Online Reporter
Johnsias Mutonhori, Midlands Correspondent
MINERS for Economic Development (Miners4ED) has donated Starlink kits to six communal schools in Zvishavane District, as part of efforts to bridge the digital divide between rural learning institutions and their urban counterparts.
The donations were handed over on Thursday and included laptops, printers and whiteboards.
The kits have become a game-changer for the community, which previously lagged behind in terms of Internet access, putting learners and teachers at a disadvantage.
The donation responds to the Government’s call for a digital economy and President Mnangagwa’s philosophy of “leaving no one and no place behind.”
Learners and teachers from benefitting schools have described the donation as a much-needed initiative that has come at the right time.
“Network was a big challenge in this area and for us teachers, it made our job so difficult, especially with the new heritage-based education curriculum,” said Ms Vongai Mutema, head of Mapanzure Primary School.
“As teachers, we need to research extensively, communicating with students and our board, Zimsec.
“This requires strong internet and prior to this initiative we would travel to Zvishavane town to send or be able to download documents that were required by our employer and stakeholders.”
Learners said without access to technology, it was unfair for them to compete with other schools with better Internet access.
“The ground has not been level and it was disheartening because at the end of the day, Zimsec does not consider the location of the school when allocating marks.
“Heritage-based education requires us to contact more research, especially on the part of projects and I’m optimistic that better internet connectivity will make learning fascinating,” said Tanyaradzwa Madzimure, a learner from Shonhai Secondary School.
Internet connection has become a need in today’s learning processes and the donation has become the latest technology in bridging the gap between rural and urban communities.
Miners4ED National chairman, Cde Danford Suntile, said the initiative marked the beginning of their ambition to connect all rural schools to the Internet.
“As Miners4ED, we are committed to partner Government in all development initiatives. We’re guided by the vision of President Mnangagwa and national development goals,” he said.
“So, this initiative is a direct response to the vision of digital economy and rural industrialisation. We can’t speak about digital economy when the rural population is not connected to the internet, while they constitute a greater margin of our population. We can’t also speak about rural industrialisation when rural folks are not connected to the internet, because business and commerce has become digital,” Cde Suntile said.
“We are hoping to spread this initiative across Zimbabwe so that no one will be left out of the digital economy.”
Miners4ED deputy chairman Cde Edmund Kucherera applauded the Government’s open-door policy, enabling Private-Public Partnerships (PPPs) on development programmes.
“As Miners4ED, we’ve a good working relationship with the Government. On this programme, we got support from the Ministry of ICT through its able Minister Tatenda Mavetera. I’m optimistic that this development-oriented relationship will enable us to achieve more,” he said.
The schools that benefitted from the donation include Dambudzo Secondary, Lundi Primary, Shonhai Secondary, Sinami Primary, Mabhazuli Primary and Govarizadze Secondary.
