• The MTN SA Foundation has today helped to launch a Coding and Robotics Centre at Letsibogo Girls High School in Soweto.
• The Centre was launched under the Department of Basic Education’s (DBE) National Coding and Robotics pilot programme.
• It will feature 66 robotics kits, 10 laptops, and a router that cater to teaching nine classes at the school.

Tomorrow is International Women’s Day, and to mark its focus on assisting more young women into STEM-related fields, the MTN SA Foundation has helped the Department of Basic Education (DBE) launch a Coding and Robotics Centre at Letsibogo Girls High School in Soweto.

In particular, the MTN SA Foundation shared the company’s digital power solutions as part of the DBE’s National Coding and Robotics pilot programme.

At the Letsibogo Girls High School, the Coding and Robotics Centre will pilot programmes using the 66 robotics kits, 10 laptops, and a router that has been set up to cater to teaching nine classes. Furthermore, a set of competition kits will simultaneously be available for extra mural activities and future competitions.

MTN also notes that in addition to the coding and robotics resources, the Letsibogo Centre offers learning and teaching support material that vary from lesson plans, teacher workbooks, coding software, and assessment guidelines and textbooks so that educators too can take what they learn and apply it in other environments.

“All teachers involved with the Letsibogo project have already undergone five days of immersive, in-person teacher training. This training equips teachers with the skills needed to effectively deliver the coding and robotics curriculum. All teacher training, which includes 12 months of ongoing online support, is supplied by the MTN SA Foundation’s partner, Sifiso EdTech,” the company shared in a release with Hypertext.

“Staying abreast of developments requires equipping learners for the future. One way of ensuring this is through coding and robotics education becoming part of curricula designed to encourage children’s problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. Crucially for South Africa, these skills also help develop an entrepreneurial mindset in upcoming generations so that a culture of innovation becomes embedded in the national outlook and helps to drive economic growth and technical advancement,” added Arthur Mukhuvha, GM of the MTN Foundation.

With many schools struggling when it comes to adequate hardware, infrastructure, and connectivity, here’s hoping that this is the first of many centres that the DBE spins up in the coming months, and not simply on the eve of a day of international awareness.

[Images – Provided]