Technology
2. Technology laws, policies, plans and regulations
2.1. Education technology legislative and policy framework
2.2. Technology infrastructures, technological capacity of schools and learning environments
2.3. Technology competencies of learners and teachers
3.1. Institutions in charge of technology in education and coordination mechanisms
1. Terminology
The 2004 White Paper on e-Education: Transforming Learning and Teaching through ICTs provides several definitions for technology-related terms, including information and communication technologies (ICTs), e-Learning, online learning, and e-School.
Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are defined as “the combination of networks, hardware and software as well as the means of communication, collaboration and engagement that enable the processing, management and exchange of data, information and knowledge”.
Information technology (IT) is defined “the items of equipment (hardware) and computer programmes (software) that allow us to access, retrieve, store, organise, manipulate and present information by electronic means. Personal computers, scanners and digital cameras fit into the hardware category; database programmes and multimedia programmes fit into the software category”.
Communication technology (CT) “describe(s) telecommunications equipment through which information can be sought, sent and accessed - for example, phones, faxes, modems and computers”.
e-Learning is defined as “flexible learning using ICT resources, tools and applications, focusing on; · accessing information, · interaction among teachers, learners, and the online environment, · collaborative learning, and · production of materials, resources and learning experiences. e-Learning may involve the use of Internet, CD-ROM, software, other media and telecommunications”.
Online learning refers more specifically to the “use of the Internet and associated web-based applications as the delivery medium for the learning experience”.
An e-School is defined as “any GET or FET institution (including Early Childhood Development Centres and ABET Centres) who have: learners who utilise ICTs to enhance learning; qualified and competent leaders who use ICTs for planning, management and administration; qualified and competent teachers who use ICTs to enhance teaching and learning; access to ICT resources that support curriculum delivery; and connections to ICT infrastructure”.
In the Guidelines on e-Safety in Schools, ICTs are defined as “forms of technologies that are used to create, store, share or transmit, exchange information; radio, television, video, DVD, telephone (both fixed line and mobile phones), satellite systems, computer and network hardware and software; as well as the equipment and services associated with these technologies, such as videoconferencing and electronic mail”.
The term education technology (EdTech) is used in the 2020-24 Basic Education Strategic Plan and 2022/23 Department of Basic Education Annual Performance Plan, which both include dedicated sections on EdTech, defining it as the use of technology for learning in the classroom.
2. Technology laws, policies, plans and regulations
2.1. Education technology legislative and policy framework
Constitution and laws: There is no ICT Act or ICT in Education/EdTech Act. The 2005 Electronic Communications Act (as amended in 2014), which repealed the 1996 Telecommunications Act 103, leads all ICT initiatives in South Africa, calling for the development electronic transactions in the public interest, including in the education sector. The Act additionally provides for universal provision of electronic communications networks, electronic communications services and connectivity for all (Article 82), which includes electricity cable systems and internet access for schools.
The 1996 South African School’s Act (as amended in 2011) provides norms and standards for ICT infrastructure and capacity in state schools (Article 5A), which includes STEM laboratories and material and electricity. The 1996 National Education Policy Act 27 includes the provision of distance education within its definition of an ‘education institution’ (Article 1).
There is no mention of technology in the 1996 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (last amended in 2012.
Policies, plans and strategies: South Africa has developed two white papers dedicated to ICT, with several other government documents supporting their implementation. The 2004 White Paper on e-Education: Transforming Learning and Teaching through ICTs aims for every learner in the country to be ICT capable by 2013, and for teachers to use ICT to enhance teaching and learning across the education and training system. Policy objectives revolve around equity, access to ICT infrastructure, capacity building, and building ICT norms and standards. In the White Paper, the concept of ‘e-Education’ revolves around the use of ICTs to accelerate the achievement of national education goals. e-Education is envisioned to connect learners and teachers to better information, platforms, and one another via effective combinations of pedagogy and technology in support of educational reform. It supports larger systematic, pedagogical, curricular and assessment reforms that will facilitate improved education and improved use of educational resources such as ICT.
