Sthembele Matiso High School in Crossroads received a fully equipped and renovated science laboratory last week, thanks to the assistance of the University of the Western Cape and the Garden Cities Archway Foundation.
According to the school their laboratory was old and was not stocked with the necessary equipment.
Visibly excited science teacher Coceka Matanzima said the lab would help her to produce pupils ready for university. Showing Vukani around, she said the new lab had attracted the attention of the pupils. “The setting was very old. There were no taps, plugs were not working. We used chalkboards because there was no smartboard. There were just a lot of wrong things about it. We had to improvise in whatever we did.
“There were times when I would have to go to (neighbouring)schools for experiment apparatus. It was draining,” she said.
But, she said, that is now all in the past. “It is inspiring to have this new lab. My children are now more involved. It is now modern. They cannot stop smiling,” she said.
Principal Vusi Ntlahla said that up until now the school’s science laboratory had been nothing more than an empty room. He said he was excited that his school had been chosen as beneficiary of this initiative. “The environment is different now. There was a lot that was lacking, like smartboards, workstations, chemicals and other equipment. The floor was so bad that it was an embarrassment to be here and the class was just an empty room,” he said. Now that things have changed, Mr Ntlahla is adamant that the pupils would do well in science. “Science is one of those subjects which are truly needed. With the new laboratory, we will develop and empower the pupils and the laborataroy would better their futre.”