New lab for rural school
Local mineral sands mine donate new science lab to rural school
AS part of a commitment by local mineral sands mine company Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) in 2009, a new ‘state-of-the-art’ science laboratory was handed over to the Zenzeleni maShamase High School in the Mkhwanazi area.
RBM identified various schools in need of an upgrade in the Dube and Mkhwanazi areas and the projects are undertaken in close collaboration with the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) from the Department of Education.
‘A decision was taken to focus on specialised facilities like computer rooms and science laboratories,’ says RBM Communities and Corporate Relations General Manager, Fundi Dlamini.
‘This is in line with the scarce skills identified by government and RBM in the fields of technology and engineering where mathematics and science play a big role.
‘Some schools have no science laboratories to teach the practical components of science and this causes students to fail or not to be selected to study in the fields of technology, engineering or other mining related careers.’
Dlamini says the new laboratory will now enable these pupils to do practical experiments, which will support them in understanding various difficult concepts better.
