Ministry of Education Permanent Secretary Technical Services Joel Kamoko has said schools should find means of teaching computer science without relying solely on ZESCO power.
Speaking during the handover ceremony of a 1×3 classroom block and a playpark at Twalubuka Community School in Ndola, Copperbelt, Mr. Kamoko said lack of Zesco power should not be an excuse for not teaching computer sciences in schools.
He said schools should find alternatives to Zesco power in a bid to ensure that pupils learn computer sciences.
“Ba Kateka balefwaya waterborne toilets in schools. So Provincial Education Officer (Copperbelt) I want to find water borne toilets here and it should be solar powered. We don’t want to quarrel with Zesco and that will make life even for you easy to put up IT and they (pupils) can learn. And by the way there are things we can learn offline. I do not want to discuss technical details in public. It is not impossible to learn computers. You do not always need Zesco and we should move away from that excuse. Because if our children don’t learn those computers when they finish Grade 7 they will still look uneducated. So they have to learn computers. The teachers themselves need to have a laptop as a matter of urgency rather than get a loan to buy a Christmas gift,” Mr. Kamoko said.
ZESCO Limited has started a rotational load-shedding exercise due to a planned generator outage at the Maamba Coal Thermal Power Plant for routine maintenance and low water levels at the Kariba reservoir.
According to a statement from the ZESCO Corporate Affairs department, the low water levels at Kariba Dam have resulted in a reduction of generation at the 1080 MW power station facility to below 400 MW.
Meanwhile, Mr. Kamoko has challenged the business community in Zambia to partner with the Government in the provision of quality education.
He also praised Airtel Zambia Limited for funding the construction of a 1×3 classroom block and a playpark at Twalubuka Community School in Ndola, Copperbelt.
“As you may be aware, the new dawn government attaches great importance to educating the Zambian child and that commitment has been demonstrated through the implementation of the free education policy. This policy has accorded the children of Zambia an opportunity to fulfill their potential and develop their abilities. With increased enrolments in schools, there is an amplified need for infrastructure development to reduce overcrowding in schools. Thus, the unwavering support from Airtel Zambia and Zambia open community schools is timely. I am happy that the ministry of education takes pride in working and cooperating with civil society organizations such as zocs as they help to complement government efforts in improving the quality of education in the country. As a ministry, we have witnessed zocs work in the country for over three decades. To this end, my ministry of education and zocs renewed and signed a five-year memorandum of understanding (mou) last year, which guides the relationship that sits between the two institutions,” Mr. Kamoko said.
“I wish to stress that human capacity and skills development are key in our country; however, that can only be attained if government and cooperating partners work together and invest in education. We need educated Zambians to develop Zambia. I would like to congratulate you all on the official handover of this classroom block and a play-park. May this day mark the beginning of a new era in education in this community and may it inspire more initiatives to improve the process of teaching and learning. These children are our future and investing in their education is investing in the future. May these classrooms be filled with learning and a continued focus on improved education outcomes, and may god bless all who teach and learn at Twalubuka community school now and in the future,” he said.
It’s unwise for the UPND government to choose to export power at the expense of Zambians because they won’t be able to compensate for the damage that their decision will cause. They can’t import power to makeup for the deficit because this is a self inflicted problem. We told you that HH isn’t as clever as his supporters project him.
How crazy? find-means-of-teaching-computer-science-without-relying-on-zesco-power??? You the government must do that. Buy them solar panels or generators. Where do you expect a school on free education mandate will raise money for these things
Zesco is a monopoly
Is this ps taking crack? Why don’t you tell your f00Iish boss to fulfil the promise he made to end loadshedding. Chicarla charwhistle! These are the people I beat
Schools should simply re-introduce PTA fees for them to teach computer science without relying on ZESCO power. By re-introducing PTA fees, schools will have that extra income to buy inverters and solar panels for teaching computer science. At least that will be according to the advice of Education PS, Kamoko. Schools should not wait for good-for-nothing politicians and their functionaries who are quick to export power to other countries before satisfying local demand.
This is *stuupeed* coming from this government. What alternatives is this chap talking about?. If schools cannot even afford books and desks, how will they afford to implement Solar Energy to run computers that need electricity to tech computer sciences. Laptop batteries need to be recharged by National Grids. Stop exporting power, loading shedding and distribute power to schools. A single day never passes without hearing jokes and *fooooolishness* from government officials.
You should have we shall buy each school stand by generators including fuel or solar power systems not telling them to find solutions without funding.
This useless PS should lead by example. Take him off the grid so that he can show us how to run his house without relying on ZESCO. These same people will claim to have multiple degrees and yet no sense mu scopo. Things have moved on, you need 24/7 power to run everything. Can’t keep up with the times?
Where are the computers?
How crazy? find-means-of-teaching-computer-science-without-relying-on-zesco-power??? You the government must do that. Buy them solar panels or generators. Where do you expect a school on free education mandate will raise money for these things
Some of us learnt IT before the advent of PCs. Access to a mainframe computer was limited and indeed a lot of ICT is learnt offline. Yet we have become renowned ICT experts. I think some people here just like being nasty for nothing.
It’s like learning how to drive on paper without a car. How do you do that?
Wow! Wow! This is a useless PS. Teaching computer science nenkuni? You see, electricity is the essence of development. The developed world is developed because of electricity and its abundance and availability. The failure for a PS to understand the necessity and the all essence of having ZESCO as the sole producer and provider, makes this guy to be as useless as a grade 7 trying to run a corporation of ZESCO magnitude. Being a PS is a very high position in a country that relies of government on every production, social change, and economic growth. YOU CANNOT HAVE SUCH A PERSON TO IMPLEMENT POLICY.
Who told these people the flushing toilets require electricity? Yaba! Solar operated toilets? That sounds like Solar Operated ifigayo. Fire these guys.