Maverick Citizen

Wi-Fi initiative transforms learning in Alexandra

From left, Robert Binckes, founder of Friends of Alexandra, Marlyn Pillay, project coordinator of Project Isizwe, Amogelang Ramapuputla and Othabetswe Ranwashe, Grade 12 learners at Realogile Secondary School, and Shireen Powell, CEO of Project Isizwe at the launch event of the WiFi project at Joe’s Butchery in Alexandra on 17 September. (Photo: Supplied / Fundile Mcoyi)

By Takudzwa Pongweni

18 Sep 2024

At the launch of a new WiFi project in Alexandra, students like Othabetswe Ranwashe shared how internet access has boosted their learning and skills. Spearheaded by Project Isizwe and Friends of Alexandra, the initiative provides uncapped WiFi to schools, enabling educators to enhance teaching and support students in historically underserved areas.

‘The Wi-Fi is an enabler, it has impacted our lives in a good way. It always takes me back to term one, when I was in history class, I did not understand the topic of the Cold War. My teacher didn’t have enough time to properly assess the topic. I only had to connect to the Wi-Fi, get on YouTube and I understood the topic even better. I got a distinction in history in term one”.

These were the words of Othabetswe Ranwashe, a Grade 12 student at Realogile Secondary School. Ranwashe was speaking at the launch event of the Wi-Fi project in Alexandra on 17 September. The launch took place at Joe’s Butchery, with key community members, educators and project partners present.

The project by Project Isizwe, in partnership with Friends of Alexandra, is focused on transforming education by providing internet access to schools and community centres across Alexandra, bridging the digital divide and empowering the local population through greater access to information and learning resources.

The project aims to improve education outcomes and drive digital inclusion, especially for learners in historically underserved schools.

wifi alexandra From left, Grade 12 learner at Realogile Secondary School Amogelang Ramapuputla, Project Isizwe coordinator Marlyn Pillay and Grade 12 learner at Realogile Secondary School Othabetswe Ranwashe at the launch event of the Wi-Fi project. ‘I went on to YouTube and taught myself web development. I have learnt a new skill. The Wi-Fi has really helped us,’ said Othabetswe Ranwashe. (Photo: Supplied / Fundile Mcoyi)

Ranwashe said that when there was a shortage of Typek paper and the students could not print school work, the work was sent electronically and they could complete it online thanks to the Wi-Fi.

“The Wi-Fi is enabling us to complete research tasks more on time. At home, you will find that there is no money to get data, and now you’re delayed and backtracking on school work,” he said.

Ranwashe has also begun teaching himself coding using the Wi-Fi.

“I went on to YouTube and taught myself web development. I have learned a new skill. The Wi-Fi has really helped us,” he said.

Bridging the gap: technology’s role in education at Pholosho Primary School

The initiative connects 16 schools and multiple community sites across Alexandra, offering uncapped WiFi access. By equipping schools with the internet, educators can employ modern teaching tools while learners gain access to the vast world of knowledge.

Busisiwe Masha, a teacher at Pholosho Primary School, spoke about the transformative impact of improved connectivity for students. The school, which recently transitioned from a senior school to a primary school, is facing a significant shortage of teaching materials.

“We have a lot of shortages in teaching resources, from readers and textbooks to flashcards. We’re running low on everything,” she explained. “I have an LED board, so when it’s time to introduce a new sound in English, I use the Wi-Fi to go on YouTube and find a phonics song for the day. This way, the students can see and listen.”

“It helps the learners grasp the content quite easily because they are visual creatures, they have to see it, so it helps them a lot. They sing along to the song so they can also remember the sound”.

To address the shortage of books, Masha downloads digital versions of big books, enabling learners to follow along during shared reading sessions.

The school also lacks adequate space for learners to engage in physical activities. A key component of the life skills curriculum involves physical education, which is challenging without proper facilities.

“We don’t have space for learners to play properly or to move around so I go into YouTube and search for aerobics and we dance in class,” she said.

The school recently upgraded its previously non-functional computer lab by relocating one of the Wi-Fi routers there.

