Thousands of SA schools are still offline. How much longer must our children wait?

A group of eleven-year-olds at Phumelelani Primary School in KwaZulu-Natal look up at a projector. On the screen, they are talking to children at a school in Scotland, who wave excitedly. “Sanibonani!”

“Good morning, South Africa!”

Two classrooms. Two continents. One thing made it possible: the internet.

For most South African learners, being connected is still impossible. South Africa has approximately 23,000 public schools, yet around 17,000 remain offline. In the few that do have some form of access, the connectivity often stops in the administration block. It never reaches the classroom where learning takes place.

Many mobile network operators, fibre network operators and internet service providers have fulfilled their universal service obligations by connecting schools, and those efforts deserve credit. We have national broadband strategies, pilot projects, steering committees, policy frameworks and impressive slide decks. What we do not have are connected classrooms. Connectivity will not fix the education system on its own, but without connectivity, nothing else stands a chance.

At Project Isizwe, our mission is clear: connect every child to learning, no matter where they live. Connectivity is not the end goal; learning is.

I know this from experience. I attended a public school in Newlands East, KwaZulu-Natal. We had committed teachers and curious learners, but limited tools. A single textbook might be shared across many hands, and information did not flow at the speed of curiosity. That experience taught me something important: talent is universal, but access is not.

Children do not care whether the internet reaches their school through fibre, LTE or satellites. They care that it reaches them at all.

Fibre does not reach every village, and wireless connectivity fails where towers are vandalised or power is unreliable. In many rural areas there will never be a business case to trench fibre to every school. That is why low Earth orbit satellite networks are an essential part of the solution. These satellites make it possible to connect remote schools quickly and affordably, without waiting years for terrestrial infrastructure. This is not a battle of brands, politics or corporate egos. This is a race to connect the child.

Phumelelani Primary School in rural Loskop was connected in 2024. Since then, teachers use online resources and curated lesson plans, learners arrive motivated and engaged, and collaboration began with Dunipace Primary School in Scotland. The internet did not replace teaching. It amplified it.

Due diligence

Before connecting any school, we conduct due diligence. We install secure and filtered internet that blocks adult content, gambling and social media. We train teachers to use vetted platforms, including Nabu, which provides free multilingual digital books, and Canva for Classrooms. In classrooms of 40, 50 or even 70 learners, no teacher can listen to every child read. Technology makes the impossible possible. And yet, the majority of schools still wait.

In 2013, the Cabinet approved SA Connect, promising internet access for all schools. Thirteen years later, progress has been negligible. The issue is not fibre availability, spectrum licensing or cost. The issue is political and institutional will. I think of a learner at Realogile Secondary School in Alexandra, Gauteng, who was fascinated by the Cold War but only had a textbook shared among dozens of learners. Once the school was connected, he accessed documentaries, articles and primary sources. In Matric, he earned a distinction in History. His talent was never the issue. Access was.

Here is the uncomfortable truth. We know how to connect schools. The technology already exists, and multiple technologies are available. The funding exists. It is not impossible. It is simply not happening. One clear call to action: connect every remaining unconnected school to basic and safe classroom internet by using the fastest viable technology at each site. Fibre where available. Wireless where possible. Low Earth orbit satellites where necessary.

Not another pilot. Not another strategy document. Actual connections.

In classrooms.

For children. DM

Shireen Powell is CEO of Project Isizwe. She champions digital equity through practical, community-led connectivity models that bridge policy, technology, and the lived realities of learners and educators.