The 2016 National Integrated ICT Policy White Paper views ICTs as playing a key role in facilitating national development objectives, highlighting the education sector in several strategies. South Africa’s 2017 National e-Strategy similarly includes education goals, with the aim to develop ICT skills and infrastructure in schools.
The 2020-24 Basic Education Strategic Plan includes dedicated sections on e-Education and EdTech, with the use of ICTs in education highlighted as one of key areas of innovation to be focused on in the next five years. Similarly, the five-year basic education sector plan published in 2020, titled Action Plan to 2024: Towards the realisation of Schooling 2030 views ICTs as key in the advancement of learning and reducing inequalities, with reference to e-education. The 2022/23 Department of Basic Education Annual Performance Plan also includes dedicated sections to ICT, Digitisation, e-Education Management, Distance Learning and Online Schools, EdTech, and e-Education, while the 2015/16 - 2019/20 Revised Education Five-Year Strategic Plan similarly highlights the integration of ICT in teaching and learning as part of the country’s core strategies for developing the skills of learners and teachers. Policy objectives include developing ICT infrastructure in schools, training teachers on ICT, enhancing e-education, and focusing on STEM subjects.
The 1995 White Paper on Education and Training also highlights the importance of STEM subject development in schools.
One of the key priorities in the the National Development Plan (Vision 2030) (NDP), is "improving the quality of education, skills development, and innovation", with a dedicated section on ICT and improving ICT infrastructure and literacy throughout the country.
Digital competency frameworks: South Africa has a strong policy and strategy framework for the development of digital competencies of teachers, learners and citizens. The Professional Development Framework for Digital Learning: Building educator competencies in facilitating learning with digital tools and resources aims to ensure the development of teacher digital learning competencies, defining thirteen digital learning competencies and a number of indicators for each competency covering the areas of professional growth and knowledge; curriculum focus; and leadership. The 2015 Revised Policy on the Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications similarly includes ICT competencies as part of the requirements of newly-qualified teachers.
The 2020 National Digital and Future Skills Strategy and 2021-25 Implementation Program Guide for the National Digital and Future Skills Strategy of South Africa provide a framework for digital competency development of teachers, learners and citizens, with customised content to ensure that it appropriately targets different citizen segments, including children, young people and the elderly. The focus of the program on building digital literacy for citizens is to promote digital literacy among South African citizens, strengthen digital citizenship of the South African citizenry, and enhance the digital health literacy of South African citizens. The program specifically aims to build digital competence in information, media and data literacy, communication and collaboration, digital content creation, safety, devices and software operations, problem solving, and career/work/ entrepreneurship-related information and knowledge, with a plan to rollout a mass-based digital citizenship programme across the country.
Changes occurred as a result of COVID-19: The Department of Basic Education has highlighted several changes to the education system due to COVID-19, highlighting the development and improvement of EdTech and e-education in several of its strategies, including the five-year basic education sector plan published in 2020, titled Action Plan to 2024: Towards the realisation of Schooling 2030 (which highlights the need to accelerate technological change in the schooling system), the 2020-24 Basic Education Strategic Plan, and the 2022/23 Department of Basic Education Annual Performance Plan.
The 2022/23 Department of Basic Education Annual Performance Plan includes dedicated sections on ICT, Digitisation, e-Education Management, Distance Learning and Online Schools, EdTech, and e-Education, which it aims to focus on in the next 5 years. It aims to equip learners with entrepreneurial skills that encourage job creation (with an emphasis on ICT), strengthen teacher development programs to address new needs such as ICT skills, redirect teacher skills and competencies, provide all teachers with laptops, and increase connectivity in schools. To achieve all this, partnerships with relevant government departments and ICT companies are considered crucial. The Department additionally aims to finalise its framework on online schooling.
As a result of the pandemic, oversubscribed government schools, and the cost of private education, parents have gradually turned to online schooling. The Department of Basic Education is now developing a new framework to help regulate the rise of online schools in South Africa. Moreover, following the pandemic, the Department has partnered with a South African mobile communications company to bring virtual classrooms to learners to bring forth support for online learning and to also relieve congestion on South Africa’s telecommunication network.
