Ministry of Education Permanent Secretary Technical Services Joel Kamoko has said schools should find means of teaching computer science without relying solely on ZESCO power.
Speaking during the handover ceremony of a 1×3 classroom block and a playpark at Twalubuka Community School in Ndola, Copperbelt, Mr. Kamoko said lack of Zesco power should not be an excuse for not teaching computer sciences in schools.
He said schools should find alternatives to Zesco power in a bid to ensure that pupils learn computer sciences.
“Ba Kateka balefwaya waterborne toilets in schools. So Provincial Education Officer (Copperbelt) I want to find water borne toilets here and it should be solar powered. We don’t want to quarrel with Zesco and that will make life even for you easy to put up IT and they (pupils) can learn. And by the way there are things we can learn offline. I do not want to discuss technical details in public. It is not impossible to learn computers. You do not always need Zesco and we should move away from that excuse. Because if our children don’t learn those computers when they finish Grade 7 they will still look uneducated. So they have to learn computers. The teachers themselves need to have a laptop as a matter of urgency rather than get a loan to buy a Christmas gift,” Mr. Kamoko said.
ZESCO Limited has started a rotational load-shedding exercise due to a planned generator outage at the Maamba Coal Thermal Power Plant for routine maintenance and low water levels at the Kariba reservoir.
According to a statement from the ZESCO Corporate Affairs department, the low water levels at Kariba Dam have resulted in a reduction of generation at the 1080 MW power station facility to below 400 MW.
Meanwhile, Mr. Kamoko has challenged the business community in Zambia to partner with the Government in the provision of quality education.
He also praised Airtel Zambia Limited for funding the construction of a 1×3 classroom block and a playpark at Twalubuka Community School in Ndola, Copperbelt.
“As you may be aware, the new dawn government attaches great importance to educating the Zambian child and that commitment has been demonstrated through the implementation of the free education policy. This policy has accorded the children of Zambia an opportunity to fulfill their potential and develop their abilities. With increased enrolments in schools, there is an amplified need for infrastructure development to reduce overcrowding in schools. Thus, the unwavering support from Airtel Zambia and Zambia open community schools is timely. I am happy that the ministry of education takes pride in working and cooperating with civil society organizations such as zocs as they help to complement government efforts in improving the quality of education in the country. As a ministry, we have witnessed zocs work in the country for over three decades. To this end, my ministry of education and zocs renewed and signed a five-year memorandum of understanding (mou) last year, which guides the relationship that sits between the two institutions,” Mr. Kamoko said.
“I wish to stress that human capacity and skills development are key in our country; however, that can only be attained if government and cooperating partners work together and invest in education. We need educated Zambians to develop Zambia. I would like to congratulate you all on the official handover of this classroom block and a play-park. May this day mark the beginning of a new era in education in this community and may it inspire more initiatives to improve the process of teaching and learning. These children are our future and investing in their education is investing in the future. May these classrooms be filled with learning and a continued focus on improved education outcomes, and may god bless all who teach and learn at Twalubuka community school now and in the future,” he said.
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