DCM partners with Growsmart to improve education locally

In order to improve the standard of education in Tubatse, Dwarsrivier Chrome Mine (DCM) is supporting the Growsmart educational programme. The programme was launched last Tuesday at the Steelpoort Academy’s hall and was attended by representatives from 27 local schools.

The competition’s programme was presented to teachers, mentors, principals and senior members of the Limpopo Department of Education during the launch and all participating schools will receive the Growsmart curriculum-based education newspapers together with story-writing kits, dictionaries and a manual explaining the mechanics of the competition.

The programme is an initiative by Growthpoint Properties in collaboration with the Limpopo Department of Education, proudly supported by the Dwarsrivier Chrome Mine and sponsored by Boleng Trust.

Growsmart is an educational programme that will support the Limpopo Education Department in helping to improve literacy, mathematics, science, writing and debating levels in primary schools in the local circuits.

More than seven sessions will be held at the Steelpoort Academy. On the final round of the Growsmart competition, the winners will be rewarded with substantial prizes worth more than R500 000.

“Our aim has always been to enhance learning and provide quality education for every learner in every classroom and we could not be more excited to start the journey in Limpopo.

“There are many inspiring, heart-warming stories that have come out of Growsmart, as well as heaps of positive feedback from parents, teachers and learners,” said Graham John King, managing director.

The initiative started 11 years ago in the Western Cape, where it has established a strong, successful track record and has further expanded to the Eastern Cape in 2018.

To date, the programme has impacted over 69 000 primary school learners from the Western and Eastern Cape, and further develops educators through teacher workshops and a programme based on the current curriculum, that is fully aligned with the provincial educational departments. As a measure of its success, its story- writing initiative has already produced 140 published authors under the age of 13 whose books are now being used in the school system.

Mmakgobane Manyathela, DCM’s Social Economic Development (SED) officer, indicated that they will continue to support this program. “We are supporting this programme from the first day of its launch till the final round. We aim to see improvement in education in our nearby schools.”