The JSE listed and innovative IT company, Adapt IT, has opened its third Knowledge Centre at the Rusthof Secondary School in the Western Cape. This brings the company’s total knowledge centre investment to R1,6-million, after investments in Amaoti and Olievenhoutbosch in 2013 and 2014 respectively.
“Adapt IT has invested in these knowledge centres in order to develop the ICT skills of students and educators in our country. It is imperative that we, as members of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry, keep supporting the growth and development of ICT skills amongst the youth,” says Sbu Shabalala, Adapt IT CEO.
“When Adapt IT initially began looking for a new school to invest in, we engaged with the Western Cape Department of Education to find a community that would most benefit from our initiative. The Department provided us with several options and we selected the Rusthof Secondary School for several reasons; a major factor being their reputation as a school that is consistently focused on improving results. Moreover, it is a fairly new school in a very impoverished community, which thanks to the dedication and hard work of the teachers, is making a positive impact.”
The Rusthof Secondary School Knowledge Centre will serve as a fully equipped computer laboratory for 1129 learners and 39 educators at the school. It will feature 26 workstations, an interactive white board and a computer server. Other services donated included an upgrade to the power supply, network points, a printer, smart board, air conditioning, furniture and fit out upgrade.
Jaco Joseph, Senior Education Specialist (SES): e-Learning, Western Cape Education Department says that the Department is in the process of implementing its eVision across the province and end-user environment and technology forms an integral part of this implementation: “Projects from partners such as Adapt IT accelerate this process of implementation at the schools it serves. The parents, teachers and learners are so appreciative of the Adapt IT contribution to the school. They believe that the new facility will empower the learners to understand and interact with the whole world through the Internet access and furthermore that the technology will enable learners to take responsibility for their own learning processes.”
Shabalala says that Adapt IT would like to commend the Western Cape Department of Education and the Rusthof Secondary School on their assistance and exemplary attitude towards the establishment of the knowledge centre: “It has been a very rewarding experience and we look forward to positive feedback and excellent results.”