Glencore’s contribution to education production produces stellar results for local schools

Glencore Coal South Africa and Ferroalloys, provided grade 11 and 12 pupils with much-needed support during the lockdown period through their 50 free community W0-Fi initiative in Mpumalanga, North West and Limpopo. The mining giant increased its Wi-Fi to 1GB per user per day in eMalahleni to meet the continuing demand for access to information in these communities.

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In addition, Glencore Coal supported 10 local schools with maths and science e-learning classes through the Ligbron e-Learning System. Ligbron worked with the Department of Education to compile a comprehensive curriculum-based plan, so that learners could stream lessons via their own internet or through Glencore’s free Wi-Fi. The Ferroalloys division of the company also acquired the skills of L&T Private Tutoring to support grade 11 and 12 pupils from their communities with math and science lessons which afforded learners access to tablets and tutors, not only through lessons provided in real-time, but whenever their assistance was needed.
Through the L&T Private Tutoring. Tirelong High School in the North West obtained a physical science pass rate of 69% and a 75% mathematics pass rate for their matric class. The grade 11 results were 84,2% and 78,9% for maths and physical science.
“We saw a lot of positive results from the schools supported by Glencore. We were particularly proud to see an increase in bachelor degrees since the start of the project. Glencore’s support will positively impact the communities for years to come.” said L&T Private Tutoring representative Lucky Ramunongo.

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In Mpumalanga, there was an increase in the grade 12 overall pass rate in the schools supported through the Ligbron e-Learning System. Morelig Combined School achieve a 100% pass rate in maths and science while Ogies Combined School achieved a 100% pass rate for its class of 2020.
“At Glencore, we know that investing in education is extremely important in order to develop our communities. We truly believe that we can progress together with our communities by empowering them to overcome any challenges and work diligently towards, reaching their goals, this is especially important for the youth. Seeing these positive results from the local schools gives everyone hope for the future” said Murray Houston, the CEO of Glencore Coal South Africa.

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“We are ecstatic about the amazing results we’ve seen from the schools in our communities and are proud that our support has brought about such a meaningful impact. Our appreciation also goes to the dedicated teachers who went above and beyond to support learners under very difficult circumstances. We look forward to the contribution the pupils will make to the future development of our country,” said Japie Fullard, the CEO of Glencore Ferroalloys.
As one of the world’s largest globally diversified natural resource companies, Glencore is passionate about helping young learners obtain the best school results. Maths and science are particularly critical subjects by the National Department of Education, but also because they can pave the way into the global company’s supply chain for the youth, becoming a testament of Glencore’s ultimate goal to progress together with its communities.
For further information, please visit: www.glencore.com/southafrica.

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