BARBERTON – The Class of 2014 (grade 12) at Barberton Secondary School promised to make history as they vowed to obtain a 100 per cent pass rate this year.
They bravely made this prediction because they will no longer struggle to do research in their subjects. The learners’ confidence was boosted after MTN donated 15 brand-new computers to the school last Thursday.
Mr Vusi Malinga of the MTN Foundation said the company believed that education was a good investment and they also wanted to bring positive change in the community according to their year theme “Invest in education to honour Mandela”.
“We believe in building the future. MTN looks for schools to assist. I believe that the learners will use the computer laboratory to benefit them in terms of a brighter future. I will be over the moon to hear at the end of the year that the learners indeed lived up to expectation of obtaining a 100 pr cent pass rate.”
Speaking on behalf of the department of education, Mr Sayi Mahlalela said, “As a department, we feel honoured to have a good relationship with big companies, especially those that plough back into communities to ensure a better quality of education for our children.
“On behalf of the MEC, Ms Regina Mhaule, who couldn’t make it due to her policy budget speech, I’d like to say thank you to MTN for responding to the need of the school. Now they have computers, if they need to do research, they can just go to the computer laboratory. We are witnesses here today. Indeed it shows that we are moving in the right direction to ensure that we make education everybody’s business,” said Mahlalela.
The circuit manager of education, Ms Thokozile Khoza, said she was convinced that the learners would put a smile on her face during the announcement of the Class of 2014 matric results.
“Last year the matrics achieved a 87 per cent pass rate. This year I’m expecting 100 per cent because now they have the resources to gain more understanding of their subjects. Teachers and parents also need to unite and support the learners so they can make us proud.”
One of the jubilant grade-12 learners, Siphesihle Nyamane, told Mpumalanga News that she used to waste study time by walking long distances to the local library to do research. “Now I am going to do my research easily because here at school we have a computer laboratory,” she concluded.