Govt’s grand plan to connect rural schools to the internet

In urban areas we sometimes look at the likes of Wicknell Chivhayo with his shoes worth possibly hundreds of thousands and his multi-million dollar car fleet and remark at the levels of inequality in Zimbabwe. 

However, we sometimes forget that there’s someone deep in the rural areas looking at us in the big cities, complaining about corruption on X from our smartphones and they look at us the sma way we look at Chivhayo. 

Having a smartphone, believe it or not, is still a privilege in Zimbabwe. Having access to the internet is something many would kill for. 

This is why I was personally excited for Starlink to come to Zimbabwe. Device access is one thing but internet access in rural areas is something Starlink can help a great deal in. 

The Zimbabwean government recognised this and is looking to do just that. I know, many if not most times, government projects are run inefficiently but there’s no arguing the importance of this particular project. 

E-learning initiative

The Zimbabwean government is launching an e-learning initiative to bridge the rural-urban digital divide, ensuring internet connectivity for every school across the nation. That’s the goal, at least. 

In chasing that, a new licensing framework has been approved, allowing various telecommunications providers, including Starlink, to enhance broadband access in remote areas.

Information Minister Muswere says the licensing of Starlink was part of a broader strategy to support e-learning in the country. 

It doesn’t matter if we believe that there was a broader strategy or not, the effect is the same. Starlink and other organisations that can help get cheaper internet across the country are being licensed. 

This could explain why, after months of sitting on it, Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (Potraz) is now dishing out Starlink resellership clearances. 

It’s not just Starlink and it’s satellite internet that we are looking to. 

Fibre to the country

Private sector operators are expanding telecommunications infrastructure, with projects like a fibre line from Beitbridge to Victoria Falls and another one from Beitbridge to Manicaland by BCS. 

They say this should provide free internet to schools along the route. Maybe granting all schools along the fibre route free internet access was a prerequisite to getting the licence to lay fibre. Or maybe the government will pay for it. 

Whatever the case. They say it is significant aspect of the initiative.  

The government aims to connect 1,500 schools annually under the national e-learning strategy, with plans for community information centers to further enhance access.

Internet in a box

The Ministry of Education says one of its solutions to get rural schools connected is “Internet in a box”. Minister Moyo said:

We have introduced ‘Internet in a Box’ solutions, which enable school authorities to use routers connected to satellites. This allows students within a 100 to 200-metre radius to access online notes and assignments, facilitating online assessments and submissions,

For those that will not have gotten their Internet in a box yet, TV and radio should suffice. 

The initiative includes broadcasting educational content via radio and television, ensuring that students in rural areas, including those with visual impairments, have access to learning resources.

We have heard about this for years. I’m not too sure how much of this broadcasting is going on. 

Zitco

The above takes care of internet connectivity but people don’t surf the web telepathically, they need devices. 

The government wants to establish the Zimbabwe Information Technology Company (Zitco) which will be tasked with producing computers and other IT devices. 

Sounds, uh, interesting. We shall see what comes of this Zitco idea. I wonder if ‘producing’ could mean ‘sourcing’ because I’m not too sure about device manufacturing by a parastatal.

Teacher training

Teachers will need to be trained too. 

The Ministry of Education is investing in teacher training, including virtual robotics training and scholarships for STEM specialisations , to equip educators with necessary skills for the digital age.

Even partial success, please

We have every right to doubt that the government will deliver on this. However, we always hope they prove us, the doubters, wrong. 

Some of the above should not be too difficult to implement and so I’m cautiously optimistic that a good number of rural schools will benefit from this. 

The two ministers shared a lot and let’s hope they are not all talk. Time will reveal all.