But as with every dark cloud there is a silver lining. Today Vodacom reported that its e-School platform is proving to be “invaluable” for the scores of school-going children at home on extended school break as the country grapples with Corovavirus.

As one of the measures announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa to protect the country from the spread of the COVID-19, schools closed from Wednesday, 18 March until after Easter Holidays. This meant that parents had to find alternative methods to help their children continue learning during the extended school break. That is where Vodacom’s e-School has come in.

Vodacom e-School is a free, unlimited online education portal that provides educational content for learners in grades R to 12. These include assignments, quizzes and interactive learning videos. The content is fully aligned to the Department of Basic Education National Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement and is available in all 11 South African languages. The platform is accessible via mobile and desktop, free of charge to all Vodacom customers.

Vodacom noted that user registration on the platform since schools closed has been unprecedented over the past two weeks with the total number of registered users now close on 1 million.

Some of the statistics demonstrating the increase in the uptake of the platform include user registrations on the platform being up by over 1000% compared to previous historic periods.

As well,  content utilisation increased by 300% over previous averages, with Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Accounting topping the charts. The massive sudden increase in registration started on Sunday, 15 March, with Vodacom e-School going from an average of 40 000 student events per day to a peak of close to 150 000.

The strong growth is fuelled by a strong uptake from learners in Gauteng, KwaZulu Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces. The growth in registrations and usage is expected to continue.

 “Supporting education is the main focus of the Vodacom Foundation so we are encouraged by the phenomenal growth of new subscribers signing up on the free e-School learning platform,” enthused Takalani Netshitenzhe, Chief Officer: Corporate Affairs for Vodacom Group.

 “This demonstrates that the platform is addressing a societal need at a time when the private sector needs to join hands with government as it contends with COVID-19. It is also clear that our message to parents and guardians to encourage learners to continue with their studies by using Vodacom e-School has been heeded and that they are finding the platform useful,” she concluded.

In order to access the facility, users can visit www.vodacom.co.za/e-school from their cell phone, tablet or laptop to register. Thereafter, they will enjoy unlimited access to education content. For those who are not customers of Vodacom, data charges will be incurred for logging on to the site.