Pupils told not to abuse internet

Deputy Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry Miles Sampa has urged pupils not to surf destructive sites on the internet.

Mr. Sampa, who is also Matero Member of Parliament, said pupils should use the internet to access educative material.

He said pupils should not use the internet to access harmful material that have no significance to their education but should instead use it for constructive purposes.

He was speaking in Lusaka today when he addressed scores of Matero Girls High School pupils during the launch of a digital hub partnership between Airtel-Zambia and the British Council.

Mr. Sampa urged the pupils to neither post messages nor pictures that were in bad taste.

He further stated that government decided to put Information Communication Technology (ICT) in the school syllabus in order for pupils to be computer literate.

And Director of Corporate Communications at Airtel-Zambia, Joseph Kafwariman said the partnership with the British council will allow the two organizations to deliver telecommunication solutions to 14 selected schools in the country.

Mr. Kafwariman said it was proven that ICT can greatly facilitate the acquisition and absorption of knowledge while offering unprecedented opportunities to enhance educational systems and improve policy formulation.

He said Airtel-Zambia was happy to invest in the future generation adding that the organisation has since adopted five schools under the “adopt our school programme”.

And British Council Country Director Wayne Harper said ICT in schools enables international engagement by helping teachers and pupils to access a wide range of teaching resources through interactive online platforms.

Mr. Harper said more than 280 schools in Zambia were expected to benefit from the free internet connectivity programme made available by Airtel-Zambia and the British Council.

He said the provision of digital hubs guarantee teachers and pupils limitless new educational opportunities.

In the partnership, Airtel-Zambia will provide full internet accessibility to schools while the British Council will provide training for teachers.