"We want to develop our learners to be independent thinkers so that they can be responsible for their lives," said principal Zolani Gosani at the DD Siwisa Higher Primary school's official opening of their computer centre last Friday.
"We want to develop our learners to be independent thinkers so that they can be responsible for their lives," said principal Zolani Gosani at the DD Siwisa Higher Primary school's official opening of their computer centre last Friday.
The event was well attended by officials from the provincial Department of Education, electronic education facilitators, teachers and learners from the school, and the former principal. Gosani addressed the audience and explained how the computer training would begin and the machines would be put to use.
“We are going to start with teachers this year so that they can be able to teach learners and the community,” he said. The school received 15 computers which were donated by the DoE and Nambitha Stofile, the daughter of the man that the school was named after, and wife of the former EC Premier, Makhenkesi Stofile.
The audience was entertained by a choir and traditional dances from DD Siwisa pupils, when Zukiswa Mhlwatika, the school's former principal cut the ribbon that was strung across the computer lab's threshold. Mhlwatika urged her audience to keep on striving to do good, and said that then good things would follow them. “We have been striving for these computers for many years, but today the Lord had showed His grace,” she said.
Dr Elna Barnard, Deputy Chief Education Specialist for Tele-collaborative Teaching at the DoE made it clear that if they combine computers and books, the school will be onto a winning combination. But she warned them: “The school should have anti-virus software because if the school doesn't have, the whole school computer system will crash.”
Passing on knowledge was the order of the day, and a facilitator of the official opening, Nokuzola Doyi said that the education in schools should be transferred from teachers to learners and ultimately onto the wider community. “We are the leaders of our communities, we have to teach all learners how to be advanced,” Doyi said.
