By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Group CEO of Airtel Africa Plc, Mr Segun Ogunsanya, has explained why the company is very deliberate in promoting education and empowering the people.
Speaking during a visit to Kitende Secondary School, Entebbe in Uganda, Mr Ogunsanya said the action of the telco was because “Airtel Africa is cognizant of the great value education contributes to our nations across the continent.”
Kitende Secondary School is one of the educational facilities Airtel and UNICEF are working with to provide access to quality education to millions of children in Africa through digital learning.
The school has been connected to the internet by the mobile telecommunications operator to improve learning.
“Airtel Africa will continue to support the shared efforts of the government of Uganda by identifying and collaborating with strategic partners like UNICEF to transform the way our children learn. We commit to do this in Uganda and across the 13 other countries where Airtel Africa operates,” Ogunsanya pledged.
While commending Uganda for showing a high commitment to the digitisation of education, the Airtel Africa chief also recognized the pivotal role of UNICEF in supporting African children.
He charged the students to take good advantage of the resources through the partnership between Airtel Africa and UNICEF to further their academic pursuits to realize their dreams in life.
Also speaking on the occasion, the State Minister for Primary Education, Dr Moriku Kaducu, acknowledged the positive contribution by Airtel Uganda and UNICEF in the transformation of educational opportunities for children.
She pledged the government to support the partnership through a conducive policy framework and continuous engagements to drive down the tax rates on end-user devices and data for educational purposes.
The UNICEF Representative to Uganda, Dr Munir Safieldin, explained that “through the Kolibri digital learning platform, the partnership will reach 54,000 students with USSD/SMS-based content optimized for mobile.
Currently, Kolibri is available in over 100 secondary schools with computer labs and 15 youth-friendly ICT centres in refugee settlements.
An estimated 16,000 learners and 350 teachers in secondary schools have interacted with the Kolibri initiative.
More than 1,080 adolescents and 200 trained volunteers are involved in the out-of-school Kolibri initiative implementation. To date, over 7,500 registered users with over 200,000 content interactions.”
Recall that Airtel Africa and UNICEF launched the $57 million 5-year partnership in 2021 to accelerate digital learning for children by connecting schools to the internet and ensuring free access to learning platforms in Uganda and other Airtel operating countries to ensure that every child reaches their full potential.
In Uganda, 100 schools will be connected in the first two years to reach 54,750 students and teachers in primary and secondary schools across the country, focusing on rural schools in the West Nile and Karamoja regions.
