Phembindlela Primary School in Vukuzakhe Township recently received a new computer centre thanks to a partnership by General Electric South Africa and Eskom.
The companies invested over half a million Rand through Non-profit organisation S.A Medical and Education Foundation, who implemented the project on behalf of the donors. The project was unveiled in celebration of Mandela Month on 31 July 2019.
âWe are living in a time of accelerated technological change and progress, labeled as the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This technological disruption is a major cause of structural unemployment and a factor when dissecting or analysing the current underperforming South African economy. The onset of the fourth industrial revolution requires a different skillset to drive the economy and compete effectively, hence the focus on STEM subjects and careers. With this considered, only four out of ten (40.9%) public schools possess a fully equipped computer laboratory in South Africa. â Said Tyrone Pols, Project Manager at SAME.
The school is a quintile-two ranked school and a home of learning for learners with special needs and disabilities. Young South Africans have been encouraged to become more involved in the ICT sector, though for learners at disadvantaged schools, it remains a foreign concept as they have no access to computer labs as was the scenario at Phembindlela Primary School.
The new Computer lab will afford learners at Phembindlela an opportunity to become computer literate and realise their aspirations.
âThe school is ecstatic to be receiving such a generous and much-needed gift. We are so happy for all the work General Electric, Eskom and SAME Foundation have done and we can now start producing learners who are computer literate and able to contribute towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution.â Stated Thuli Mavuso, Deputy Principal of Phembindlela Primary School.
The S.A Medical & Education Foundation is a South African non-profit organisation that undertakes high impact community development projects.
