By Farai Matiashe
UNITED KINGDOM-BASED Sub-Saharan Children’s Hope Trust (Suchhope) has donated 1 000 scientific calculators worth over US$25 000 to 17 schools in Nyanga East in a bid to enable them to match the requirements of the education curriculum.
Gairezi Secondary, Crossdale High, Kute High, Nyamubarawanda Secondary, Fombe Secondary, Ruwangwe Secondary, Emmanuel High and Regina High are some of the schools that received the donation through the Oxford Educational Supplies.
Suchhope founder Henry Chitsenga yesterday told NewsDay Weekender that it was essential to invest in young people, who are the future of any generation.
“My philosophy is to leave this world a better place than I found it. I flew all the way from UK to deliver this donation made by Casio UK through Oxford Educational Supplies.
They are 1 000 cutting edge FX-991EX scientific calculators, which have benefited 17 schools in Nyanga East. These calculators are worth US$25 935,” he said.
Chitsenga said it was high time students did away with log tables as they had no place in the modern world.
“I found students in Nyanga using tables and yet they need to use cutting-edge technology. The time has come to close the gap between students in the developed economies and those in developing economies. The world is now being controlled by technology and not log tables,” he said.
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Chitsenga said he also facilitated a workshop with mathematics teachers from schools which had received the calculators and offered basic training on how the calculators should be used.
Besides the calculators’ donation, Chitsenga also pledged to pay fees up to university level for some of the students, some still in Form 2.
“Some pupils, I promised to pay their fees for the next text two terms; some I promised to pay their fees up to ‘A’ Level and those from the poorest schools, I promised to send them to a local boarding school, either at Regina High or Emmanuel High. Others I promised them laptops when they reach Lower 6,” he said.
Nyanga district literacy officer Christian Nyamugamu said the donations would curb students’ habit of not proceeding with mathematics to “O” Level.
“The number of students in Form 3, who were deciding not to continue with mathematics, was very high. I believe with the new scientific calculators, the levels will decrease because it will enable them to provide solutions to questions in a simple way, hence finding no reason of not writing the subject at ‘O’ Level,” he said.
Chitsenga said he was building a new boarding school in Nyanga North on a 37-hectare piece of land, which would accommodate more than 1 500 students.
