Ulwazi Senior Secondary School in Mdantsane is rebuilding its computer facilities after suffering a devastating break-in.
The school received a donation of computers from the Daily Dispatch on Wednesday, with the equipment set to be installed in a classroom as it works towards restoring its former computer laboratory.
Acting principal Mluleki Gashe said the theft had left the school’s more than 2,000 pupils without access to computers, creating difficulties for both teaching and the school’s administration.
Before the donation, the school had been left with just one computer, which it used for administrative purposes.
Gashe said the school would now bring in technicians to install and configure the donated equipment, while arrangements were being made to expose its pupils to basic computer skills.
The school does not offer Computer Applications Technology (CAT) as a subject at present, but Gashe said the pupils would still benefit from being taught basic computer literacy.
“Learners will benefit because [we] will hire someone who is going to do the basic computer skills with the learners, so that when they get to university, they know the basics of a computer,” he said.
School governing body member Vuyokazi Sibogana said: “As a black child, in fact, as a mother who was once a student in one of the schools here in Mdantsane, we never had computers at our schools.
“As a result, when we went to university, we had to start different courses because we had no idea of how the computer works.”
The Daily Dispatch donation forms part of Ubuntu Media Holdings’ corporate social investment initiatives, according to Yondela Ndlebe, of the newspaper’s marketing department.
“As the Daily Dispatch, we believe our role extends beyond telling stories about our communities.
“Where we can, we want to be part of creating positive stories too.”
Ndlebe said the Dispatch had decided to select Ulwazi because of its academic record and the progress it had made over the years.
“We believe that this donation will help students to study, navigate technology and be exposed to it.”
The theft targeting the fully equipped computer laboratory added impetus to wider concerns about crime around schools in the area.
However, the situation has since improved, with a community forum providing security around schools around the clock.
Grade 10 pupil Lunike Gabathi said the computers would help her conduct research on work she did not understand in class and improve her vocabulary.
“I want to become a doctor,” she said.
Daily Dispatch
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