Liquid Intelligent Technologies, Microsoft and the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies have opened a solar-powered mobile digital lab in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape.
The lab is at Fontein Full-Service School. According to ITWeb, it will serve about 850 learners, as well as teachers and people from the local community.
“We see digital infrastructure not as a luxury, but as essential infrastructure for economic participation and social development,” Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi said.
“This mobile digital lab is about access, inclusion and opportunity for hundreds of children and teachers at Fontein Full-Service School,” he said.
Malatsi said digital labs like this one would help bring real internet access to all South Africans. He said this matters most in areas where homes have no smart devices and data costs too much.
“Digital literacy is the first line of defence, and offers the quickest action step against disinformation, cyber bullying and grooming,” the minister said.
Learners at the school will get to use tools such as Microsoft Copilot. The partners said this will help them build practical skills for jobs in the digital economy.
The lab runs on solar power, so it does not depend on the local electricity grid. This means power cuts should not stop learners from using the computers and training.
Ziaad Suleman is the chief executive of Cassava Technologies for South Africa and Botswana. He said digital inclusion needs useful skills, reliable infrastructure, learning chances and access to technology, all working together.
“Working with both private and public sector partners, we are building a resilient model that can reach more young people,” Suleman said.
In a statement, the department said the labs will also improve digital skills for pupils and teachers. It said the skills will help them learn and teach better, stay safe on the internet and reach government services online.
Several government leaders attended the launch. They included Malatsi, Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training Yusuf Cassim, and Nelson Mandela Bay Executive Mayor Babalwa Lobishe.
The new lab follows earlier work by Liquid at its Innovation and Digital Skills Centre in Mthatha, also in the Eastern Cape.
According to ITWeb, the Mthatha centre has enrolled and trained 515 learners and reached a 96% pass rate. It has also helped 149 learners find jobs linked to the digital skills they learnt there.
Source: this article is based on reporting by ITWeb. Image: ITWeb. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Technology desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Werner Jacobs covers technology for Tzaneen Voice. Werner reports on mobile networks, data prices, internet access, smartphones, apps, AI, cybersecurity and South African tech companies. Each story explains what a new product, price change or policy means for ordinary users in South Africa.