2.2. Technology infrastructures, technological capacity of schools and learning environments
2.2.1. Technology infrastructure and digital capacity of schools
Electricity: The 1996 South African School’s Act (as amended in 2011) provides norms and standards for ICT infrastructure in schools, which includes the availability of electricity and electronic connectivity in schools. The 2004 White Paper on e-Education similarly includes provisions on electricity and physical infrastructure of schools, highlighting electricity services as one of the critical factors for successful ICT implementation. The government negotiates electricity rates for educational institutions to address the recurrent costs as part of the 2005 Electronic Communications Act (as amended in 2014), with electricity also included as part of the universal access services. Finally, the 1995 White Paper on Education and Training highlights the states obligation to provide basic physical facilities and equipment to all state schools, which includes electricity.
Computers and devices: There are several government documents that focus on increasing school and learner access to computers and devices, which focus on increasing schools’ access to devices and not individual learners (such as OLPC policies). The 2020-24 Basic Education Strategic Plan aims to increase access among learners to a wide range of media, including computers, which enrich their education, and provide digitised material for learning on a tablet device, focusing on the most disadvantaged schools which are in the poorest communities, including multigrade, multi-phase, farm and rural schools. The 2022/23 Department of Basic Education Annual Performance Plan supports the production of an Annual Sector Report on the monitoring of procurement and distribution of ICT devices. Furthermore, the Department of Basic Education aims to provide a number of special schools with electronic devices, ensuring that Learners with Special Educational Needs (LSEN) schools are provided with ICT devices and assistive technologies as part of the Universal Service Access Obligations (USAO) initiative.
The 2004 White Paper on e-Education provides for the establishment of an ICT presence in institutions (including networked computers, ICT facilities, and legal software), as well as national ICT norms and standards for the use of hardware and software in schools, which includes accessibility, usability, inter-operability, connectivity, scalability, rights management, network and information security, and content relevance and reliability. All standards must be consistent with the technical criteria set forth by the Information Technology Acquisition Centre (ITAC) procurement policy and procedures, while minimum inter-operability standards guide the purchase of hardware, software and other technologies for GET and FET institutions within provinces. Specific policy objectives include for every institution to have a computer and software for administrative purposes, 50% of all institutions have access to a networked computer facility for teaching and learning, and all education institutions to have safe and legal software. The Department of Education also supports the development of refurbished facilities for second hand computers and alternatives where ICTs cannot be implemented in institutions, such as the use of community centres, partnerships with private sector to use facilities, public libraries, and sharing of facilities amongst institutions.
Internet connectivity: South Africa has a strong legal and policy framework for the enhancement of internet connectivity in schools. Legislation provides for a discount of at least 50% on Internet services provided to schools, colleges, public further education and training institutions and higher education institutions through the 2009 E-Rate Regulations. The discounted connectivity rate, known as the ‘e-rate’ (later replaced by the g-rate or government rate) is designed to ensure that the cost of basic connectivity is affordable. The 2005 Electronic Communications Act (as amended in 2014) includes provisions on the e-rate (Article 73) for internet services to be provided to all state schools and further education and training institutions at the minimum rate, with its amendment aiming to strengthen the e-rate by clarifying the structure of the discount which is applicable to call charges, facilities and connectivity. The money in the Universal Service and Access Fund must be utilised exclusively for the payment of subsidies to education institutions (Article 88). According to the 2016 National Integrated ICT Policy White Paper, the e-rate will be phased out and replaced by the g-rate (government rate), which all approved public institutions fulfilling public needs will have access to through Digital-DF’s development of a programme for subsidising public institutions.
