Airtel signs deal with government to offer digital learning platform secondary schools

DODOMA: Tanzania has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology, and the President’s Office for Regional Administration and Local Government (PO-RALG) for collaboration on the upcoming Airtel SmartWasomi project.

The project will facilitate teaching and access to digital content in approximately 3,000 government schools within the five years of implementation.

This project aims to revolutionize the education system in the country through Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

The Permanent Secretary- Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology, Prof. Carolyne Nombo, said that Airtel SmartWasomi will increase children’s enthusiasm for learning, especially in schools facing challenges of inadequate learning and teaching materials.

“We expect the Airtel Smart Scholar project to bring about significant changes in student outcomes and ensure that every student has equal opportunities in education,” she said.

On his part, Dr Emmanuel Shindika, who attended the event on behalf PO-RALG Permanent Secretary-Dr. Adolf Ndunguru, detailed that “PO-RALG Office is pleased to be part of this project that will facilitate teaching and access to digital content in approximately 3,000 government schools within the five years of implementation. This is a significant number, and we expect this project to be successful, thus enabling access to even more schools after those five years.”

He added, “I would like to take this opportunity to express sincere thanks to Airtel Tanzania and UNICEF for recognizing the importance of collaborating with the government on this initiative.”

Despite the benefits to students, Airtel SmartWasomi will also help teachers easily access content using tablets provided by the government through the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology. Additionally, it will assist in addressing challenges of teacher shortages and lack of textbooks.

The Managing Director of Airtel Tanzania, Dinesh Balsingh, explained that this project stems from data detailing some of the barriers preventing children from accessing education. Some of these barriers include school accessibility, financial difficulties, learning quality, and dissatisfaction with the level of education received.

“We believe education is a fundamental right and every child must access it. Through this project, we plan to modernize some schools to be SmartClass.

The modern classroom will have a large Smart TV and routers provided by Airtel Tanzania. These routers will enable access to high-speed internet, which teachers can use to display content on the Smart TV and continue teaching students,” Mr. Dinesh explained.