FIRST HIGH SCHOOLThe R100-million high school in Mvezo in the Eastern Cape will underpin three pillars of the Siemens commitment – skills development, sustainability and local commitment
Former President Nelson Mandela’s birth town of Mvezo, in the Eastern Cape, is having its first high school built.
The main construction contractor for the building of the school is Transtruct and the project is a collaboration between integrated technology company Siemens, the Mvezo Development Trust, the Department of Basic Education (DBE), and the people of Mvezo.
The Mandela School of Science and Tech-nology will provide an opportunity for 700 learners from 24 feeder primary schools to complete a high school education from January next year.
Siemens is funding the entire construction and first three years of operational costs of the school, as part of its corporate social responsibility programme. Construction is estimated at R100-million. The school will underpin three pillars – skills development, sustainability and local commitment.
The company will also supply a water purification system for borehole and rainwater harvesting and an automation system, designed for small-scale applications, which will be used for the generator and main electrical network to control grid power switching between conventional power and renewable energy.
The DBE will appoint the principal and teachers, implement the curriculum and supply school furniture, textbooks and library books. The department will also supply the laboratory equipment.
The Mvezo Development Trust, which facilitated the employment of more than 120 local community members who have also been trained for the building of the school, is responsible for communication and raising awareness of the school within the community.
The school will comprise 25 classrooms, an assembly hall, a science laboratory, a resource centre housing a library, two computer centres and an engineering design centre, housing for 12 teachers, a kitchen, sports facilities, gardens, paved parking and a food garden that will form part of the practical education for agricultural studies.
The sustainable solutions implemented include reliable energy solutions from three wind turbines, a solar hybrid system to power the resource centre and administration building, energy efficient lighting and a secure water supply involving rainwater catchment systems.
Construction started in October last year and the hand-over to the DBE is scheduled for October this year.
Skills development was a primary focus and the skills development programme, in Mvezo, partnered with the South African-German Chamber’s Builders Training Centre, in Soweto, to provide the required training for carpenters, bricklayers, plumbers, electricians, plasterers and tilers.
The school is one of nine Mandela schools worldwide and it will partner with the Mandela School in Berlin, Germany, for guidance in the form of student and teacher exchange programmes to transfer knowledge.
“This contribution by Siemens of the new Mandela School of Science and Technology is easily the most significant investment in education that this area has ever seen,” says Nkosi Zwelivelile (Mandla) Mandela, grandson of Mandela and head of the Royal House of Mandela.