TNM Offers Zero-Rating Charges for UNIMA

In a bid to assist staff and students to easily access online data for teaching and learning, mobile service provider TNM has stepped in to provide zero rating data for staff and students who are TNM subscribers. Commenting on the development, Acting ICT Director, Ms. Bridget Nyirongo says TNM and UNIMA completed the zero-rating project where TNM subscribers who are either staff or students will be exempted from the data charges within the campus.

Nyirongo further pointed out that the Zero rating of online services for UNIMA means that staff and students will be able to access certain services for free on TNM, as the university transitions towards a blended mode of learning. The development comes at the right time, as the university is seeking for means to ensure the smooth delivery of online lessons in view of the Covid-19 pandemic which has brought about challenges to the traditional face-to-face method of teaching and learning in universities across the globe.

To benefit from the service, students and staff will have to register their numbers. “Both staff and students are expected to submit their TNM numbers through the Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS) for white listing,” Nyirongo says. “Each whitelisted number will be able to access elearning. cc.ac.mw, unima.ac.mw and portal.ac.mw using the whitelisted number without having any data bundle in the TNM card. Data bundle charges will start applying if we start accessing anything outside the above-mentioned sites,” she explains.

She advises those who already submitted their numbers through the HRMIS to try to access the service and provide feedback to ICT. “For those who have not submitted the numbers let us do so, so that we should also try the service out”. The main benefit of this development is that it provides a solution to the current challenges related to the blended mode of learning.