Africa-Press – Lesotho. The Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) delivered new Information Technology (IT) equipment to 26 secondary schools. The equipment, which was donated by the Republic of North Korea encompasses 50
personal computers, 30 notebooks, 20 printers, 20 scanners, 6 projectors and 5 smart boards. At the handover event that was held at MoET premises on Wednesday, Pulane High
School Principal Malefane Thafeng appreciated the donation, showing that they are very lucky to be awarded with this valuable present. He specified that this
put them under pressure to ensure its protection and to carry out its recommended purposes. Lesotho School Principals Association (LESPA) member Teboho Mokhomo added that “through
this IT equipment our facilitation is going to be easier and achievable and if this kind of equipment could be obtainable in all schools, our education system
would be better as in other countries”. Mokhomo urged fellow principals to utilize the equipment for the benefit of students. He pleaded to the Minister that she
goes out and find more equipment for the remaining schools. The Deputy Minister of Education and Training Hon. ‘Mamookho Phiri said Lesotho and the Republic of North Korea have had very good relations since 1966 and this
special relations have been marked by many milestones such as building of three community learning centers under the bridge programme at Ha-Motsu, Liphiring
and Ha-Teko villages. “In 2013, it supported the schools with Maths and Science teachers to the six newly established government schools which had limited
number of teaching grants and still had meager financial resources to engage teachers on private basis, and each year since 2015, it has been sponsoring
Basotho students under the fellowship program to visit Korea for two months,” Phiri mentioned. She said this generous donation came at a perfect time when Lesotho, like other
nations is preparing to elevate the use of Information Communications Technology (ICT) across various sectors of the government. “The country’s guiding document, the National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP) II has clearly
stipulated a need for elevating ICT literacy and participation in the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) as technology enhances efficiency in various sectors of government such as Health, Education, Finance and others,” stated
the Deputy Minister of Education and Training. She further showed that this means there was no other opportune time for Lesotho secondary schools and this gift could not have come at a better time, when the
world is forced to go online since technology is the driving force behind everything. Phiri concluded by adding that one of the national strategic goals is to beef up ICT
literacy and its use across various sectors, so the MoET has a critical responsibility towards realization of this goal through producing technologically
competent teachers who, in turn will produce technologically competent learners. “With time, we will have a technologically competent society which will
participate fully in the economic activities of this country in this era,” she noted. She said this dream can be realized through cooperation with sister
ministries such as the Ministry of Communications Science and Technology and the Ministry of Energy for power and connectivity so that the whole country can be connected to the entire world.
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