Naledi Pandor made a last bold move as Minister of Education to enable teachers to acquire their own personal laptop, launching a project known as the Teacher Laptop Initiative (TLI). The official announcement was made on 7 May 2009. Pandor wants each of the 340 000 public school teachers of South Africa to own and use their own laptop. This is a commendable move. The TLI will be implemented by PEDs as from 1 July 2009, starting with the most senior teachers. Read the full details of this initiative in the Government Gazette of 8 May 2009 . (The TLI was confirmed by President Jacob Zuma on 4 June 2009 during his speech at the Presidential Golf Challenge dinner.)
Every permanently employed public school teacher will be eligible for a R130/month allowance for 5 years. That allowance can be renewed after 5 years and the amount may then be revised.
If you calculate the total amount for the five year period it works out to R7 800 per teacher. According
to government estimations the cost of the type of laptop they envisage,
including the software, connectivity and insurance is about R11 750.
The shortfall of about R65/month will have to be carried by the
respective teachers. The R11 750 is only an estimate and the actual
figure will depend on which specific product the teacher will buy.
It will be interesting to see what sort of products the computer
industry will offer teachers and at what cost. The service providers
still have to be announced and will be selected by teacher unions.
Teachers, many of whom are computer illiterate, will need a lot of
sober minded advice in their choice of laptop and associated products. e4Africa , a blog of Kobus van Wyk, offers sound advice on laptops which teachers would do well to heed. Of special importance is the article on the total cost of ownership.
There are many costs in owning a laptop which unsuspecting buyers
may be unaware of. Unscrupulous service providers may be just too eager
to make a sale instead of providing the prospective buyer with all the
information. So, do your homework and get all the
answers to your questions or make sure you speak to someone you can
trust before committing yourself for 5 years!
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