EduSolutions, the company which failed to deliver textbooks to schools in Limpopo in 2012, has been awarded a contract to\u00a0supply Gauteng schools with laptops, tablets, and microcomputer servers worth over R171 million.<\/p>\n
According to a report in the City Press,\u00a0EduSolutions will also supply e-textbooks and \u201cdigital multimedia content\u201d worth R30 million to the schools.<\/p>\n
The company made headlines in 2012 due to its inability to deliver textbooks in Limpopo, which left hundreds of thousands of pupils without learning materials.<\/p>\n
Despite its contract being suspended by the Limpopo education department, the company continues to supply textbooks to schools in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga.<\/p>\n
The company\u2019s new\u00a0Gauteng contract states that EduSolutions must ensure 375 schools in the province are \u201cpaperless\u201d by 31 October \u2013 which experts predict won\u2019t take place.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were serious allegations against\u00a0EduSolutions. It is therefore completely improper that government is still doing business with them,\u201d said Section 27\u2019s Mark Heywood.<\/p>\n
EduSolutions insisted it is capable of doing the job, referencing the fact it has delivered textbooks and learning materials to schools in Gauteng for the past 12 years \u201cwithout problems\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Department of Education plans to have all Gauteng classrooms online by 2017, which will cost an estimated R17 billion.<\/p>\n
The full report is available in the City Press of 26 July 2015.<\/em><\/p>\n What\u2019s the point of education if Google can tell us anything?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nMore on education<\/h3>\n