Mthatha - All schools should have laboratories and learners should be able to use gadgets like Ipads for learning and communicating, Deputy Minister of Communications Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams said on Thursday.
Speaking to SAnews after handing over television sets and HD decoders to two rural Eastern Cape rural, the deputy minister said government will be investing heavily in technology for disadvantaged schools.
This was part of a broader plan to improve learner and teacher performance.
“Our children cannot continue to learn the way we did. We are introducing technology in schools and we are saying to learners they should take advantage of the communication revolution so they can make a meaningful contribution to South Africa’s economy and uplift their communities,” she said.
The deputy minister visited the JS Skenjana Senior Secondary School, situated in Idutywa, as well as the Milton Mbekela Junior Primary in Qunu to hand over OpenView HD satellite television set installations as part of National Imbizo Focus Week.
The platform features various learning channels and is expected to enhance learning and enable learners to be part of the digital global village. To complement this initiative, Vodacom has sponsored the schools with web boxes for internet access and connectivity.
Ten other schools have already received the equipment in recent months.
The Milton Mbelela School is located near the late former President Nelson Mandela’s home in Qunu and locals here said the donations were a fitting gift for the village which will join millions of people on Friday to mark the international icon’s birthday.
Various activities are planned in Qunu and nearby Mvezo village to mark the International Nelson Mandela Day.
Deputy Minister Ndabeni-Abrahams urged school learners to heed government’s call for to clean up on Friday, as the President requested in his State of the Nation Address earlier this year.
“We are saying to every young person, you must come out in your numbers and heed the call from our President to clean up, let us do it for tata Mandela. We want you to be proud of South Africa and the places you live in. The least you can do is to spend time improving conditions in your communities,” Deputy Minister Ndabeni-Abrahams said.
President Jacob Zuma will spend Friday in Mvezo where he will be participating in several initiatives to mark Mandela Day, including a visit to the Nelson Mandela School of Science and Technology and the opening of the Mvezo Komkhulu Museum. – SAnews.gov.za
