6'38

 (Filmed Late August '98 in Soweto and Birmingham)

Soweto/Birmingham Internet Link-up Script

00.00 Soweto, in South Africa's Gauteng Province. One of the countries poorest
townships. The economic prospects and standard of life of those who live here
is largely limited by the lack of a good education.

00.13 Poverty keeps many children away from school, but President Nelson
Mandela's Education Initiative, aims to give all children equal access to
school facilities and to improve the quality of educational resources.

00.31 Bringing a better standard of teaching to the classroom, means improving
access to the latest information. So here at the Tembisa High School,
alongside the traditional blackboard, computers are being installed.

00.45 Its one of five schools in the district to be provided with computers
linked up to the Internet. Through the net a direct link has been set up with
five schools in Britain, so the pupils can talk to each other on-line and
swap research information . It's not only improved school work, but it made
more fun too.

1.05 SOT : BOY IN COMPUTER LAB/ SOWETO The internet is very exciting. In many
ways, because now we are able to communicate with other people, hear what they
have to say, their views and every thing. So it also shows us their cultures,
their ways... their life .. the style of their life and everything about them.
So its very exciting. 21 SECS

01.28 Hampstead School in Birmingham is one of the five schools in Britain to
be linked up to the internet as part of the scheme. The students here are
equally excited to make new friends with their colleagues overseas, and to be
able learn about another country and culture first hand.
01.45 SOT: GIRL AT COMPUTER/BIRMINGHAM
It's just exciting because you get to meet different people 3 SECS
01.48 SOT : BOY AT COMPUTER/BIRMINGHAM
It's the end of out year in school and se we've got quite a lot of projects
going on and so we could use help from people like...in other countries... for
Geography and stuff like that. 10 SECS

01.58 The Internet Link-up is funded from a 38 million dollar British Aid
Budget, given to develop education in South Africa. Britain's Secretary of
State for International Development, Clare Short visited Hamstead school to
see it in action. She says it has a key role in improving education.

02.18 SOT: CLARE SHORT, BRITISH MINISTER OF STATE FOR INTERNATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT . "Well we're moving the kind of focus in out work to working
systematically with countries that want to reduce poverty, to education a
whole generation of children. That's profoundly important thing for
development if you can get a whole generation of educated children. And you
can't be looking at a country and not look at the internet and say we're
educated a generation of children. So its part and parcel of that commitment
to big improvements in education across the world. And if our children need it
so do children elsewhere. 20 SECS

02.48 NAT SOUND 'Smile everybody... "click", very good'

02.53 To launch the scheme a live video and audio link was set up, so the
pupils could send pictures and talk to each other directly. The technology is
supplied by Interaid, the British group running the project. Nick Short's
their UK Director.

03.09 SOT: NICK SHORT, DIRECTOR OF INTERAID "I think its a very exciting
potential in that we could see technology if you like leap frogging countries,
that have suffered for many years, by being under developed , leap frog them
into the 21st Century along side schools in Britain or the states. But there's
also an implicit danger that unless we ensure that technology is available to
all schools whether rich or poor, we may well just see an exasperation of the
already existing gap between the have and the have nots. " 26 SECS

03.37 The money to cover the running and repair costs for the Computer Lab in
Tembisha is given by the teacher and parents, in the form of a fee paid to
join the computer club. The facilities are available to every one, but as
Katherine one of the club members explained, not everyone uses them.

03.52 SOT: KATHERINE, PUPIL AT THE TEMBISHA SCHOOL" (PART UNDER LAYED) " They
told us that, this computer centre, if you want to learn it you may come. Its
only 50 Rand. So my parents just paid for me and I came and I learnt
computers. Some they don't have like computers at all but others they wish
they come.. they wish they can come and do computers but its just that the
money of their parents doesn't exist. "
24 SECS

04.16 Of course the teachers benefit too. By using the world wide web they
can access educational materials for use in the classroom. This way the
standard of education is improved even for those who don't use the computers.
Phindi Hlubi of the South African Education Forum believes it will accelerate
development.

04.37 SOT : PHINDI HLUBI EXCUTIVE MEMBER OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN EDUCATIONAL
FORUM. (PART UNDERLAYED.) " Every child even the very teachers pine for
technology, so immediately this thing has got something to so with technology
there is no way our education can not improve. And particularly now that we
are going to be connected with countries outside South Africa. 10 years here
after we will be equal to all other people from all other countries. 25 SECS

05.04 South Africa now accounts for more that 48,000 of the 50,000 Internet
hosts for the whole of the African continent. The schools internet project
aims to further increase the number of internet connections, but also to
encourage more people to make use of its resources. The Headmaster of Tembisa
School, Joseph Tsenase say's people must recognise and use
opportunities like this if the nation is to develop.

05.31 SOT HEAD MASTER MR J OSEPH TSENASE " People must work hard, school must
work hard, schools must change themselves, they must not wait for the
Government to change them. Because the Government will take long,
understandably not critically. As long as people work hard and they have goals there will definitely be a change. in this school as you (can) .. you move
around you'll see that there's a new things that the school together with the
students have implemented which we didn't find here and so I believe ... I have faith in the people of South Africa. They are moving forward.

06.06 Back in Birmingham, the equipment available for most lessons show the
pupils are much better off than their new South African friends. In Soweto,
some fear investment in computers will mean less money for basic needs like
books and sports equipment. But there is faith the internet will improve
education in South Africa, bringing brighter prospects for the nations
development.

06.38 END