Standard Bank has donated R500 000 worth of ICT equipment and specialised assistive devices to visually-impaired learners at a school in the Free State.
The equipment, which was handed over at a recent event hosted by the Department of Basic Education, will enhance learning for the scholars and ensure they can continue accessing quality education, further supporting teachers using teaching aids.
The ICT equipment was handed over to the head of the Department of Education for the Free State, advocate Tsoarelo Malakoane, at the Thiboloha Special School by Standard Bank Free State’s Public Sector Department.
The school caters for visually- and hearing-impaired learners from grade R to 12.
The equipment, which will cover education for all phases of learners, includes data projectors for all classes, visualisation tools for each phase of learning, brailliant BI14 braille displays and voice recorders for all teachers.
“Every young South African should have access to quality education and someone’s disability should not impede this. That is why we are proud to support initiatives that help to improve education for special schools to make education more inclusive,” says Malakoane.
“We are grateful for a meaningful partner like Standard Bank who understands that education is a societal matter and that as the education sector, we are producing their future clients or employees and to partner with us is as beneficial to them as to all of us.”
People with disabilities have special educational needs caused by functional limitations that impact their ability as learners to access standard educational methods of instruction.
These limitations often prevent educational progress and achievement. In this context, the application of ICT and assistive technology is especially important, as it plays an essential role in supporting high-quality education for learners with disabilities, notes Malakoane.
With Thiboloha Special School having excelled academically since 2011, achieving a 100% pass rate every year, this donation will further strengthen the quality of the learners’ performance, says Standard Bank.
“A school which performs to the levels of Thiboloha must be commended for their hard work. We hope the donation we have made to them will help them to continue shining academically in the future,” says Nolwazi Nkeane, head of province: sectors and products at Standard Bank Free State and Northern Cape.
Standard Bank says it invests in multiple initiatives aimed at improving educational outcomes and skills development in multiple ways.
The bank prioritises education in its corporate social investment programmes, which focus on improving access to quality, affordable education for all and enhancing educational outcomes.
Among its initiatives, the bank offers free digital literacy courses in collaboration with Microsoft, It also provides students that study online with a student loan facility, which allows access to funding for equipment such as laptops/tablets and software.
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