ISPA boosts ICT skills in Limpopo schools

23 June 2010

If there is one set of skills which has become indispensable in the modern world, it is those around information and computer technology. Yet it is just these skills which are sorely inaccessible to the less privileged. That’s something that the Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA) is tackling head on with an innovative programme to deliver intermediate computer literacy training courses at a number of schools in Limpopo Province.

Adopting the philosophy that if you teach people to fish, you feed them for life, ISPA’s courses are moulded around the principle of ‘Train the Teachers’ in order to benefit the children. To this end, some 110 educators have undergone training courses at 11 primary and secondary schools in Mankweng and Mogodumo.

In conjunction with the ‘CoZa Cares’ project of UniForum SA, ISPA has delivered these courses to schools countrywide on an ongoing basis since 2002. To date, some 1 800 teachers have graduated from the programme. Every educator who successfully completes the course receives a certificate, while credits obtained from the training count towards a National Certificate in IT.

The Limpopo courses ran from June 14 to 18, hot on the heels of the March course, in which 150 educators from Limpopo and the North West graduated successfully.

“The ultimate goal of educating the teachers is to ensure that learners leave school equipped with relevant information technology skills. After all, these skills are vital in an increasingly information-driven economy. They are equally critical to national economic growth,” says Fiona Wallace, chairperson of ISPA’s Teacher Training Working Group.

She points out that the absence of teachers with the knowledge to help learners keep abreast of new developments in technology is holding back the country, its people and the economy. “By ensuring that teachers become skilled enough to impart the necessary knowledge to learners, ISPA can help to change this status quo,” she says.

Wallace says the training courses delivered in the past have had a very real impact on the lives of the participating teachers and on their learners. “Often, we find the teachers run after-hours classes for other teachers and students at their schools, as well as for their local communities. This enables an even greater distribution of knowledge, as they pass on the skills they have acquired to a wider audience,” she says.

“The enthusiasm and general appreciation expressed by learners and educators continues to reinforce our commitment to this programme. We therefore look forward to seeing the graduates from this latest course passing on their skills to learners and communities alike,” she concludes.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Schools that were trained from 14 June to 18 June 2010 include the following:

Thokdwanene Sen Primary (host school): 10 educators (Mogodumo)

Thogoa Senior Secondary: 10 educators (Mogodumo)

Mphakayane Primary (host school): 10 educators (Mogodumo)

Sephakabatho Sen Primary: 10 educators (Mogodumo)

Boikhutjong Secondary (host school): 10 educators (Mogodumo)

Serokolo Senyane Primary: 10 educators (Mogodumo)

Makgwadiba Primary School (host school): 10 educators (Mankweng)

Sekitla Secondary School: 10 educators (Mankweng)

Maribe Primary (host school): 10 educators (Mankweng)

Dipong Primary School (host school): 10 educators (Mankweng)

Malesa Primary School: 10 educators (Mankweng)

Total: 110 educators