POLITICS

Paperless Classroom contract above board - Gauteng DoE

Dept says EduSolutions was approved in 2012 to provide services relating to the procurement and delivery of learner support materials until 2016

Paperless Classroom contract above board

27 July 2015

The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has noted comments by the Democratic Alliance (DA) that the Department’s Paperless Classroom project runs the risk of being another Limpopo textbook disaster.

The DA is stating this because the Department has appointed Edu-solution “the company responsible for the Limpopo textbook crisis” to provide services relating to the procurement and delivery of learner support material to schools in the Province.

The reality is that the Department appointed Edu-solution in 2012 on contract number GT/GDE/056/2012 until March 2016 to provide services relating to the procurement and delivery of learner support material to schools in the province. Given that the e-learning material and devices are defined as LTSM, they are covered within the scope of work.  

The scope includes the management of the entire LTSM procurement process and other materials for all grades at all section 21.1.c schools, non-section 21.1.c schools, ELSEN schools, ABET centres, ECD centres, etc.

When the Paperless Classroom Project was initiated, the Department obtained legal advice on this particular matter.  The advice was that it would not be in the best interest of the Department to cancel the existing contract with Edu-solution and appoint a new service provider.  This was going to be costly for the Department and also cause delays in the implementation of the project.

On these bases, a decision was taken to continue with the current contract.

Over the past years Edu-solution has delivered to the satisfaction of the Department.  Strict mechanisms have been put in place to ensure that contractual obligations are adhered to by Edu-solution e.g. penalties where there is non delivery.

The Department remains committed and determined to realise its vision which aspires to build a world-class education system by modernising public education and improve the standard of performance of the entire system. No amount of criticism will deter our efforts in attaining this vision.

Statement issued by Gauteng Department of Education spokesperson, Phumla Sekhonyane, July 27 2015

Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter