South Africa: Lost or Locked in Cupboards - Inside the R686-Million Eastern Cape Matric Tablet Programme

What the report says

GroundUp, republished by AllAfrica, reports that the Eastern Cape education department’s R686-million matric tablet programme has largely broken down by the start of the 2026 school year. The initiative, launched in 2025, was meant to supply about 54,000 Grade 12 learners in the province with tablets and monthly data, but schools contacted by the journalists said the devices are now mostly stored, damaged or locked away rather than in use.

The article says the programme was intended to support matric learners, especially at no-fee schools, with preloaded study materials and 50GB of data each month. However, some schools reportedly did not receive enough tablets, and the department’s own delivery figures showed that not all promised devices reached learners. The report also says data provision stopped for months in 2025, including during key exam periods, and that many tablets were not returned at year-end.

GroundUp says it spoke to 12 schools across the Eastern Cape and found none still running the programme as designed. Teachers and principals described missing chargers and SIM cards, damaged devices, and tablets that became unusable after learners loaded unsupported apps. The story also notes that the department and contractor MTN did not answer several questions about repairs, monitoring, recoveries or how many devices remain active.

The reporting matters because it raises questions about oversight, procurement and the practical value of a large public technology rollout aimed at improving exam readiness. As a general matter, school tablet programmes depend on reliable support, monitoring and maintenance; this report suggests those safeguards may not have been in place or were not effectively used.