Durban — St Francis College in Mariannhill is appealing for funding to support its Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) centre project that failed in 2020 due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
According to school principal Ndabazami Khwela, in 2019 the school received sponsorship from Ikusasa Le Africa (Ilaf) which aimed to upgrade the facilities of the school, which included revamping some of the classes and building an ICT centre.
“The organisation started with first phase which involved some of the classes that needed to be revamped. But the construction company could not move to phase 2 of the project because of the national shutdown which was meant to prevent the spread of the pandemic.
“The company that was responsible for the project never returned to continue with the next phase of the construction. We are sitting with an incomplete structure which should be working by now, assisting our learners in science, technology, engineering and maths,” he said.
Khwela said the school discovered that the company had shut down after it faced a crisis that had severely affected its operations.
“As a school we took a decision to complete the centre because the walls have been left open for a very long period and we want to prevent them from deteriorating. We really do need assistance to fast track our project.
“Children enrolling at St Francis’ College are coming from schools that provide ICT subjects and we don’t want this situation to demoralise them because technology is a powerful tool to learners.
“We therefore need to introduce ICT, STEM and robotics subjects urgently,” said the principal.
He said the school is appealing to everyone who can extend a helping hand in finishing the building and providing resources needed at the centre.
Khwela said the school was using its savings to install roofing but also did not want to deplete them which was the reason they were asking for help.
The principal also said that the grant the school received from the government was not enough to run the school’s operation.
● Those who are interested in making a donation can send their funds to: St Francis fund-raising account Nedbank Pinetown Account number: 1339415801 Universal branch code: 198765
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