Nie Cele
Nokuzola Ngubane
Any donation makes a difference!!! This old English adage sums up cheerfulness, bliss, gratefulness and optimism that prevailed at Ratasetjhaba Primary Farm School in Meyerton north of Vereeniging Gauteng.
This joy was triggered by none other than one of the ICT leading company Rectron who pampered the school with a fully fledged tecnolab, information and communications technology (ICT) equipment valued at over R200 000.
To crown this positive gesture and the cherry on top is that Rectron will also renovate the school’s ablution systems and other ailing structures in the near future.
The technolab auspicious handover event was attended by staff, more than a dozen well-wishers and government officials from the Education district office and Rectron’s CEO Spencer Chen.
In a terse statement Rectron is on record arguing that Limited access to digital technology and a lack of training in digital literacy are barriers to bridging the digital divide for South African youth and enhancing educational outcomes in the country.
Rectron also revealed it has selected the RatasetjhabaPrimary Farm School in Meyerton, Gauteng, as the fourth partner in its CSI programme, named Progressive Educational Upliftment or PEU. Meaning ‘seed’ in Setswana. PEU aims to plant the seed of education within South Africa’s youth, empowering their futures through digital literacy.
The company’s Chief of People, Kutlwano Rawana told the audience they were at the school to plant the seed of education in the community that surrounds them.
“This is a plantation aimed at improving children’s lives. With Rectron’s technological capabilities, it is our responsibility to positively impact education within South Africans. With the way our world is changing and how we operate, it is essential that our children become empowered through digital learning and are prepared for a digital future.
“Through PEU, we want our branches to take a hands-on approach, monitoring the success of our ICT donation and looking for additional ways we can make a positive impact on these schools and surrounding communities.
“We have renamed and refocused our CSI initiative to better reflect the intention behind the programme and to ensure that all Rectron employees and staff were included within the process. We wanted all employees to be a part of selecting the new name, objective and purpose behind the PEU initiative.
“South Africa’s youth are key to transforming our economy, boosting growth and fostering creativity and innovation. Given that technology is transforming jobs, industries and entire economies, it is essential to digitally empower our youth,” she said.
Circuit Manager and former Head of the school Agnes Matlare gave a moving brief history of the school and reminisced about its past hardships.
School Principal Goitsemang Mokele told the audience as staff they were grateful for everything and the donation was going usher a new world for the school learners.
“We truly appreciate what Rectron has done for us. We promise to give Rectron feedback so that they can measure the impact of the computer lab at our school.
”We are extremely excited these computers will make a big impact on our learner’s performance,” she said.
Chief Director of Education in Sedibeng, Victor Thetha told guests one of the principles of teaching and learning is prompt feedback.
“We are living in a fourth industrial society where the use of media and technology gadgets is very important. This donation will enhance our e learning programme.
“We will make sure the lab is put to good use and show that there is also a lot of talent in these learners,” Thetha pointed.
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DID YOU KNOW?
- According to Stats South Africa 70% South African youth between the ages of five and 24 years do not have access to laptop or computer at home.
- Rectron’s CSI programmed is called Progressive Educational Upliftment (PEU) meaning ‘seed’ in Setswana.
- ICT equipment and state-of-the-art Technolabs have also been donated to Tshelenkosi Secondary School in KwaZulu-Natal, and The Koot Niemann Primary School in the Free State earlier this year.
THIS COMPANY SAYS !
“As a leading distributor of ICT equipment, we are responsible for creating trusted partnerships to make people’s lives better. We plan to build a long-term partnership with the schools in the PEU programme, providing additional support in the future.
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“We remain committed to the development of people from previously disadvantaged communities and hope to introduce additional bursary opportunities for grade 12 learners, as well as invite students to join our Skills Development Programme.”
