Digital literacy is rapidly becoming an indispensable tool every learner starting from Grade R will need for their entire school career, for their social welfare and critically for when they enter the job market. Although there were intimations that coding and robotics were to become compulsory for all Grades R to 9 learners, the reality is that the challenges of basic literacy and numeracy need to be tackled before the admirable goal of a digitally literate school population be aimed for.
Cox Yeats Attorneys, with their belief that education is the foundation of progress, decided that they would not wait for the official go-ahead and would make a tangible effort to help one school to step into the New Media Age. The firm’s National Marketing and Brand Manager, Lerato Ramango, commented: “The Domino Foundation’s Literacy and Life Skills programmes stood out to us because they focus on two of the most powerful enablers of opportunity: reading for meaning and digital literacy, both essential for success in school, further education, and the workplace.”
Ekuthuleni Primary School, Ntuzuma, were the grateful recipients of the attorneys’ donation of 15 computer screens and a computer. Computer literacy and coding are already being taught at the school but 6 learners were sharing each screen. The gift has halved that ratio. The school’s IT pedagogue, Mr Menzi Mfeka, said: “Many of the children come from backgrounds where being digitally competent is not even a vague concept let alone a reality. This will help them to get far greater hands-on experience."
Lerato added that, for Cox Yeats, this is not a once-off donation but part of a sustained effort to help young people gain the skills and confidence to shape their own futures. “The integration of computer literacy into Domino’s Life Skills programme reflects our broader commitment to empowering future generations through education.”