“This initiative primarily focuses on benefiting our Grade 6 and 7 learners, allowing them to make use of the computers effectively,” Masha said. There were plans to maximise the potential of Wi-Fi, including efforts to integrate younger students into this digital learning environment, she said.

The improved connectivity also benefits educators. There is now no excuse not to participate in MS Teams workshops with the new Wi-Fi available at school, as they can stay after hours and easily log on to join the sessions.

“As teachers, we benefit a lot because I get to download all of my teaching materials. From my Annual Teaching Plan to the policies, they are all stored on my laptop or phone using the Wi-Fi,” said Masha.

A new era for Alexandra schooling

Mahlatsi Pontsho, a physical science teacher at Realogile Secondary School, said the project had changed the culture of learning in the Alexandra community.

“Learning is no longer the same, it is more interesting, it is now more engaging. The dropout rates are now going down, school attendance has improved because there are now more interesting ways of interacting in a school environment,” he said.

In high school, there are often significant behavioural issues and challenges with academic resistance, where students may be unwilling to change their ways. However, since the introduction of internet technology, there has been a noticeable increase in acceptance and openness to new approaches.

“Now there is a lot of acceptance in how learning can transition from just being about books and papers, to how learners are able to acquire skills and learn more about preparing for their future careers,” he said.

Pontsho described technology as an enabler.

“Technology is an enabler. When we have content gaps, now there is no need for me to wait to enrol for a course at a university, I can simply go online and complete an online learning course where I am to advance my knowledge to impact more on the learners and help them advance their lives,” he said.

Addressing the digital divide

CEO of Project Isizwe Shireen Powell explained that two years ago, they changed the strategic direction of the business to start focusing on schools.

“The reason we did that was because we just know that there are many, many problems in South Africa, but if you could give the freedom of the internet to children to learn, then hopefully that could lend to getting young kids out of poverty by way of learning, by way of getting into tertiary education or getting a job,” she said.

Powell said there were 26,000 schools in South Africa, of which about 23,000 were public institutions. Of these, about 17,000 remained unconnected. The schools that did have connectivity were often only linked to the administrative block, known as administration connectivity and not for teaching and learning.

Alexandra is a large and vibrant community that is well connected but often unaffordably so. Buying mobile data here has become prohibitively expensive and as a result, people tend to purchase small amounts of data, which allows access only to specific services like WhatsApp, streaming or music apps, said Powell.

To address this, Project Isizwe has more flexible internet access. Instead of charging by gigabytes, it has a model that costs just R5 a day for unlimited access within 24 hours. This time-based approach gives people the freedom to pay for internet access in a way that suits them, whether through flash vouchers – which many community members buy from local shops – or other payment methods.

Powell explained that they had adopted a unique model for Alexandra, focusing on sustainable connectivity through collective partnerships. They collaborated with Friends of Alexandra for capital investment in school hardware, partnered with Vumatel to install fibre in each school, and worked with internet service provider Webafrica.

With seven community Wi-Fi spots, residents of Alexandra also benefit from enhanced access to information and services.

“The intention to come into Alex by the funder Robert Binckes was to actually enable local communities, particularly for entrepreneurs, the freedom to grow their businesses. [...] Sis Lizzie, who runs the Victim Support Centre, needs the internet to be able to contact people and data costs for her are very, very expensive,” said Powell.

“I heard this word while working here in Alex, it is vukuzenzele. It means ‘get up and do it yourself’ and that’s what I’ve witnessed in this very, very thriving environment, is people just getting up every day, and what we’ve been able to do by enabling them with internet connectivity, has just been nothing short of amazing”.

Robert Binckes, founder of Friends of Alexandra, a community-driven organisation focused on uplifting the Alexandra township, said he hoped the connectivity would change the lives of many children in the community.

“We found some very sad stories as we went around the schools. Some of the schools had limited internet but no tablets or devices so we have tried to address this and we will continue to,” he said.

“For me, this [Alexandra] is a very special place. It is known as nobody’s baby and it really is nobody’s baby except for those of us who care about it’. DM

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Bridging the gap: technology’s role in education at Pholosho Primary School

A new era for Alexandra schooling