OVERVIEW Education and
OVERVIEW Education and training New technologies are being introduced to classrooms. SECTOR INSIGHT Verulam is a robotics hotspot. Mthobisi Mthiyane, centre, sees his work come to light with Frans Kalp from Ligbron, right, and his teacher, Mr Magwaza, at the Emkhayideni Technical High School in Richards Bay. The public and private sectors are putting resources into new technologies and methodologies in the education sector. Online technology is being deployed to assist with mathematics and science teaching in five rural schools in KwaZulu-Natal. With the financial assistance of packaging and paper company Mondi, the Ligbron e-Learning System has been rolled out since 2017, helping nearly 4 000 pupils. Kwanxusa High School near Melmoth was the first school in the Mondi footprint to receive the infrastructure and software training needed to join the Ligbron e-Learning System and the most recent addition to the programme is Emkhayideni Technical High School near Richards Bay, which was launched in 2023 together with Mondi’s partner, SiyaQhubeka Forests. The distance-learning project was conceived in 2008 by Frans Kalp, deputy principal of Ligbron Academy. It connects schools all over South Africa to an online learning network, whereby Ligbron coordinates the live streaming of clear, concise mathematics and science lessons to schools that would otherwise not have this access. With those two subjects being important careers in forestry and engineering, Mondi also offers bursaries to academic performers from areas where it has operations. Two high schools in Verulam have become hotspots for robotics teaching, thanks to a R1.6-million investment by the Shoprite Foundation. Mountview and Verulam Secondary Schools in Verulam have robotics laboratories and course work has been prepared by SIFISO Edtech, along with robotics kits, teaching material and training. This represents the first phase of a technology initiative which the Foundation is planning to roll out across South Africa. Microcontrollers, actuators and gyroscopes are among the items that are part of the modular kits that allow pupils to build their own machines. The Shoprite Foundation also donated laptop computers and tablets. Shoprite’s Class Of initiative supports one pupil in each province to the value of R100 000 in school fees and the supermarket group also runs a bursary programme for students studying accounting, criminology, IT, logistics and supply chain and retail business management. Shoprite also offers these students work experience. Eleven high schools in the Mondlo/Vryheid area have been given access to a new online learning portal called Lightbulb. In May 2024, the Telkom Foundation and Lightbulb Edtech launched the mobile learning management system and service which has been specially developed to cater for high-school pupils. The programme, which has been initiated in several other KWAZULU-NATAL BUSINESS 2024/25 40 PHOTO: Mondi
OVERVIEW provinces as well as KwaZulu-Natal, offers a wide choice of subjects in which support is available, including English, Afrikaans, mathematics, natural science, physical science, geography, history and accounting. In the state sector, an e-learning infrastructure programme was launched at a primary school in the Harry Gwala District. The programme will be rolled out to other rural areas throughout the province. Digital access will allow pupils in remote areas to be connected to the best teachers in the province. The first school in KwaZulu-Natal to focus exclusively on maths, science and technology opened in 2021 when the Anton Lembede Mathematics, Science and Technology Academy was launched. A three-pathways approach has been adopted for future educational planning. Three broad streams can be followed: academic, technical/ vocational and technical/occupational. Within that structure, various schools of excellence will be established: an Agricultural School of Excellence in uMgungundlovu District, a Maritime School of Excellence and a School of Autism. More than 200 schools have been earmarked to offer Coding and Robotics as part of the curriculum in Grades 8 and 9. A pilot programme teaching entrepreneurship was piloted in 2021 in the King Cetshwayo District. Tertiary sector KwaZulu-Natal has nine Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges with a total enrolment of about 80 000. Coastal KZN TVET College gives students practical experience through facilities such as the Nongalo Industrial Park. The college hosts the Samsung Engineering Academy, a Tooling Centre of Excellence and a manufacturing plant for sanitary towels. The college has several sites on the South Coast and caters for 15 400 students. Majuba TVET College is a Centre of Specialisation for boilermaking. The Mnambithi TVET College is located in the Battlefields Route tourism area and offers National Diploma courses in tourism, among other qualifications. A satellite campus operates at Estcourt. uMfolozi TVET College runs an Installation, Repair and Maintenance (IRM) Hub in Mandeni. There are two universities and two universities of technology in KwaZulu-Natal, and the national distance university, the University of South Africa (Unisa), has a presence in five locations. USB Executive Development offers business courses for executives. ONLINE RESOURCES KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education: www.kzneducation.gov.za National Research Foundation: www.nrf.ac.za National Skills Authority: www.nationalskillsauthority.org.za uMfolozi TVET College: www.umfolozicollege.co.za Robotics is in the curriculum in Verulam. UKZN has close to 40 000 students studying on five campuses in two cities. Greater Durban hosts Howard College, Berea (environment, engineering, law, humanities) and the Nelson Mandela School of Medicine at Congella. The UKZN administration and the Graduate School of Business are based at Westville (also science, engineering and health) whereas the Edgewood, Pinetown, campus focusses on education. The Pietermaritzburg campus offers a broad academic programme, but it is well known for its fine art, theology and agriculture. UKZN also hosts the National Research Foundation. The Durban University of Technology (DUT) has six faculties operating in seven campuses in Durban and in the Midlands. DUT is well known for its outstanding graphic-design school and offers one of only two chiropractic programmes in South Africa. The University of Zululand offers diploma and degree courses on two campuses at Empangeni and Richards Bay. ■ PHOTO: Shoprite Foundation 41 KWAZULU-NATAL BUSINESS 2024/25
