By Foday Moriba Conteh
Orange Sierra Leone in its commitment to give support to the educational sector, evident in its various interventions has on 4 April 2020 in collaboration with the Ministry of Basic and Senior Education launched free zero rated educational portals to schools and universities countrywide during the Coronavirus period. This move was undertaken to fill in the vacuum that has been created within the educational sector as the global pandemic has made it very precarious for pupils and students to be together in one place as one of the key preventive measures of keeping the virus from spreading is to avoid large crowds or convergence.
It is indeed a known fact that schools and colleges are currently indefinitely closed which is why Orange SL and the Ministry of Basic and Senior Education thought it fit to offer FREE browsing on several learning sites such as the Ministry of Education Online Classroom, Wikipedia, Khan Academy Open2Study and many more.
“Amidst the robust precautionary measures implemented by the Government in mitigating further spread of the Coronavirus outbreak in Sierra Leone, Orange Sierra Leone stands in solidarity with the Nation during this very difficult time and commits to Support the Government in the fight against this Global Pandemic,” Orange Sierra Leone CEO, Aminata Kane intimated adding further how the Company remains committed to providing quality, efficient and viable telecommunications service to complement the Government’s effort and to meet the growing demand of its valued customers at this critical time.
She said with these facilities accessible to all, student and pupils in Sierra Leone can now access many listed education sites and materials for free by visiting: http://www.orange.sl/personal/1/101/orange-education-2986.html
Additional Links to be Zero Rated
https://www.ibm.com/it-infrastructure/z/education/master-the-mainframe https://my15.digitalexperience.ibm.com/b73a5759-c6a6-4033-ab6b-d9d4f9a6d65b/dxsites/151914d1-03d2-48fe-97d9-d21166848e65/home https://www.ibm.com/skills/students/
https://www.harvard.edu/about-harvard/frequently-asked-questions/faq-free-courses
https://www.open.edu/openlearn/
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dotedu.usl
Links from the Law Society Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone – MTHE Approval
The company is also supporting local communities through donation of Personal Protective Equipment and it was made known that coordinating with the Ministry of Information and Communication, the Company has zero rated the following sites, Ministry of Information and Communication http://www.mic.gov.sl, World Health Organization https://www.who.int/, and the Center for Disease and Control Prevention https://www.cdc.gov/ , to ensure customers get FREE access to accurate and correct information on the precautions against Coronavirus.
Furthermore, Orange SL in partnership with the Ministry of Information and Communications is currently undertaking an intensive and robust sensitization on the prevention and awareness of Coronavirus to the last village by ensuring that;
- The Company’s digital platforms are updated on a daily basis with accurate tips update on the coronavirus,
- The dissemination of reminder SMS at least once a day to all our customers to ensure precautionary actions are followed.
- The development and circulation of short videos in our local languages on the precautionary measures of the disease.
- The creation of a caller ring back tone in Krio aimed at educating customers about coroner virus as well as sensitizing customers on its preventive measures.
Furthermore, the Management of the company places importance on mobile financial services claiming that such could not be over emphasized during this period. In that light the company is encouraging cashless transactions via Orange Money for the purchase of voice & data bundles as well as payment of utility bills as it not only guarantees ease of doing business but ensures safety from the transmission of the virus through cash.
Management of the telecommunications entity assures all of Orange Sierra Leone’s commitment to provide uninterrupted, high quality telecommunication services during this period and is encouraging all to be cautious and to adhere to all Government directives and health guidelines to prevent further spread of the virus in Sierra Leone.
