Galeshewe – Learners at Emang Mmogo Comprehensive School in Galeshewe in the Northern Cape will now find the subject of science a whole lot more interesting now that their school boasts a laboratory.
The science laboratory was officially handed over to the learners and community on Tuesday as part of South African National Parks’ (SANParks) corporate social investment programme initiated to support community development, educational infrastructure and enterprise development amongst other things.
Prior to the new laboratory, the school was using one of the classrooms as the laboratory with no water or materials and, according to learner Gaolatlhe Moemedi, they relied only on textbooks to learn the subject.
“With the new laboratory we will be able to do experiments and practicals,” the Grade 11 pupil told SAnews.
Northern Cape MEC for Education Griselda Cjiekella thanked SANParks for the laboratory, saying it was an important tool for learners.
“Students must be exposed to science-related subjects. Science gives learners more opportunities,” she said.
Cjiekella called on the private sector companies to partner with the provincial government in improving education. “Government alone cannot succeed,” she said.
SANParks is also committed to a five-year partnership with the Northern Cape Education Department to provide mobile library services to schools in the province.
SANParks Managing Executive Dr Nomvuselelo Songelwa said the first mobile bus and learning materials are expected to be handed over in February 2014. “We will provide one mobile library bus per annum for the next five years to the province,” she said.
School principal Hilton Brooker told SAnews that he hoped the laboratory would in turn increase the science pass rate from 48 percent to 70 percent. “We hope the learners will do much better,” he said.
SANParks has in the past done a similar initiative in Mbaula village in Limpopo and in Mpumalanga.
According to Songelwa, plans are underway for a similar initiative in the Eastern Cape and in other parts of the country. – SAnews.gov.za
