Walking a long distance to school in another village was always a challenging undertaking for Pozisa Manxu who has just relocated to a new school which was recently opened in her community.
The Grade five learner used to leave her home at 6h00 everyday in order to be punctual at school.
Mqokolweni Senior Primary School was officially handed over on 23 August 2013 in the Mthatha area. Deputy Minister Enver Surty handed the school over to the community in an event punctuated with ululations, dance and singing.
“Now my life has been made easy because government has delivered a school in my village,” she said. The Grade five learner stated that because the new school was nearby, she now only leaves home at 7am and does no longer arrive late at school.
Yanga Madolo, a Grade seven learner, who also recently enrolled at the school, said that although his previous school was close to his home, he joined the new school so that he could learn computer skills.
“I had always wished to learn how to use a computer and now I will be able to because the new school has important facilities such as the science laboratory and a computer lab,” said Madolo with excitement. He promised that with the availability of relevant resources his performance will improve for the better this year.
The Eastern Cape communities have been prioritised to receive the new schools because of school infrastructure challenges experienced in the province. Thanks to ASIDI, the challenges of inappropriate structures are becoming fewer and fewer.
The newly built schools come with multimedia libraries and 27 laptops each as well as data projectors which make teaching and learning much more exciting. The interactive nature of the equipment makes it easier for educators to explain complex concepts in the classroom.
The laptops will help learners to access information, tests, images, and question papers while at the same time improving their computer skills.
These developments will eventually contribute towards improved learner performance in the Annual National Assessments. ANA are used to diagnose the level of numeracy and literacy among learners in all public schools.
Most of the schools built are primary schools because the Foundation Phase has been identified as a critical phase in the schooling system. All the new schools are provided with the inclusion of Early Child Development centres, fully equipped with relevant facilities and resources which help learners to relate with the world practically.
A delighted principal, Mrs Mankxo Nomfunzeko, expressing her excitement upon receiving the new school added that learners who had left the village to go to town are expected to come back to the new government built school.