As for strategies, the 2020 National Digital and Future Skills Strategy and 2021-25 Implementation Program Guide for the National Digital and Future Skills Strategy of South Africa both support increasing access to internet connectivity in schools, aiming for 60% of learners to have access to the internet in schools. To elimate the digital divide, the 2020-24 Basic Education Strategic Plan additionally aims to ensure that within six years, all schools and education offices have access to the internet and free data. Similarly, the 2022/23 Department of Basic Education Annual Performance Plan supports the increase of internet connectivity and broadband in schools in partnership with ICT companies. The 2004 White Paper on e-Education also provides for every learner and teacher in general and further education and training to have access to an educational network and the internet. The white paper additionally includes provisions on education institutions being connected to the internet, with an aim for 50% of institutions are connected to the Educational Network, networks to be safe and information security monitored, and all institutions to have access to an e-Rate. Moreover, as part of the national ICT standards, the white paper promotes connectivity for durability, as well as network and information security. Finally, the 2010 Broadband Policy for South Africa also includes the education sector.
2.2.2. Technology and learning environments
The provision of distance education is highlighted in several policy and strategy documents. The 1995 White Paper on Education and Training considered the development of well-functioning distance education critical in providing ‘second chance’ opportunities to huge numbers of out-of-school young people and unemployed adults for whom conventional school- type instruction may be unappealing and inappropriate. The 2004 White Paper on e-Education supports the development of a national digital education portal and the enhancement of digital content as part of e-education. At the higher education level, the 2014 Policy for the Provision of Distance Education in South African Universities in the Context of an Integrated Post-school System.
During the COVID-19 nation-wide school closures in March 2020, distance education was pursued for all students in South Africa through different channels and platforms, targeting students of all ages and grades through the Coronavirus Orientation Guidelines for Schools. To ensure learning continuity, the Department of Basic Education, in close collaboration with the Provincial Education Departments, developed a comprehensive Framework for Curriculum Recovery, in which education programs were being delivered through television and radio broadcasts, social media platforms, and government websites. The guidelines included both short-term and long-term recovery plans.
2.3. Technology competencies of learners and teachers
2.3.1. Learners
The 2020 National Digital and Future Skills Strategy developed by the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) envisages a society of digitally skilled South Africans, with a vision of “a South Africa in which people, economy and society benefit from enhanced levels of digital skills as we move into a digital future, anchored in agility, creativity and problem-solving”. The mission of strategy is to address the need for mechanisms to foster digital skills development across South Africa, at early childhood development, schooling and post-school education and training levels, recognising that digital skills are necessary for economic growth, social development and cultural enrichment across all sectors of the country’s society and economy. The 2021-25 Implementation Program Guide for the National Digital and Future Skills Strategy of South Africa specifically aims to develop students’ 21st century (future) skills, including learning skills (creativity and innovation; critical thinking and problem solving; communication and collaboration), literacy skills (information literacy; media literacy; ICT literacy), and life skills (flexibility and adaptability; initiative and self-direction; social and cross-cultural skills; productivity and accountability; leadership and responsibility). One of its goals is to enable curriculum innovation focusing on digital literacy, coding and robotics, and 21st century skills in basic education, which includes integrated digital literacy, coding and robotics from Grade 1 – Grade 9 in all public schools; the development of a digital literacy curriculum framework for the ECD sector, 21st century skills (E3 ) integrated into the CAPS curriculum, increase of the number of Grade 12 learners taking one of the computer subjects (CAT or IT) at public school, and the introduction of augmented and virtual reality applications for special needs schools for learners with disabilities. The 2022/23 Department of Basic Education Annual Performance Plan similarly highlights that learners should be equipped with entrepreneurial skills that encourage job creation responding to education skills transfer for the future. The emphasis should be improving learners’ skills in ICT, Financial and Scientific Literacy, along with critical thinking in problem-solving; creativity; communication; and collaboration. Similarly, the 2004 White Paper on e-Education aims to build digital and information literacy so that all learners become confident and competent in using technology to contribute to an innovative and developing South African society. It highlights learning with ICTs (using ICTs to supplement normal processes or resources), and learning through the use of ICTs (using ICTs to support new ways of teaching and learning) as part of e-learning. The development of student digital literacy is also highlighted in the 2016 National Integrated ICT Policy White Paper, which aims to to integrate digital skills in formal primary, secondary and tertiary educational institutions, the 2020-24 Basic Education Strategic Plan, National Curriculum Statement Grades R-12, and 2020-24 Education Action Plan.
