The Gauteng education
department took their smart education crusade to the Phakamani High School in
Etwatwa in July. The school is now equipped with several smart classes where
grade 12 learners will learn without paper and without a board and chalk.
The crusade is the dream of the incumbent Gauteng education
MEC Panyaza Lesufi’s dream come true. Since he started office he stated that
the paperless education in the province and eventually in the Republic was his
number one priority. However, the initiative has been hampered by safety
measurers where several learners have been robbed of their tablets and some
schools broken into by robbers looking to steal the tablets.
For an educationist at the school the event is what
education needed at this moment. Ngonidzase Chikwape said the smart education
represented one thing: Smart-‘Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realist, Time
oriented’. Her colleague, Simon Tsokota said smart education will change the
mentality of the South African learners. “It will make them more interested in
education because they are already using smart phones anyway, “he said. Like
Chikwape, who presented a class before the mayor of Ekurhuleni Mondli
Gungubele, Tsokota gave a presentation to a class in front of education
district officials and the media.
For the president of the Student Representative Council
(SRC) and a grade 11 learner, Felicia Mabuza, the impact of the smart education
will be a life time experience. She said it will cultivate a positive mind-set
for the learners towards education, especially the grade 12s. “They will also be
relieved of carrying books day-in-day-out,” she chuckled.” Importantly, it will
make education better and the pass rate for the matriculates will improve
immensely.”
Below it is the principal’s, Arnold Letwaba and Gloria Shabalala's, a
learner, speeches during the occasion.
Arnold Letwaba
Programme Directors, Chief Director- Advocate
Mali, District Director, Maureen Mthimunye, councilor(s) present, our ward
councilor, GDE officials, members of
political parties, organised labour, School Governing Body Associations, Members of the faith-based community,
Principals, educators, parents, learners, comrades and friends.
It gives me great pleasure to stand before you
in this grand occasion of the official opening ceremony of this “great” a
school, Phakamani Secondary which is translated as “rise” and whose motto is
“Arise and Shine”.
It is also with a sense of pride and joy that
we gather this morning to officially open this learning institution which gives
an opportunity to our children to receive comprehensive development.
Most of you will recall that this school was
established as a result of serious overcrowding in the area of Etwatwa. The
school started in 2009 with a learner population of 346 and nine educators. In
2010, the school experienced belated birth pains. We went for eight solid
months without electricity. At this moment Chief Director, I want to pay
tribute to my colleagues, who helped us with photocopying, faxing and receiving
phone calls. As the saying says” tough times do not last but tough people do”.
As we are about to complete 18 years as a liberated people, we cannot afford to
neglect the intellectual and social development of our children.
Our children are entitled to access
opportunities which were not available to them before 1994. This calls for
commitment from all of us because this is not the sole responsibility of
government. Parents, teachers, the community, including the religious sector,
have a role to play in this regard. This is therefore a call to make a
difference in the lives of our children.
The stage, at which our learners find
themselves in, is very crucial in their intellectual and social
development. For us at Phakamani, 2013
presents us with great possibilities. We are excited because we will be
presenting our first matric class. For us there is no choice. We simply have to
succeed. We dare not fail.
For us
the sky is not the limit. We want to make sky our home. Chief Director, we know
that talk is very cheap. But we want to assure you that we are prepared to walk
the talk.
The investment that we commit in their
development has long term implications on them as productive and responsible
citizens. This development should never be reduced to children eating, playing
and sometimes sleeping. Appropriate programs that prepare them for school
should be part of their daily activities.
Intellectual stimulation and development of
children is paramount, that is why our Department should ensure that they also
receive health services that will enhance their development.
As teachers instill values and skills which
will equip them for the future, as a community we are called upon to ensure
that they do not fall through the cracks and graduate into victims of abuse, be
it physical or sexual.
It is also our responsibility to ensure that
they grow up being inquisitive and questioning learners/children in order to be
productive citizens of South Africans.
As we say in our rich African culture, by
lending a hand in nurturing and humanizing our children, you are also helping
yourselves and your families. Indeed you are making it possible for all of us
to live in a safe, caring, loving, democratic, value-based and prosperous
society. This is precisely what we mean when we say: Motho ke motho ka batho,
Umuntu ngumuntu ngabanye abantu. You are because we are.
In closing, we want to say this, particularly
to our learners: This is your chance, your golden opportunity. Make the most of
it or live to regret for the rest of your lives.
Working together we can improve the quality of
basic education and make Phakamani Secondary School an object of our pride.
Gloria Shabalala
Allow me to pass my gratitude. Standing here before you today is Gloria Shabalala a grade 11 student that feels proud and honoured to be surrounded by officials from the district office of education. They are here because they have the children’s best interests in the depths of their hearts. As they say, I would like to pass greetings to the honourable headmaster Mr Arnold Letwaba and our school’s Governing Body Mr Morokong, Our guest the Mayor of Ekurhuleni Mr Mondli Gungubele, the district Director Mrs Morin Mthimunye and all our guests today. You are all welcomed with peace and tranquility and you are kindly greeted.
Today we are grateful
to celebrate the success of our education district; not only did they make a
promise to better our educational environment, but they also kept it in the
most amazing way. They have given us a
legacy that we the students of Phakamani and all the schools in the Gauteng
will continue to appreciate. We never
thought that we, as Grade 11 students, will finish grade 12 in possession of
drivers’ licenses and neither did we see it coming that our matriculants will
be having smart boards, smart tablets and smart classes. Being in such an
educational environment will ensure that the process of learning is continuous
and that our matriculants produces results that are smart since everything they
have start with ‘smart’. Who would have
thought that learning in a smart and paperless world is where neither textbooks
nor exercise books are required? It is a
world where either black boards or chalk are used but rather a world where one
uses vision and explores the world of touching and seeing. After all blackboards and chalks where used
by our mothers and grannies, why should we be called the ‘new generation’ if we
still use the old tactics of learning?
Our MEC of education
Mr Panyaza Lesufi has brought us change; he improved our world of
learning. They have installed extra
security to keep our smart classes as safe and secured. At least now ore mothers will have nothing to
complain about when it concerns tax paying and voting. Matric student are
expected to perform splendidly and produce results in such a manner that they
stand to represent a token of appreciation to the district and their plan to
improve and better our world of education. As for former president who is now at rest
once said, education is the most powerful weapon one can use to change the
world.
It’s our
responsibility to make sure that we sage guard, protect and nurture these
improvements because they are aimed at helping us realise our dreams.
To our Ekurhuleni
District community we are honoured to be under your leadership and we shall
forever show gratitude by making sure that the legacy continues to reach the
next generation.
We are powerful
beyond measure and with the department of education we are shining bright.
Phakamani High is
now shinning and we are definitely shining.
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| District Director, Maureen Mthimunye with some of the learners |
Felicia Mabuza
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| Chief District officer Alison Bengton-Mali, district director Maureen Mthimunye, SGB chairperson SM Khumalo and the school principal Arnold Letwaba with Felicia Mabuza |
