Bulawayo school’s coding innovation impresses education minister

PRIMARY and Secondary Education Minister Torerai Moyo has said the Government is charmed by innovations at Bulawayo’s Charleston Trust Primary School which recently introduced coding as a learning area, from Grade 1.

Minister Moyo visited the school last Thursday as part of his ongoing tour of schools in the country.

He was accompanied by senior officials in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education.

Minister Moyo was taken through the coding lesson for Grade 1 classes, where he observed learners actively learning practical aspects.

He directed that the school be included in schools that are set to be awarded the Ministry’s innovation award while stating that its novelty has caught the attention of the Speaker of Parliament Advocate Jacob Mudenda.

“I don’t remember seeing this school, please include them so that they have an innovation award. What is happening here is excellent. The Honourable Speaker of Parliament, I went with him to Tynwald High School just last week and he expressed his interest to come and visit this school because he has noticed that you are doing very well,” he said.

“We visited this school because we want to associate with the best. As a Ministry, we have heard of the innovations that you are doing as far as coding is concerned. We felt we should come here and also partner with you and also learn what you are doing. It is so exciting to observe learners practicing coding.”

Minister Moyo said it was important for the education sector to embrace information communication technologies.

He said as the Ministry embarks on curriculum review, there is a need to embrace tools of the fourth industrial revolution including robotics, coding, and artificial intelligence.

“As a Ministry, we are heading in that direction, you are far ahead in terms of innovations. In some schools in the high-density suburbs, and in the rural areas, they have not started coding, nor have they started robotics. So we are saying well done to you for this initiative. As you are reviewing the curriculum we feel that these are the issues that we need to embrace skills of robotics, coding, artificial intelligence, this is the direction we must take. We have seen that at the school you are doing exceptionally well. Very few schools are competing as far as robotics, artificial intelligence and coding,” he said.