The improvement and enhancement of STEM subjects in schools is highlighted in the 2015 National Strategy on Learner Attainment, 2004 White Paper on e-Education, 1995 White Paper on Education and Training , and 2015/16 - 2019/20 Revised Five-Year Strategic Plan. The 1996 South African School’s Act (as amended in 2011) also includes the provision of science, technology, mathematics and life sciences apparatus as part of the learning and teaching support material in schools. The 2022/23 Department of Basic Education Annual Performance Plan supports providing learners with the skills and competencies to prepare them for the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) in subject areas such as Mathematics, Science and Technology (MST). The Mathematics, Science and Technology (MST) Grant specifically aims to provide support and resources to schools, teachers and learners in line with the CAPS for the improvement of MST teaching and learning at selected public schools.
In the 2021-25 Implementation Program Guide for the National Digital and Future Skills Strategy of South Africa, the focus moves from STEM to STEAMIE skills sets (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics, innovation and entrepreneurship), highlighting the digital and future skills at basic and post-school education levels. The strategy additionally aims to ensure there is equitable access to foundational STEAMIE skills by women and girls, by persons with disabilities, and by YNEET.
The Department of Basic Education additionally plans to introduce several new school subjects to the curriculum in the 2022/2023 academic year, including coding and robotics for Grade R-3 and 7 in the 2023 academic year.
The introduction of an occupational and vocationally oriented curriculum in addition to the conventional academic curriculum constitutes the Three Stream Model in the basic education sector. This aims to strengthen subject offerings and better skilling of learners by increasing their access to technical and vocational skills subjects and schools in response to the evolving needs and trends of a digital economy society.
2.3.2. Teachers
The Professional Development Framework for Digital Learning defines 13 digital competencies for teachers, school leaders, e-learning specialists and curriculum subject specialists to ensure they are competent in using ICTs to enhance teaching and learning. The competencies (which are each followed by a set of indicators) cover areas of professional growth and knowledge; curriculum focus; and leadership. They also include digital citizenship, which is defined as the “act of behaving safely, legally and ethically when using digital information resources and social media platforms”, with teachers expected to promote and model safe, legal and ethical use of digital information resources. Examples include modelling correct copyright procedures by referencing images used in a class worksheet and requiring learners to do the same when submitting work, and posting online safety guidelines and reminding learners of their social responsibility to use information ethically when conducting online research. The 2015 Revised Policy on the Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications identifies a minimum set of competencies required of newly-qualified teachers, with one competence requiring “highly developed literacy, numeracy and information technology (IT) skills”. The ability to use ICTs is also considered part of ‘fundamental learning’ in the policy.
The development of ICT skills for both pre-service and in-service teachers is highlighted in numerous policy and strategy documents, such as the 2020 National Digital and Future Skills Strategy which aims to upgrade teacher digital skills and competencies. It specifically states that all in-service and pre-service teachers at tertiary institutions need to receive training in a wide range of subjects related to digital learning, including coding, which could be provided via online platforms and/or mobile platforms due to the volume of teachers involved. Furthermore, the strategy supports the adjustment of teacher training curricula in order to cater for the new schooling curricula aimed at digital literacy and fluency. Similar goals are highlighted in the 2021-25 Implementation Program Guide for the National Digital and Future Skills Strategy of South Africa, which aims to strengthen the digital pedagogical capabilities of teachers, with digital pedagogy integrated as a subject into the teacher education curricula at higher education institutions, and a minimum set of teachers trained in digital pedagogy and the application of digital software. The 2022/23 Department of Basic Education Annual Performance Plan similarly encourages the strengthening of pre-service and in-service teacher development programs to include
ICT skills, vocational skills, technical skills, and engineering skills, in addition to redirecting their skills and competencies to equip learners with 21st century skills. The capacity building of teachers in ICT is equally supported in the 2017-22 Teacher Professional Development Plan, 2004 White Paper on e-Education, 2016 National Integrated ICT Policy White Paper, 2020-24 Education Action Plan, and 2015/16 - 2019/20 Revised Five-Year Strategic Plan. Besides setting objectives for pre-service and in-service ICT training for teachers, the 2004 White Paper on e-Education also outlines specific goals, including 50% of teachers trained in basic ICT integration into teaching and learning, all teachers having access to ICT technical support training, and revising the norms and standards for educators to include ICT use and integration.
