06 September 2022

Zimbabwe has connected more than 400 schools to the internet, according to a government official.

Speaking at a post-Cabinet briefing August 10, the country’s information minister Monica Mutsvangwa said this was part of government’s ongoing project to accelerate the national e-learning strategy.

“Four hundred schools from all the provinces across the country were connected to the internet,” she said. “This is part of an ongoing programme to accelerate the implementation of the national e-learning strategy.”

The connection of schools to the internet is part of the 1,688 projects that were implemented during the period January to December 2021.

“Out of these, 657 projects were fully completed,” Mutsvangwa added. “Implementation of 1, 031 is ongoing.”

According to Unesco figures, over 1.2 billion learners around the world missed out on lessons due to Covid-19-induced school closures.

While virtual learning presented Zimbabwe with the best opportunity for learners to catch up, the high cost of data, poor network connectivity in the rural areas and poverty meant a considerable number had no access to learning materials during the lockdown.

“Cabinet reports that 33,7% of the households are using grid electricity, while 28,3% are using off-grid electricity such as solar, wind and biogas,” Mutsvangwa said. She also revealed that less than 40% of the households were using grid electricity.