As part of the latest effort to ensure that all students get access to e-learning, government to hand out free solar ipads to 1500 families for students to use during their studies through a pilot project. Schools and institutions of higher learning have resumed studies with appropriate measures in place to contain the spread of coronavirus. The solar ipads will assist those who are at home with their e-learning.
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Government to hand out free solar ipads before financial year close
According to Daily Monitor, the government to hand out free solar ipads before the financial year closes in June which will help poor households get better access to information and home-schooling. The UCC executive director, Ms Irene Kaggwa, said the ipads will be procured at UGX 3billion under the Uganda Communications Universal Services Access Fund. The computers have been installed with content for Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology for O-Level education with hopes to upload more information in other subjects after evaluating how successful the project will be in three years.
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The pilot programme which is aimed at 1500 families will start in the areas of Amudat, Butaleja, and Buvuma as the government advances to other areas with more funding. The ipads are expected to come with free access to the internet.
With things partially back to normal as some students return to school, the solar ipads will help learners keep up with their studies and avoid lagging behind. “This is the new normal. We are encouraging people to do e-learning and we believe that this is the time for the education sector to embrace e-learning,” the ICT minister, Ms Judith Nabakooba.
With many Ugandans living with little to no access to stable electricity, the solar-powered ipads will easily meet these families’ demands since they only require solar energy to charge.
However, there is uncertainty about the solar-powered ipads citing the government’s failure to provide radio sets that were meant to be handed out in 2020 to allow children study from home during the pandemic. The Minister for ICT explained however that the budget for the radio sets was rejected by parliament.
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