2.4. Cybersecurity and safety
The 2015 National Cybersecurity Policy Framework South Africa states that there is a need to create an enabling environment for cybersecurity training, education, research and development and skills development programmes in South Africa. According to the 2004 White Paper on e-Education, right management norms under the ICT norms and standards include equitable rights licensing - negotiation of intellectual property, expression of rights information, and legal rights compliance, where licensing rights are honoured and trading rights are supported. The Department of Education is also given the responsibility to develop norms and standards to ensure the safety and security of ICTs, with both skills and development of teachers and communities built around crime prevention and safety of ICT facilities.
2.4.1. Data privacy
The 1996 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (last amended in 2012) guarantees all citizens the right to privacy. The Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), which received parliamentary assent in 2013, but became fully effective in 2021, promotes the protection of personal information processed by public and private bodies; introducing minimum requirements for the processing of personal information. There is no specific mention of the responsibilities of schools, although the Act stipulates that the prohibition of personal information concerning a data subject’s health or sex life, as referred to in section 26, does not apply to the processing by schools, if such processing is necessary to provide special support for pupils or making special arrangements in connection with their health or sex life (Section 32). This implies that schools are also considered public bodies under the Act, with certain provisions of the Act applying to them. The 2016 National Integrated ICT Policy White Paper also includes provisions for privacy and security, stating that provisions must safeguard the right of all South Africans to privacy, to protection of personal information, and to a safe and secure communications environment both online and offline.
The Guidelines on e-Safety in Schools include a provision on monitoring software, stating that learners and teachers must be informed at the outset that their online activity is being monitored. The purpose is to provide a safe online environment which educates users how to manage their access and that online behaviour must not overstep the bounds of reasonable respect for privacy. In addition to informing users (learners and teachers) of the fact that monitoring is taking place, they should also be informed, within the school’s Acceptable Use Policy, of what data is captured by the monitoring software, how long the data is kept, who has access to the data, how the data will be kept safe so that unauthorised users cannot access it, what mechanisms there are to ensure the data is accurate, and how the data can be used.
2.4.2. Online abuse and cyberbullying
The Department of Basic Education has put in place various policies and measures to ensure the safety of all learners, educators and relevant stakeholders in schools, stating that there no place for violence, drug-use/abuse, sexual harassment and other criminal acts in schools as it poses a serious barrier to learning. The Department has a solid partnership with the South African Police Services (SAPS) aimed at linking schools with local police-stations and the establishment of functional School Safety Committees and emphasises Codes of Conduct for Learners at all public schools and the development of a National School Safety Framework. Moreover, the Department has developed Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Sexual Violence and Harassment.
The Guidelines on e-Safety in Schools: Educating towards responsible and ethical use of ICT in education seek to identify the different ICTs used by teachers and learners and to recommend strategies around managing ICTs in order for the appropriate and optimum use in, and for, education. The guidelines for e-safety in schools apply to all learners, teachers and school management, including School Governing Bodies (SGBs), within the context of schools in South Africa. These guidelines also aim to assist parents/guardians to ensure that their children are e-safe. They include provisions for online harassment and cyberbullying, inappropriate or illegal online behaviours, physical danger and sexual abuse, exposure to unsuitable materials, plagiarism and copyright infringement, and obsessive use of the Internet. The guidelines additionally outline strategies for managing ICT access in schools, including acceptable use policies, school software security, antivirus software, monitoring software, document security.
The Protocol for the Management and Reporting of Sexual Abuse and Harassment in Schools serves as an expression of the zero-tolerance approach towards sexual abuse and harassment that the DBE and its representatives have adopted. The reporting guidelines provided by this protocol must be applied in all schools, and include online sexual abuse and/or harassment.
