By Hajaratu Kalokoh
The telecommunications operator, Orange Sierra Leone, has launched a specialized internet package for school pupils across the country. The product known as ‘’Students pack’’ was launched on Wednesday at the St Joseph Secondary School in Freetown.
The company said the product is designed to expose pupils to data usage and to facilitate learning process at a lower cost.
Product Manager, Orange SL, Felix Macauley explained to Politico that they wanted to see more data usage among pupils for educational purposes at a cheaper cost.
“We want to make sure that with data they are able to do their assignments. So what we did; we lower the price for pupils. The world is a digitalize world. Without internet we won’t be able to know about the world. Other countries are ahead of us in terms of internet usage among school pupils, this is because data is expensive,” he said
This newly launched product is not part of the initial five projects which the Telecom operator had pledged to work on as a means of complementing the government’s Free Quality Education (FQE) initiative in Sierra Leone. But Orange said this product will help students in their pursuit for education.
According to Macauley, the program will target all schools and universities in the country. He noted that after the launch at St. Joseph Convent, they would embark on the same initiative in schools like Government Technical Secondary School, Ahmadiyya Muslim Secondary School and the Institute of Advanced Management and Technology (IAMTEC).
“This is a different project, but it is used to compliment education in Sierra Leone. The focus is more on data. They can also do voice, SMS and so many activities at a reduced price,” Macaulay said.
The cost of the products ranges from Le350 to Le 9,500 to Le15, 000 which is the maximum price for 2.5 GB and Le 9,500 for 1.2 GB.
Bockarie Jusu, a senior teacher at the school (JSS), told Politico that the initiative would help pupils to gather learning materials on the internet.
But Jusu was also concerned that pupils might misuse the opportunity if they were not monitored by parents and schools.
“My fear here is; now-a-days kids, anything you introduce them to they will misuse it. Since it’s now cheaper, they might use it to check out non-educative materials. For instance, they might spend more time uploading pictures and videos, rather than learning materials,” he said, adding:
“Parents and school authorities have to put mechanism in place to monitor these kids. Since they are kids, they can easily be carried away, but if they are guided this will help us all.”
Ami Augusta Sheriff, Head Girl of the school, expressed optimism about the new data package. She encouraged her colleagues to use the service appropriately.
“We will benefit from this product, especially to do our homework. For instance, if we have our school syllabus through the internet, we will go ahead of our teachers and do more research. I want to encourage my colleagues not to misuse this opportunity and we should use it wisely,” she said.
Social media is popular among school pupils. The move by the telecommunication company is also a way of targeting one of the most active demography of social media users.
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