When the Gauteng Department of Education needed Wi-Fi reliable service providers to launch its e-learning initiative for the 2015 Academic year, UC-Wireless rose to the occasion.
Thanks to the company’s quality services, the launch of the Gauteng’s Department of Education’s the ‘Big Switch On project” was a resounding success. The project is the Gauteng Department of Education’s initiative to implement e-Learning into the first public township schools and the realisation of digital and paperless classrooms around Gauteng. Thus, Wi-Fi ailure deliver would have put a dampener on the milestone occasion
In his public address on Wednesday 14 January 2015, MEC Panyaza Lesufi thanked UC- Wireless for playing a major role in the success of the GDE’s School of the Future project launch at Boitumelong Secondary School in Tembisa.
UC-Wireless came into the picture by default.
Late in the week leading up to the launch, concerns were raised after no resolution could be found with Wi-Fi connectivity issues and various “concurrent connection stress test” failures with the then recently installed system.
Enoch Thango, the Deputy Principal of Sunward Park High, (the first public school to go digital), advised that UC-Wireless is the only company with a reliable and fast solution as they had installed their Ruckus Wi-Fi solution to solve the problems at his school. With the growing evidence of successfully deploying Wi-Fi solutions in many leading schools to date, where now currently over 20 000 learners are reliant on UC-Wireless and Ruckus Wi-Fi, Michael Berger, head of UC-Wireless Education division, felt confident to meet with the GDE to offer the necessary assistance and expertise in resolving the problems.
The UC-Wireless technical team of Gerard Smith, Johan Myburgh and Roan Van Der Walt worked tirelessly over the weekend installing its credible and reliable Ruckus Wi-Fi solution under the expert guidance of the MD of UC-Wireless, Quentin Daffarn. Within a 72 hour turn around MEC Panyaza Lesufi was assured that the “Big Switch On” at the school would be a success. Now over 1300 learners, educators and staff of Boitumelong Secondary have access to super-fast reliable Wi-Fi and internet with the ability to connect simultaneously via the Wi-Fi with their tablets to the “state of the art” digital technology and e-Learning platforms available to them at this aptly named “School of the Future”.
Education MEC, Panyaza Lesufi, hailed UC-Wireless as,” the new saviour-messiah for Wi-Fi in schools and for “coming to the rescue”. Praise for the reliable and super-fast connectivity was echoed by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, who commented, “I tested the connectivity here today and MEC Lesufi is right, it is the fastest I have experienced”.
Thus far, township schools have been equipped with digital technology including a complete Wi-Fi and internet network, interactive boards, e-books, and e-Learning solutions. Learners and educators have each received tablets to replace textbooks as well as chalkboards.
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