South African pupils seek to improve maths resu...

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Johannesburg, South Africa and Espoo, Finland - Nokia, the South
African Government's Department of Education and not for profit
organization Mindset Network today announced the launch of "M4Girls",
an innovative pilot project using Nokia 6300 mobile phones loaded
with educational material to help improve mathematics performance of
Grade 10 girl learners.

"This project demonstrates the potential of mobile phones to enable
social development and improve education especially in
underprivileged areas, " says Micheline Ntiru, Head of Nokia's
Community Involvement Programs in the Middle East and Africa. "Young
people are increasingly using their phones to gain knowledge via the
internet, social networking and interaction with their peers, so it
makes sense to introduce learning through these devices. By combining
Nokia handsets with innovative content, and the enthusiasm of the
teachers and pupils this scheme creates an opportunity to really help
create new skills and opportunities."

The scheme will be piloted in two schools - President Mangope
Technical High School and Thlabane Technical College - in the North
West Province of South Africa.  Pupils using it will be able to
access educational games and other content that have been
specifically created to meet the needs of the national curriculum.

The pilot supports the South African Department of Education's drive
to improve proficiency in key subjects like maths amongst students
from historically disadvantaged backgrounds, and in particular girls
who tend to be the worst performers in this subject.  In addition to
the initial pilot using mathematics, Nokia and Mindset are developing
digital content in other key subjects such as English and information
technology.

Nokia is also providing additional funding for the two pilot schools
to help train teachers and school managers in the use of ICT
resources, repair classrooms and provide books for their libraries.
Nokia staff are also volunteering to act as part-time helpers at the
schools.

Vis Naidoo, CEO of Mindset Network said, "One of South Africa's most
pressing challenges is the need for an improvement in maths
proficiency. This pilot will help students develop in this area,
which is so important for our youth if they are to integrate into the
fast paced global economy."

Mr. Freddie Mahape, Principal at Tlhabane Technical and Commercial
High School, said "We need to win the battle of ensuring that more
and more girl learners take interest in maths and subsequently obtain
good results.  As such we welcome this project, as it gives us hope
for a better future by improving results for our learners. We hope
that in the future it will be possible to extend this program so that
many more schools and learners can benefit from it."

About Nokia
Nokia is the world leader in mobility, driving the transformation and
growth of the converging Internet and communications industries. We
make a wide range of mobile devices with services and software that
enable people to experience music, navigation, video, television,
imaging, games, business mobility and more. Developing and growing
our offering of consumer Internet services, as well as our enterprise
solutions and software, is a key area of focus. We also provide
equipment, solutions and services for communications networks through
Nokia Siemens Networks.

Nokia is committed to having a positive impact on society that
extends beyond the advanced technology, products and services it
creates. It has invested in community projects supporting young
people and education in 30 countries, benefiting more than 1 million
young people. The company has an active employee volunteering program
which last year saw its employees give more than 32,100 hours to
local community projects. Nokia is also supporting innovative
technology projects designed to bridge the digital divide and bring
the benefits of mobile technology to communities around the world.

About Mindset Network
Mindset Network is a South African based non-profit organisation that
was founded in 2002 and is aimed at the personal, social and economic
development of all people in Africa through creation, sourcing and
delivery on a mass scale of quality and contextually relevant
educational material through appropriate media to the schooling,
health and vocational sectors. Materials are distributed through
various technology platforms including broadcast and datacast. The
materials are made available in video, print and in computer-based
multimedia formats.

Mindset Network is unique in that it leverages satellite technology
to distribute its materials on a mass scale to schools, clinics and
other centres of learning across Southern Africa. Through external
funding, Mindset provides sites with the necessary equipment to
receive its materials, and trains teachers and health care workers in
the use and integration of the Mindset infrastructure and materials.
www.mindset.co.za

Media enquiries:

Lisa
Rabbitts
Fleishman-Hillard
+27 11 548
2012
[e-mail]


Sibonile Dube
Nokia
[phone]
[e-mail]


 
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