Big dreams after big switch on
All matriculants at Progress Secondary School in Soweto, today (Tuesday) have vowed to pass their 2015 examinations so that the entire school can be connected to the paperless classroom system.
The 171 learners made the commitment to the Gauteng Infrastructure Development (GDID) MEC Nandi Mayathula-Khoza who switched on the smart paperless classroom at the school. This was as part of the 376 schools switched by the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) in schools across the province today.
School Principal Maggie Makgopa said school has more than 1 200 learners mostly from the nearby informal settlements of Chicken Farm, Slovo in the nearby Kliptown and Freedom Park at Develand.
“The majority of our learners come from poor households and many of them are from child-headed households. This (paperless Classroom) will go a long way in assisting them to complete their education and change their personal circumstances,” said Makgoba.
MEC Mayathula-Khoza described the launch as a historic moment.
“We are equipping each learner with a tablet, each teacher with a laptop, each classroom with a laptop and interactive smart board. These schools will experience for the first time state of the art technology to support effective teaching and learning in class.
“The resources that government has invested in the project shall militate towards a truly non-racial and inclusive education system. Technology as a game changer will assure equity to any learner irrespective of their race, class or gender,” Mayathula-Khoza said.
She said the GPG prioritised transformation, modernisation and re-industrialisation (TMR) as its strategic pillars.
“To realise this vision, the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) launched its first seven ICT schools in January 2015 and they were termed “schools of the future”. This programme has revolutionised township education. The package for the seven pilot schools included connectivity, devices, content, training, maintenance and support, security and refurbishment of infrastructure.
“The intention is to rollout to all the remaining schools, with a particular focus on township schools by 2019. We are now at phase 2 of the programme targeting the following set of schools; all matric classes in no fee paying schools; township schools that achieved 100% matric pass rate in 2014; Schools that have been approved for twinning and special intervention schools,” said MEC Mayathula-Khoza.
The phase two covers 376 schools, 1800 classrooms, 56 000 learners and 351 educators. The plan is to progressively expand the programme to other public schools in the next remaining four years of the term of government. The beneficiaries are mainly learners from the previously disadvantaged communities.
For enquiries contact:
Mr. Mbangwa Xaba: MEC Mayathula-Khoza Spokesperson
Cell: 072 447 6582
E-mail: mbangwa.xaba@gauteng.gov.za.
