YOUR GUIDE TO INVESTING IN EDUCATION
Not content with its winning pay-television station bouquet, the Shoma Education Foundation was set up by MultiChoice Africa with the aim of using technology to help build a better future in South Africa.
The unforgiving landscape of rural South Africa and the historic lack of infrastructure in these areas have an adverse effect on the equitable delivery of quality educational resources.
In an effort to address this challenge, the Shoma Education Foundation was established by MultiChoice Africa. At least 6 000 teachers make use of the facility nationwide, in all provinces except the Western Cape.
As a digital satellite broadcasting business, it is enormously satisfying for MultiChoice Africa to employ satellite technology, used so effectively in the delivery of entertainment, to improve the delivery of education to all South Africans.
The Shoma Education Foundation, established in 1998, was initially located within M-Web. Early in 2000 it was decided to reposition the foundation as the principal social responsibility vehicle of MultiChoice Africa.
As a leader in the field of digital satellite technology, MultiChoice Africa is well positioned to provide much-needed assistance in the field of education. The company is able to source the best educational content and has the infrastructure to take it to the people in rural and disadvantaged areas. Shoma is funded primarily by MultiChoice Africa. It has an annual budget of R8-million, made available to cover operational costs such as administration, content development and broadcast expenses.
The Shoma programme applies a specific, three-tiered process of learning that continuously reinforces specific themes pertaining to the new outcomes-based curriculum.
The training facilities at centres consist of three areas in schools or other suitable buildings:
– Television Room
Of the three rooms, the first is equipped with a television monitor, a video server and satellite receiver system. In this room a visual presentation of the specific learning theme is provided.
– Computer Room
The second room is furnished with a Windows NT server and 24 Pentium workstations. Content is downloaded to servers via Siyanda satellite receiver cards. The computer material provides digitised videos and audio clips, which have been compressed using MPEG technology. This convergence of technology confers a greater flexibility to the learning process.
– Lesson Development Room
This is the most important in this process. It is here where teachers practise the theory learned in the television and computer components. As a teacher development initiative, a close working relationship with the departments of education is essential. The curriculum division of the Ministry of Education and the provincial departments of education define and provide the curriculum framework. Provincial departments of education also ensure that centres are maintained and used. They also ensure that education officials are onhand during the training.
Shoma Education Foundation’s list of stakeholders extends beyond the departments of education to include the business sector. The programme provides a platform to strengthen the partnership between the public and private sectors.
WBHO Construction, the Momentum Fund and The Anglo American Chairman’s Fund were some of the companies that provided funding in 2000.
The African Institute of Corporate Citizenship was contracted in 2000 to engage in an impact assessment of the Shoma programme. Key findings of this assessment reflected that: Shoma has improved educators’ ability to implement OBE; Shoma has gained credibility from stakeholders; the Shoma partnership model is working effectively; and Shoma is having an impact beyond the classroom.
– The Teacher/M&G Media, Johannesburg, August 2001.
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