The high school built and supported by information technology and business systems multinational Oracle, in Kaalfontein, Midrand, was a case study for the department on how to design, build, equip and support schools, said Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga.

Speaking at the Ponelopele Oracle secondary school’s ten-year anniversary last month, she lauded the school as a model that the department could draw on to inform the Operation Phakisa ICT in Education initiative, which aims to transition schools in South Africa to digital education channels and media.

“The continuous involvement of Oracle, and especially the dedication of its staff, have led to the creation of a community asset – more than just a school.”

Motshekga pointed out that even the model of community engagement and involvement from conceptualisation to the opening of the school has become the gold standard for best-practice engagement.

The project to build the 1 300-learner school started in 2003 and the school was opened in 2007. It is completely digital, with learners using desktop computers and tablets to complete their work. There are also coding, robotics, music and creative challenges, such as the Lego robotics challenge and maths for girls.

Oracle Senior VP Dorian Daley said that individuals do their best to influence education and life-long learning, but it is more impactful when large institutions, corporate partners and governments cooperate to make education a part of their core missions.

Oracle has made a commitment to have education as the cornerstone of its corporate philanthropic efforts. It seeks to advance education through state-of-the-art technology and its educational initiatives serve more than 2.2-million students in almost 100 countries each year, she said.

“It is the right thing for us to do as a business. It makes business sense to help develop the technical acumen and creative confidence of students to succeed in the twenty-first century and to become the innovators of the future. We want to tap into that talent.

“In some cases, we are the instructors, but, in many more cases, we support those who have dedicated their lives to education and teaching. It is the right thing for us to do to better serve the communities in which we operate and where our employees live. We believe education is a prerequisite to community stability, educational prosperity and future innovation,” she said.

The Oracle foundation, a nonprofit organisation funded by Oracle, engages employees as volunteers to coach students through projects and help them develop problem-solving skills at the intersection of science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics.

Oracle’s local employees similarly donate their time to coach and mentor learners at the school. The initiative was started by Oracle South Africa transformation director Wendy Beetge and Motshekga, who was the Gauteng Education MEC in 2003.

The name ‘Ponelopele’ is a Sotho word for ‘prophetic vision’.