MTN Uganda in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Sports and Continuum Financial Group have launched an E learning platform called ULEARN, a self-paced e-learning platform for teachers and teacher educators countrywide, that can be accessed at zero data costs via the MTN network.
Launched by the state minister for Higher Education, Dr John C. Muyingo, ULEARN seeks to digitalize access to Teacher Education so as to boost access to quality education.
The platform offers a wide range of educational resources, including interactive lessons, quizzes, and videos to support the education system in delivering remote and blended learning. It also includes a range of features to facilitate collaboration and communication, such as discussion boards and chat functionality.
The decision to zero rate the platform now implies that the users shall onwards be able to access ULEARN and all its resources without incurring any data charges as long as they are using the MTN network for internet connection.
MTN Foundation's Senior Manager, Bryan Mbassa said during the system demo and training at the National Innovation Hub at the Uganda Institute of Information and Communication Technology that teachers play a critical role in the preparation of learners for their work life but most often require continuous capability development so as to prepare learners for the ever-evolving work ecosystem.
He said the high cost of the internet has also hindered teachers interested in sharpening their skills and knowledge from acquiring the much-needed education.
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"We are therefore very proud as MTN Uganda to partner with the Ministry of Education and Sports and Continuum Financial Group to enable our teachers to get the relevant knowledge and skills required to be passed on to the learners," he said.
He added: "Our aspiration as MTN Uganda is to deliver the benefits of a modern connected world to all the population and sectors across Uganda. We believe in creating leading digital solutions for Africa's progress and accelerating the achievement of this vision needs strategic partnerships like the one we are having now."
In his remarks during the event, Dr John C. Muyingo, the State Minister for Higher Education thanked MTN Uganda for accepting to zero rate the learning platform.
So far, more than 1200 teachers and teacher educators from all over the country have been on-boarded and trained to study and achieve the Certificate in Teacher Education Proficiency (CTEP), a course under Teacher Education Training & Development Department that is designed to enhance their career skill set to be competitive and work more efficiently in an evolving world, through the platform.
Over the years, MTN Uganda has zero-rated access to learning platforms to enable learners to access education. Last year, MTN Uganda partnered with Enabel and the Ministry of Education and Sports to enable teacher trainees subscribed to the MTN network to access the learning portal free of charge.
The telecom company in 2020 zero-rated learning institutions during the coronavirus pandemic, allowing free access to 17 learning sites in partnership with National Curriculum Development Centre to ensure students study from home while also enabling parents to home-school their children.