In 2020, the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies in collaboration with UNISA and the British High Commission's Digital Prosperity Fund launched a Cybersecurity Toolkit for Learners, that was translated in six languages (English, Afrikaans, Venda, Xhosa, Sotho and Zulu). This aimed to provide the guidance and practical knowledge to school learners, who are learning how to interact with the digital world to grow into knowledgeable and responsible digital citizens.
3. Governance
3.1. Institutions in charge of technology in education and coordination mechanisms
The Department of Basic Education (DBE) leads ICT integration within the education sector, although there is no branch specific to ICT in education. There is a Government Information Technology Officer (GITO) which is responsible for improving the ICT network infrastructure to respond to the changing technology and providing quarterly reports on the progress of the project. The Department also reviews and aligns ICT policies as well as provides quarterly progress reports on the policies reviewed and approved. The DBE is a member of the Government Information Technology Officers Council (GITOC). This engagement model enables the DBE to contribute towards ICT standards, policies, frameworks and procedures, allowing the DBE to align itself with all ICT governmental initiatives. The DBE has strengthened its business relationship with the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) which allows the DBE to conclude Service Level Agreements with SITA focused on technical support to the Department that assists it to deliver its services and mandate.
The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies leads South Africa’s ICT sector, which includes developing ICT policies, legislation and strategies that support the development of an ICT sector and encourage its uptake and usage by the majority of South Africans, facilitating the provision of robust, reliable, secure and affordable ICT Infrastructure that supports universal access to applications and services, and ICT skills development.
The State Information Technology Agency (SITA) was established in 1999 to consolidate and coordinate the State’s information technology resources in order to achieve cost savings through scale, increase delivery capabilities and enhance interoperability. It manages the IT procurement and delivery process and uses IT to support the delivery of e-Government services to all citizens.
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) is an independent regulatory body of the South African government, established in 2000 by the ICASA Act to regulate both the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors in the public interest.
The Media, Information and Communication Technologies Sector Education and Training Authority (MICT SETA) is a public entity established in terms of the 1998 Skills Development Act. The MICT SETA plays a pivotal role in achieving South Africa’s skills development and economic growth within the sub-sectors it operates, which include Information Technology and Telecommunications.
According to the 2004 White Paper on e-Education, the e-Education policy provides a strategic framework for national co-ordination with the Presidential National Commission on Information Society and Development, the provincial education departments, other governmental departments, business and industry, non-profit organisations, higher education institutions, general and further education and training institutions, and local communities to implement e-Education. Provincial education departments plan and budget for the appointment of ICT in Education specialists at provincial and district levels and the training of district-level ICT and subject specialists in order to provide ongoing professional and technical support.This needs to be supported by a group of teachers who can provide support in their district. The policy additionally directed the establishment of a Ministerial e-Education Advisory Council consisting of ICT champions from the public sector, academia, and private and civil society. The Advisory Council delivers annual reports on the status of e-Education in South Africa and advises the Department of Education on implementation. The annual reports will track and monitor progress on investments in ICTs, as well as compare improvements in educational outcomes. An e-Education inter-departmental team monitors and manages the implementation of the e-Education policy and fosters inter-governmental collaboration.
3.2. Roles of schools
Schools are responsible for developing their own policies and guidelines regarding the use of mobile devices by learners and teachers. The 2018 Guidelines on Cellular Phones and Other Mobile Technologies in Public Schools published by the government of the Western Cape are designed to 1) create awareness about some of the opportunities presented by cellular phones and mobile devices for learners, teachers, School Management Teams (SMTs), 2) assist public schools to develop their own policies in order to regulate the use of cellular phones and mobile devices at these schools, and 3) link cellular phone and mobile device policies with other school policies, including the school’s Code of Conduct, Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) for Teachers, Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) for Learners, and ICT policy. The guidelines apply to all learners and teachers at public schools in the Western Cape, and include the use of all handheld and/or smart devices, such as cellular phones, tablets, phablets, wearable computers, laptops and portable media players.
This profile has been reviewed by the Department of Basic Education (South Africa).
