Chronicle Editor
Mthabisi Tshuma at Thekwane, Bulilima
FOUR schools in Bulilima district have received a shot in the arm with a consignment of Information Communication Technology (ICT) related equipment which was donated by the Postal Telecommunications Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) and the Ministry of ICT, Postal and Courier Services.
The four schools are Thekwane High School, Bezu Primary School, Nyabane Primary School and Matjinge High School.
Thekwane High School received 30 computers, a printer and whiteboards while the other three schools received 10 computers each, a printer and whiteboards.
Thekwane High School which was celebrating 100 years of existence also had its computer laboratory renovated to meet the modern setups of computer laboratories.
The handover ceremony was graced by the Minister of Defence and War Veterans Cde Oppah Muchinguri who stood in for President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Also present at the event was Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Dr Evelyn Ndlovu, Minister of Industry and Commerce Mangaliso Ndlovu, ICT Deputy Minister Dingumuzi Phuti, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Deputy Minister Omphile Marupi, Defence and War Veterans Deputy Minister Retired General Levi Mayihlome, Zanu PF politburo members, central committee members and senior Government officials.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, Minister Muchinguri said the pupils should keep the ICT equipment in good shape and use it to develop themselves.
“This donation is a very important contribution in uplifting your lives as students and in this day and age, there is nothing you can do if you don’t have the requisite knowledge in ICT.
“We thank the President for this donation to the schools that benefited and l am impressed by the young lady here who is saying she is using the computer to research more about being a robotics engineer. Gone are the days where women were seen to be accustomed to professions like being a nurse and staying home. Continue to dream big students,” said Minister Muchingura.
ICT Deputy Minister Cde Phuti hailed Potraz for changing the face of the Thekwane High School computer laboratory and said the donation is meant to improve the schools’ pass rates.
“Last week the laboratory was far different from what it is now. The computer laboratory has been renovated completely to have a suspended ceiling and has been modernised to have cables running under the tiles.
“The laboratory is equipped with 30 laptops as per the standard e-learning strategy that was approved at Cabinet. The service providers is Telone and bandwidth will be free for a year courtesy of the President’s vision. Learners are going to benefit a lot and we look forward to improvement in terms of pass rate as they have had a challenge of lack of computers as they used their own personal ones and this is a windfall,” said Cde Phuti.
Potraz Director Technical Services Mr Baxton Sirewu said as an organisation they will continue to equip schools with ICT equipment as they work closely with the Government to ensure a digital economy and close the gap between the rural-urban schools by 2030.
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