Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook has announced that students in Rwanda will benefit from Internet.org’s SocialEDU.
Speaking last night at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, Zuckerberg said SocialEDU is part of Internet.org’s new projects. He described it as “a collaborative online education experience” via mobile.
“Facebook and Nokia which are both members of Internet.org have teamed up with the Government of Rwanda and two domestic carriers to provide free access to educational content on “low-cost” smartphones,” he said.
Under the initiative, EdX will work with Facebook to create an educational app that is integrated with Facebook; Airtel will provide free education data for students in Rwanda who participates in the program for a year; Nokia will provide “affordable” smartphones.
The Government of Rwanda is offering financial support for students to purchase devices and also extending its free WiFi programme to cover the country’s university campuses.
