16 Jun 2024

Orange Botswana Foundation has recently launched the 79th Digital School at Butale Primary School as testament to bridge digital divide.

Speaking during the handing over of digital gadgets to Butale Primary School, Minister of Education and Skills Development Dr Douglas Letsholathebe said the donation marked a significant milestone in the quest to enhance the quality of education for children in the 21st century.

The donation includes 50 tablets with charging accessories, a Light Emitting Diodes (LED) projector and screen, two Raspberry PI servers, two laptops and tablet carry bags.

 “Orange Botswana, your unwavering commitment to empowering Batswana through your digital school programme is truly commendable,” he said.

Furthermore, he noted that their support extends far beyond Butale, benefiting primary schools such as Patayamatebele, Matopi and Mowana in the Tati  - East Constituency.

He shared that the contribution played a crucial role in advancing government’s digital transformation and fostering technology growth.

He also noted that government’s digitalisation initiative had reached secondary schools adding that the donation filled a critical gap at the primary level.

Dr Letsholathebe said Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives like those of Orange Botswana contributed significantly to societal welfare while also enhancing corporate reputation.

He urged students, parents and teachers at Butale primary to open up new avenues for learning and growth as the government’s CSR policy encouraged businesses to integrate social, environmental, and economic concerns into their operations to foster a conducive environment for both business success and national development.

He urged them to make use of the resources to achieve academic excellence and to maintain their outstanding results.

For his part, Orange Botswana acting Chief Executive Officer Mr Gobe Mbayi said it was a great milestone and testament for Orange Botswana to bridge the digital divide for every child regardless of their geographical location and background.

“Our expectation is that each child in every corner of the country should have digital services that would allow them to compete with others in the country or the world,” he said.

Therefore, he said Orange Botswana Foundation through its digital school programme, had been dedicated to addressing the disparity between the urban and the remote areas.

Mr Mbayi said the initiative was more than providing equipment thus creating a platform to empower schools to learn and grow in ways that were previously unimaginable and opening doors to the world of knowledge.

Appreciating the donation, Chief Education Officer-Masunga sub-region Dr Salini Bafaneli said the digital gadgets would enhance the learning experience for learners by providing them with tools and resources.

He said the gadgets supported personalised learning and aided in finding information that was tailored to their needs at the same time improving communication and collaboration with others.

“Teachers can use technology to create interactive learning and provide instant feedback to learners helping them to stay on track and improve their performance,” he said.

Dr Bafaneli shared that the gadgets made learning more fun, interesting and reinforced material being taught at the same time preparing learners for the future as they were introduced to the world of computer technology at an early age.

Welcoming developments in her village, Kgosi Grace Butale said the mounting of a tower by Orange Botswana brought good news to the village and remained optimistic that more would to come.

She said the school had been registering impressive performance in Primary School Leaving Examinations (adding that results would soar to greater heights due to digital gadgets. Ends