By TINTSWALO BALOYI
JOHANNESBURG – PUBLIC and private sector collaborations are key for the upliftment of underprivileged schools.
This has been the prevailing theme as the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) celebrates five years of partnership with Adopt-a-School (AAS) Foundation and the Department of Education.
A formal event has been held in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga.
The three schools IDC has adopted in Mpumalanga have improved their annual pass rates by an average of 20 percentage points, giving thousands of underprivileged learners educational opportunities that will allow them to overcome their impoverished circumstances.
Makhosana Manzini High in the rural village of Calcutta, situated on the edge of the Kruger National Park, is among schools to benefit.
Over the last five years, science and computer laboratories have been renovated, ablution facilities revamped and a new administration facility built.
In addition to improving the school’s physical infrastructure, training and support programmes have been facilitated for both educators and learners.
Skills as well as career guidance and personal empowerment are covered during these sessions. Learners and educators have received supplementary support in mathematics and physical science.
This partnership has built a platform for meaningful collaborative investment.
In 2016, the Nelson Mandela Foundation provided library books for Mapaleni’s new library as part of the Mandela Day Library Initiative.
The new ICT centres at both schools were implemented in partnership with Wipro Technologies, who made a significant contribution of software and hardware for the facilities.
Lehlasedi High School, a rural school near Bushbuckridge, has also benefitted from the construction of a science laboratory, six new classrooms and the implementation of a range of support and training programmes for both learners and educators.
Geoffrey Qhena, CEO of the IDC, says unemployment among the youth is an ongoing challenge in South Africa with nearly half of people aged 15 to 24 years old currently unemployed.
“A lack of educational attainment is a major contributing factor to this challenge, and one of the ways of addressing this is through the kind of sustained intervention we have achieved in our partnership with Adopt-a-School,” says Qana.
Steven Lebere, Executive Director at Adopt-a-School, is looking forward to continuing the successful partnership with the IDC and Mpumalanga’s education department.
“Making further progress in uplifting South Africa’s next generation. We are extremely proud of what has been achieved so far and grateful to our partners for their invaluable contributions to this effort,” says Lebere.
Government has hailed progress made by the IDC, Adopt-a-School collaboration.
“We welcome all committed stakeholders to join our efforts to take forward the cause of education transformation in our country,” says Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga.
– Guardian