A description of the school.za name space
=========================================

Schools are encouraged to register a domain within the school.za name space as it gives schools a logical, descriptive name on the Internet that is easy to remember. 

Once registered, their Internet address will remain the same, no matter which service provider they use, or what connection technology they choose to use, whether it be dial-up, leased line, wireless or what ever medium.

DNS registrations are handled as a free service to all schools in South Africa, and registrations are generally taken care of within 24 hours after submitting a DNS update.  Jaco Engelbrecht has handled DNS registrations in the school.za name space on a voluntary basis since 2000 on behalf of SchoolNet SA.  SchoolNet SA (SNSA) is a Section 21 not-for-profit company which develops the use of ICTs in schools in South Africa. 

Internet Service Providers and schools wanting to register domains within the school.za name space should email dns-updates@school.za to register or update their domain or visit the school.za DNS web site at http://www.school.za/dns/ for more information on what technical and administrative details are required to register a domain.

To give you some statistics: there are about 2300 names registered in school.za, under nine provincial subdomains (e.g. gp.school.za). A significant number of these are domains registered for the SchoolMail service, which is a dialup multi-user email service provided by SchoolNet (started in 1998, with the startup costs sponsored by Uniforum). 

Future plans include development of a WHOIS system and web based DNS registration system, and possibly a review of the registration policy, allowing 2nd level domain registrations.


Jaco Engelbrecht
bje@schoolnet.org.za

Stephen Marquard
scm@schoolnet.org.za