A software development company announces the launch of a learning management system that enables schools to educate their students online. This system provides schools with the ability to create lessons, tests, and assignments, create virtual classrooms with automated reports.
Founded by Nigel Misi, Amanda Marufu, and Tawanda Chitongo. This management system was created during the countrywide lockdown, following a time of uncertainty of what would become of the education sector during this pandemic. Based on statistics conducted by the Ministry of primary and secondary education in Zimbabwe we have:
902,327 students in Pre-primary, 2,788,693 in Primary, 1,953,352 in Secondary and 1,354,863 in Tertiary institutions. This translates to almost 7 million students who will be out of school during this time.
One of the Founders, Amanda Marufu is quoted as saying, ‘Although this is the first time we have gone through a pandemic, facing economic challenges isn’t something new for our country. Years ago another economic downfall meant I couldn’t continue with my schooling and that is why during this lockdown We’ve worked hard to create a working solution to ensure that for other school kids this would not be the case.’
The SMBLO team came together compelled to develop a working solution by the beginning of the Second Term. The platform was created with simplicity in mind, creating an easy to use solution for everyone regardless of tech proficiency.
Having released preliminary videos on WhatsApp approaching their launch they were able to garner support from parents and schools alike gaining them a total of 1000 registered students.
They have also been in talks with schools in the rural areas of Zimbabwe and are working diligently to create programs that will allow students from low income homes to access the platform while adhering to social distancing. These include Sponsor A Student Program and the development of a data provision system that will give data to the students that need it. At the low price of $1 a month this is a solution that was created to make sure that there is no child left behind in the quest to educate ALL.
