The Sunday News
Sandisiwe Gumbo, Sunday Life Reporter
MZILIKAZI Primary School in Bulawayo is continuing on its thrust of ensuring its pupils gain e-learning from an early age, with the School Development Committee working towards the establishment of a full robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) teaching facility.
Led by the vision of the SDC chairperson Robert Ndlovu, a Bulawayo-based ICT consultant and his childhood friend, property developer, Cris Mtungwazi, both former pupils at the school, the initiative is set to come to fruition.
Mtungwazi, who is the managing director of TCI International, a civil engineering contracting and land development company, last Friday donated US$1 000 towards the initiative, which, according to Ndlovu, will be used for the purchasing of 10 robotics units.
“The aim is to equip students at a very young age with this knowledge of Artificial Intelligence and robotics. Our long-term plan is to equip different schools, but Mzilikazi Primary will be the main centre of them all.
“With this donation, we will purchase 10 units of robotics, train the teachers as well as tool kit spares that will assist in the teaching of the children,” said Ndlovu.
The SDC chairperson, who got work experience, working for Google in the United States of America, emphasised the importance of introducing children to these concepts at an early age, especially noting the global technological development landscape.
“We will start by enrolling 40 students from Mzilikazi Primary, but towards the end of the year, we hope we can confidently enrol other schools. We are also training the teachers with the same knowledge,” he said.
Mtungwazi said he was encouraged to be part of the facility after noting the importance of having children embracing the technological landscape from an early age.
He noted that Ndlovu’s vision was clear and there was a need for more corporates to actively support him, as this could also subsequently help develop both Bulawayo and the nation at large.
“When Ndlovu first told me his vision, I was immediately captivated. This is what we need as a nation. Go to the first world countries and you will find this is what children are being taught from an early age, they do not wait for the university level, but they equip children right from the onset.
“Further, we cannot ignore the trajectory that global economies are taking, technology is at the centre of any development. We are in a digital era, which cannot be denied. I hope that the pupils at Mzilikazi Primary embrace this initiative and they will all have a brighter future,” said Mtungwazi.
In 2021, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Ndlovu was pivotal at the school when he initiated its e-learning portal to champion online learning.
The portal had two functions, the first being a digital library, which was a computer physically at the school uploaded with educational content, which did not need an internet connection as one has to be physically at the school.
Then the second one was where content is kept securely in the cloud, on Google Drive and also accessed via the website for registered users.
