(a) No. The Department did not do a cost analysis and comparison. The procurement and provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) for schools is a provincial function whose performance lies with Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) and not with the National Department of Basic Education.
(b) The Department of Basic Education has developed a Comprehensive Plan to provide learners and teachers with digitized Learning and Teaching Support Material (LTSM) loaded on ICT devices. Different types of ICT gadgets will be provided to learners and teachers in the Primary as well as Secondary schools across all nine provinces. This included assistive devices for learners living with disabilities. Based on the cost analysis of the current contracts that are available in the market, it will cost the government more than R30 Billion to rollout the project. To promote access, the department is considering providing discounted data bundles to learners to complement connectivity provided using other technologies.