R568 900 SAMCT Donation of Wi-Fi Facility, Projectors and Screens Transforms Learning At Overport SRS Primary School
The school’s educational transformation is the result of an equipment donation – provided in two phases – by the South African Muslim Charitable Trust (SAMCT).
In an address at the official hand-over of the new equipment, Mr Gaf Osman, a representative of the SAMCT said: “There can be no question that, globally, the digital age is impacting society in numerous ways. The educational environment is no exception. Teaching and learning is changing and changing rapidly, with technology opening up to learners both immediacy and connectivity in terms of all things educational.”
He stressed that technology was the way of the future and that there was a need to embrace it in South Africa, or risk being left in the backwaters of development, while communities around the world accept, adopt and work with such ever-evolving technological advancements.
“We owe it to our youth, in particular, to expose them to such tools for their own development and advancement, for it is they who will inherit a world far-removed from the educational and business processes of older generations,” Mr Osman said.
The introduction of such 21st century technology should be the norm across all South African schools. However, very few schools have the financial muscle to tap into information technology tools.
“This is very sad, given the rapidity of advances being made and which today characterise the global Information Technology industry. The no
rm, increasingly, is for classrooms to be transformed into one-to-one, anywhere, anytime learning environments. It is, therefore, to its credit that the Principal and staff of Overport SRS Primary School have, in spite of facing severe financial constraints and related socio-economic factors, aimed to provide the school’s learners with the best chance at a significantly improved education,” added Mr Osman.
He indicated that by aspiring to join those schools which keep abreast of in-school technological advancements, Overport SRS Primary School was giving its disadvantaged learners all the benefits of a truly 21st century education, preparing them for a business environment very different to that today.
The SAMCT was created in 2008, the result of a partnership between Old Mutual Unit Trusts and Al Baraka Bank for the creation, marketing and distribution of a suite of Shariah Funds. Such partnership ensures that the SAMCT is the beneficiary of this Shariah suite of funds in order to provide funding, services and other resources for the improvement of the lives of the vulnerable, deprived and disadvantaged.
The organisation has been singularly successful in delivering sizeable assistance solutions throughout South Africa – irrespective of race or religion – and continues to work to support needy organisations in the fields of health, social development, poverty alleviation and education.
Mr Osman said: “The equipping of no fewer than 26 classrooms with sophisticated Information Technology equipment, valued at R568 900, brings a new dimension to the journey of learning. It will do much to broaden the educational horizons of learners and will go so much further in expanding and enhancing their overall knowledge base, skills development, comprehension and abilities – properly preparing them for life beyond education.”
Overport SRS Primary School’s teachers are also set to enjoy the advantages of the new technological tools, standing to benefit in terms of time-saving and access to an advanced teaching methodology.
“The school’s overall drive and determination to introduce and secure access to e-Learning tools here, in spite of the financial constraints it faces, is an indication – I believe – of the staff’s dedication towards those in their care and the desire to give them the chance at a superior education. Your efforts in putting your learners needs above all else are to be greatly commended,” Mr Osman commented.
He said the SAMCT was aware of the difficulties schools, such as Overport SRS Primary School, face in terms of raising and securing funding.
“In making this contribution, it is our organisation’s hope that the facilitation of e-Learning here will result in a more technologically-advanced future for Overport SRS Primary School’s learners and their ability to take what they learn forward to high school and beyond,” Mr Osman concluded.
ends
For more information about SAMCT or
its Overport SRS Primary School IT equipment donation, please contact:
Rasheeda Motala
Social Responsibility Officer Tel: 084 506 2280
Email: samct@samct.co.za