128 Mpumalanga schools introduce coding, robotics

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“That pilot is progressing well and 128 schools, from Grade R to 3 and Grade 7, are currently doing coding and robotics,” Mpumalanga Premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane said on Friday, 1 March when delivering the State of the Province Address (Sopa).

Since 2022, in its quest to improve learner performance, the provincial government has been providing all Grade 12 learners and teachers in Quantile 1 to 3 schools with tablets and laptops respectively.

These devices, the premier said, are loaded with e-content and will be provided this year with an offline application to enable access to learning even outside the four walls of the classroom without data or connectivity.

“This government continues to strengthen e-learning in our schools. This year, the province will introduce the smart schools concept in eight schools where both teachers and learners will utilise technological devices thus making the schools paperless," Mtshweni-Tsipane said.

She said the land for the construction of the proposed School for the Deaf and Blind has been secured at Emalahleni Municipality.

“Once the school is completed, the 250 deaf learners currently studying at Bukhosibetfu Full Service School and the 200 in other special schools will be relocated to the new school."

Job creation

By the end of January 2024, a total of 63, 478 jobs were created through the 21 identified programmes, including the Siyatentela Road Maintenance Programme, Government Nutrition Programme, School Handymen and Tourism Safety Monitors, to name a few.

“Since 2021 and through the Presidential Employment Stimulus, we have trained and created a total of 65, 296 job opportunities for unemployed youth in different schools.

“Since its inception in 2019, the Premier’s Youth Development Fund has disbursed R258m to fund 182 youth-owned enterprises. The funded beneficiaries have created more than 630 jobs in agriculture, mining, manufacturing as well as film and production,” Mtshweni-Tsipane said.