Pretoria - Learners at the Boschkop Primary School in Pretoria will now have the opportunity to learn how to use computers efficiently, thanks to an initiative by the students of the University of Pretoria.
The Reach Out and Give (RAG) initiative, which is one of the university's Tuks Rag Committee's responsibilities, handed over ten computers to the school on Wednesday in a bid to empower the disadvantaged pupils.
Tuks Rag is the university's student driven charity organisation and aims to change the community through charity work and it chose Boschkop to benefit from their initiative through the Adopt-a-School Foundation.
Speaking to BuaNews, School Principal Peter Masombuka said now the school would be able to offer pupils computers lessons. "We are ready, we have about ten teachers who have been trained in computers," Masombuka said, adding that the staff would also use some of the computers to carry out their daily work
He said the school, situated about 40km outside Pretoria, had more than 800 learners who were mostly from disadvantaged communities.
According to Katlego Malatji, the Rag Committer Coodinator, computers are essential in everyday life, and therefore it is imperative for the disadvantaged learners to be afforded an opportunity to learn about computers.
"We want them to be on par with others, and have computer knowledge. We care about our communities, we want them to lead a better and a decent life," Mr Malatji said.
He said the committee focussed on the needs of older persons, people with disabilities and the mentally disturbed.
One of the learners at the school, Letsema Ramarou who is in Grade 7, told BuaNews that he was passionate about computer technology and wanted to study computers at tertiary level.
"I can't wait to learn how to operate a computer properly," he said with a smile.
The Reserve Bank of South Africa as well as MTN were also involved in the project.
The University of Pretoria will crown its Rag Queen 2009 on Saturday, which is a culmination of the annual Rag Week festivities.
