KEY POINTS:
Telecom is terminating its popular School Connection programme, which allows residential customers to "sponsor" a favourite school or pre-school and boost their spending on technology.
Telecom chief operating officer Kevin Kenrick said by 2008 Telecom would have been involved with the sponsorship programme for 15 years and the original objectives of the programme would have been "well and truly" met.
To date, the programme had raised $120 million from the monthly spend of Telecom residential customers, helping their nominated schools keep up-to-date with technology.
Customers earn points based on their monthly Telecom bill. The points are passed on to the nominated school, which can then spend them on computers, printers and cameras, broadband services, professional development courses, or simply pay for a phone line.
"The objectives of the programme were focused on assisting schools into the online age - and thousands of schools across the country are now using broadband, video-conferencing, and digital learning tools as a result of School Connection," Mr Kenrick said.
Telecom had been talking to potential new sponsors about taking on the programme, but no agreement had been reached, he said.
New points could continue to be collected until January 31, with schools and pre-schools given until July 31 next year to spend their accrued points.
The company would shift its sponsorship focus to the Telecom Community Connections programme, which provided support to many major New Zealand charities and not-for-profit organisations, Mr Kenrick said.
- NZPA
