Ericsson and MTN Rwanda are launching an initiative that will offer quality education for underprivileged students who previously did not have access to technology in education.
The initiative called ‘Connect to Learn’ will use the latest technology and will run in two Rwanda secondary schools in partnership with the Earth Institute at Columbia University and ‘Millennium Promise’.
Through Connect to Learn, laptop computers and broadband connectivity will be implemented in the Mayange Millennium Village.
With the start of the new school year, the partners have now invested in Information Communication Technology (ICT) resources for the schools, which serve over a thousand students and teachers in the village.
Additionally, 42 girls will participate in the program’s comprehensive scholarship scheme.
‘Connect To Learn’ has already delivered broadband Internet access and a cloud-computing solution in each of the schools to provide a low-maintenance, easy-to-use model for Internet access optimized for mobile broadband networks.
Kara Nichols, Executive Director of ‘Connect To Learn’, said,: “These ICT investments by our partners, Ericsson and MTN, aim to enhance the quality and delivery of education in the schools.
Because of it, the students and teachers are able to benefit from access to global news, information and the latest educational content, and can collaborate with fellow students and teachers around the world through our School-To-School Connections program, despite their remote location.”
Khaled Mikkawi, CEO of MTN Rwanda, said, “MTN is proud to be a partner in this initiative and supports government policies that are aimed to transform the Rwandan citizen into skilled human resource.
We are already doing this by committing ourselves to initiatives that ensure equitable access to quality education with the use of technology.”
MTN Rwanda is providing optimized 3G connectivity to the selected two secondary schools to ensure good connectivity and also providing free Internet connectivity for a period of one year.
Beginning operations in sub-Saharan Africa in late 2010, ‘Connect To Learn’ has established its girls scholarship program in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda, enabling 663 students to enroll in secondary schools on 3 to 4-year scholarships.
In Rwanda last year alone, 40 girls were awarded three-year secondary school scholarships to enroll in two secondary schools, Mayange A Groupe Scholaire, and Kamabuye Groupe Scholaire.
The initiative’s ICT program has been deployed in secondary schools in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Senegal and Uganda.
In total, the initiative has given some 7,000 African students access to quality teaching and learning resources.
Lars Lindén, Head of Region Sub-Saharan Africa, Ericsson said: “This initiative demonstrates our commitment to actualizing our vision for a Networked Society in Africa.
Ericsson plays a key role in shaping the new world for future generations, and believe it is vital that young people are given the right tools and preparation to function within it.”
‘Connect To Learn’ is a public-private partnership that promotes universal access to a quality 21st century education, providing scholarships, especially for girls, and implementing information and communications technology (ICT) solutions in the schools these scholars attend and around the world.
Ericsson is a founding member of ‘Connect To Learn’, providing expertise and innovative mobile broadband solutions in the partnership with Millennium Promise and the Earth Institute at Columbia University.
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