Billions got spent on school tech with little to show for it. South African provinces allocated R7.1 billion from their budgets for classroom technology over three years, Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube confirmed, amid serious questions about oversight and waste. This funding, responding to MP Vuyani Pambo's queries, aimed to supply devices and connectivity but has fallen far short of a 2019 presidential promise to equip every learner with a digital tablet by now.
A national framework involving Treasury and the Auditor-General is supposed to monitor this provincial spending, with powers to intervene on misallocation. Audits, however, reveal massive irregular expenditure across the sector, citing problems like non-competitive procurement for IT equipment and fruitless spending on failed projects. Only about half a million learner devices were procured, leaving over sixteen thousand schools without internet and highlighting a persistent digital divide, especially in rural areas.
The minister acknowledged that fulfilling the original device rollout vision would cost an estimated R30.6 billion, funds not currently available. Ongoing challenges include poor infrastructure, cybersecurity risks from outdated systems, and a lack of teacher training for the tech already deployed. This situation underscores a cycle of ambitious investment hampered by systemic weaknesses in execution and accountability.
A national framework involving Treasury and the Auditor-General is supposed to monitor this provincial spending, with powers to intervene on misallocation. Audits, however, reveal massive irregular expenditure across the sector, citing problems like non-competitive procurement for IT equipment and fruitless spending on failed projects. Only about half a million learner devices were procured, leaving over sixteen thousand schools without internet and highlighting a persistent digital divide, especially in rural areas.
The minister acknowledged that fulfilling the original device rollout vision would cost an estimated R30.6 billion, funds not currently available. Ongoing challenges include poor infrastructure, cybersecurity risks from outdated systems, and a lack of teacher training for the tech already deployed. This situation underscores a cycle of ambitious investment hampered by systemic weaknesses in execution and accountability.
