way schools in the Eastern Cape communicate with the Department of Education, all we are doing is making this process of communication faster, and essentially more effective. Our children are, after all, the future, and we are doing all we can to ensure that their level of education is of the best quality, so that they too may be successful in the future.”

Vodacom Business is also utilizing its range of digital solutions to assist learners during their studies. Platforms, such as the Vodacom’s e-School, are able to offer learners and teachers material to aid them in their studies, all of which is zero-rated. Learners can then use that material to revise for exams, and further their knowledge. The platform even tests the learners on their knowledge of the various subjects, which the teachers can then asses, after registering on the platform.