Computer literacy changes education dramatically
The 27 teachers from Boikhantsho Primary School in Mamelodi East. They are all computer literate after their recent training, which has changed the way they work entirely.

The teachers of Boikgantsho Primary School in Mamelodi are now equipped to effectively engage with the world of computers and the dynamics of the internet, thus enabling them to use it as a business tool to make their working lives easier.
This follows a basic computer skills training course called ‘Train the Teachers and Touch the Children of Tomorrow’, facilitated by Sage VIP, a leading HR payroll software and services provider in South Africa.
The social investment initiative is the outcome of a partnership between Boikgantsho Primary School and Sage VIP through their joint involvement in the Tshwane Partners for Possibility Programme, from Symphonia South Africa.
The 27 teachers who attended the course were all taught computer literacy, internet, e-mail, Word and Excel skills.
Symphonia is a non-profit organisation which aims to mobilise citizens and communities in reclaiming responsibility for educating the children of South Africa.
The programme challenges these leaders and principals to form a partnership and involve the community so that everyone contributes their talent to the upliftment of the community, rather than waiting for an external party to solve problems. “This engagement between business leaders and school principals contributes to enhancing the quality of education, improving the school environment and encouraging a meaningful dialogue between parents and teachers that will contribute to an upward spiral of real change in society,” says Annemien Victor, director of consulting at Sage VIP. “This results in conversations between business leaders and school principals, focusing on possibilities instead of problems within the school environment.”
Victor was nominated as the business leader to work in partnership with Boikgantsho Primary School. “My responsibility within the partnership is to provide the principal with business insight that will assist him in transforming the school and thus the entire community,” said Victor.
“Our objective was to provide the teachers with basic computer skills which could be filtered through to the children of the school. The training was practical and the teachers now have the confidence and the capability to work on any computer. They also valued the potential of the internet tremendously.”
Sage VIP has since sponsored the school with a number of laptops for the teachers’ use.
According to the principal of the school, Abe Kobe, the initiative is already making a big difference in the working lives of the teachers. “They can now, for example, create exam papers and reports electronically, without having to manually write them out. Communication between teachers has also improved through e-mail and they can now use the internet more effectively to assist with research in preparation for classes.” Kobe is looking forward to the potential impact of the improved computer literacy among teachers and pupils of the school.
“We view this training as a seed of a beautiful jacaranda tree that, in the future, will grace Pretoria with a gorgeous purple cloak of information, knowledge and power,” said Kobe.