Telkom has invested in a new digital learning hub and upgraded school infrastructure at Molalatladi Primary School in Soweto, combining technology access with improvements to security, learning spaces and basic facilities. The project brings a 40-computer information and communications technology (ICT) laboratory to the school attended by group CEO Serame Taukobong in 1976.

The investment targets challenges that extend beyond internet and computer access. Refurbished classrooms, library and school hall facilities, improved sanitation, security upgrades and support for disadvantaged learners form part of the programme, as South African schools face growing pressure to prepare children for an increasingly digital economy.

For Telkom, the initiative also connects its core business of telecommunications with a wider community development effort. The first phase has been completed, with a second phase planned to extend improvements across the school’s grounds.

Digital facilities meet essential school needs

The Telkom Foundation delivered the project through its Executive Adopt Programme, which provides dedicated funding to initiatives selected by group executives, provided they address needs identified by beneficiary organisations.

Alongside the ICT laboratory and technology hub, the work includes bathroom renovations, minor infrastructure repairs, painting, tiling and refurbishment of the library and school hall.

A roof structure over the assembly area will protect learners and staff from adverse weather, while refurbished external verandas and a repainted perimeter palisade fence are intended to improve safety and functionality.

The school has also received a CCTV surveillance system and a refrigerator for its feeding scheme. Telkom Foundation is donating uniforms and sportswear to learners from disadvantaged households, extending the intervention to children whose access to educational opportunities may be constrained by household finances.

Corporate partners expand the investment

Telkom’s partners are contributing additional equipment and infrastructure to the school. Bidvest supported the installation of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems in the ICT laboratory, while Huawei supplied security cameras and smart interactive screens.

Eskom will install solar panels, and Volkswagen will upgrade the Grade R play area, including a jungle gym. Telkom’s Openserve, Telkom Consumer and BCX teams also contributed to delivering the project.

The planned second phase will move beyond classrooms and technology facilities to address the broader school grounds. Telkom has not disclosed the project’s total financial value or a timetable for the next phase.

A personal connection to Soweto’s education legacy

For Taukobong, the handover carried personal significance. He attended Molalatladi Primary School in 1976, the year of the Soweto Uprising, when students protested against apartheid education policies.

He said the experience was a reminder of the importance of educational opportunity and described the investment as the beginning of what Telkom hopes to achieve at the school.

Taukobong became Telkom’s group CEO on Jan. 1, 2022, after joining the company in June 2018 to lead its Consumer business. Before Telkom, he held senior positions at General Electric Africa and MTN Group, including CEO of MTN Ghana, and earlier worked at Unilever, SAB and M-Net.

Telkom is one of South Africa’s largest telecommunications and information technology companies, with operations spanning mobile services, broadband, fibre infrastructure and enterprise technology.

The Molalatladi project extends that digital focus into the school environment, where access to appropriate equipment and safe learning facilities can help prepare learners for a technology-driven economy.