Kagiso Shanduka Trust celebrates improvements at Free State schools

SASOLBURG. – The Kagiso Shanduka Trust (KST) joined forces with the Free State Department of Education to host a walkabout of schools within the Fezile Dabi District between 6 and 8 April.

The walkabout was hosted by Free State Education MEC Tate Makhoe and representatives of KST, who invited relevant stakeholders within the Free State’s education arena, including educationalists and members of the Department of Education, to showcase improvements to infrastructure at various schools within the region.

These developments were made possible thanks to the involvement of KST, which formed officially in 2013 through a partnership between the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation, Kagiso Trust and the Free State Department of Education. The aim of the resulting project was to transform education and provide an education model that may be implemented nationwide. With this in mind, KST adopted a district whole school approach, which focuses on all aspects, from infrastructure to curriculum support, social welfare and leadership.

A total of 221 schools within the Free State districts of Fezile Dabi and Motheo have been adopted thus far as part of the KST school transformation programme. The walkabout was staged in order to show stakeholders how 13 of those schools have already benefited from their participation. Each of the schools received different updates to infrastructure, depending on their assessed needs.

The walkabout started at Sasolburg. Participating schools here included Isaac Mhlambi Primary School, where the upgrades focused on the library and Grade R facilities. Attendees then moved on to Malakabeng Primary School where changes made included improvements to the library. At the next stop, Tsatsi Primary School, the focus was on the new Grade R classroom that KST built while the final school – Iketsetseng Comprehensive School – benefited from improvements to the computer lab.

Ms Kaya Nyati, Operations Manager at KST, noted that the programme is pleased to see the difference been made at these schools, and is proud to demonstrate to the Free State Department of Education how learners are benefiting. “We all know that education is of the utmost importance; to the extent that it has been identified as a weapon for ridding South Africa of poverty, unemployment, and gender discrimination. That said, even the most talented teachers are unable to perform optimally if school infrastructure is unsatisfactory. Sadly, this is the case in many schools within our country. For this reason, we are delighted to have been able to make a difference together with the Free State Department of Education. This initiative is about more than simply creating  better-equipped classrooms and other infrastructure; it is about ensuring this generation of learners is able to reach their full potential, which ultimately has  implications for future generations,” she concludes.