07 Mar 2016

The National Food Technology Research Centre (NFTRC) is playing a pivotal role in bridging the digital divide. 

This was said by Gasegogwane councillor, Mr Eric Chelenyane at a ceremony to hand over computers that NFTRC donated to Modise Primary School recently. The food and nutrition research company has also adopted the school.

Mr Chelenyane said the government deserved praise for such research institutions as BITRI and NFTRC and called for their support in order to achieve their mandate.

He applauded NFTRC for finding it fit to donate computers and adopt the school. NFTRC donated two computers to the school to be used as learning aids. The institution adopted the school in 2014.

He challenged the school management to ensure that the computers were used for their  intended purpose.

He noted that the computers had been used by holders of the Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) and urged students to draw inspiration from that so that the nation could have leaders of tomorrow who were highly educated.

He also encouraged students to make use of the computers and challenged them to work hard to ensure that they meet their educational targets.

For his part, NFTRC director, Dr Martin Kebakile said computers were critical to academic performance in schools.

He added that computers were research devices that could be used by both teachers and students in the learning process.

Dr Kebakile said they adopted the school in 2014 with a view of improving performance, adding that the donation was of paramount importance to the school as it creates a platform for research.

He is of the view that with the availability of research, the school would obtain meaningful results in Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE).

He decried previous leaving examinations, noting that they were appalling

Dr Kebakile said the computer package consists of Internet facility among other vital programmes as well as games that train the brain. Maths tutorials for students are also available in the package.

He said NFTRC has other projects in line with their corporate social responsibility such as projects for poverty eradication such as backyard gardening to assist the government to improve the standard and quality of life for Batswana.

Modise Primary School head, Ms Keitumetse Ragontse expressed gratitude for the donation, noting that it was a worthwhile investment in improving academic performance.

She said the two computers would augment the 10 computers the school already had, which were a gift from the Ministry of Education and Skills Development.

She shared the same sentiments with Dr Kebakile that the research devices would take the school to a higher level. Ends