Tlali Tlali, HOD Corporate Affairs, SITA

The technological landscape is advancing rapidly on a global scale, spurring the urgency of bridging the digital skills gap. In Africa, this gap is described as a pressing issue, with negative societal and economic implications.

One of the biggest obstacles faced by the youth in South Africa is the noticeable disparity in the quality of education. Additionally, there is a lack of access to technological infrastructure, such as internet connectivity and information and communication technology (ICT), specifically computers, in disadvantaged schools compared to those that are advantaged.

“It also takes a considerable amount of time for development initiatives to reach young people, particularly those living in rural areas,” says Tlali Tlali, SITA’s Head of Department: Corporate Affairs. “As a result, many of these individuals may never have the opportunity to become familiar with technology. The problems mentioned lead to an increasing gap between learners, creating significant obstacles for them to acquire digital skills and knowledge of emerging technologies like virtual environments, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things (IoT).

“These are skills the country desperately needs in order to create a pipeline of talent to meet the niche skills technology of the future is going to demand.” The underlying problems inhibiting some schools from competing in ICT competitions, such as robotics and coding competitions, are the lack of digital skills and knowledge required due to unequal access to resources, the variance of digital skills among schools, and funding limitations.

Tlali says that according to the Department of Basic Education’s (DBE) previously issued annual performance strategy for 2022/2023, full-scale implementation of the coding and robotics curriculum for Grades R through to 3 and Grade 7 was scheduled for the calendar year 2023. This curriculum was also piloted in other grades – Grades 4 to 9, from 2022 to 2023, and anticipated to be fully implemented in these grades between 2024 and 2025.

“As per the DBE, teaching robotics and coding to learners in entry-level grades will equip them with 21st-century skills that are necessary to obtain employment, and will assist them to operate efficiently in the digital age,” says Tlali. “It is how possible and feasible it is to implement this vision that will affect the ultimate outcome.”

Every learner in this country deserves an equal opportunity to develop and showcase solutions toward the nation’s goal of digital transformation and Mickey Bond: Senior Manager Corporate Social Responsibility says SITA encourages this in both rural and urban communities. SITA also aims to contribute to the National Development Plan (NDP) goals, which are to curb unemployment and reduce inequality in South Africa by 2030, by addressing the primary challenges the country faces.

“By organising an initiative such as the Robotics Challenge, SITA provides an opportunity for learners to gain exposure and actively develop solutions in the robotics space,” says Bond. “Learners can explore their potential by coming up with creative and innovative ideas, turning them into practical solutions that can improve their daily lives. Hopefully, these solutions will contribute substantially to the development of our country as a whole.”

Bond explains that initiatives like robotics and coding competitions and challenges will be fulfilled by aligning with Chapter 9 of NDP, which states: ‘Improve education, training, and innovation’ and which converges with goal 4 of the country’s sustainable development goals (SDGs): ‘To ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote life-long learning opportunities’.

“These goals, through ICT-orientated initiatives, also ensure wider digitalisation of young people, as it seeks to aid learners to develop and enhance their digital skills which have become crucial as job-relevant skills. In this particular Robotics Challenge initiative, Grade 7, 8, and 9 learners from schools in all nine provinces will be included. The initiative will run in a regional and then national phase.”

Planning around how the Robotics Challenge will proceed is already advanced. For primary schools, learners must craft an essay outlining their plan to build a roboticsbased solution that aligns with SDG 3: ‘Good health and well-being’. Those learners selected to participate in the final stage will design, develop and showcase the solution using a standard kit.

As it pertains to high schools, each province will be given a distinct NDP2030 priority, for example, high schools in province A will all focus on one assigned priority and learners are then required to identify a particular issue or a new approach to a commonly occurring activity or process that needs improvement in their province, community, or the country per the assigned NDP2030 priority.

The learners are then to write an essay detailing the problem and the proposed solution. Selected teams, will design and develop the solution, and demonstrate it in the final stage.

“In terms of the proposed timelines,” continues Tlali, “the Department of Basic Education (DBE) will select the primary and high schools involved in the coding and robotics pilot project. The Robotics Challenge will be open to the school learners with each participating team consisting of four learners with a teacher compulsory to supervise, guide and mentor them.

“From primary schools, only four learners in Grades 7 can participate, and gender balance must be considered. From high schools, only two learners in Grade 8 and two learners in Grade 9 can participate, and again, gender balance must be considered.

“One team is allowed to participate per school, except for combined schools. In the case of combined schools, one team from the primary school level and one team from the high school level can participate. Mentoring will be provided should it be required in addition to the teacher who is assisting the team. “

This expansive and bold plan to develop digital skills in the formative years of the young with inclusion of less developed and poorly technology-equipped education centres is expected to start later this year. It is to run annually and become a part of the World Robot Olympiad, with local youth pitting their skills on the international stage.

Let’s work together to ignite interest in STEM and prepare learners for a much better future. www.sita.co.za