Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane launched Thuto-Tiro Engineering School of Specialisation with a focus on Energy at Sebokeng on Thursday, 15 February 2024.
This is the 33rd School of Specialisation to be launched by the Gauteng province, etching closer to the envisioned target total.
The focus of this particular School of Specialisation is based on the Southern Economic Development Corridor, which has tourism and entertainment, agri-processing and logistics industries. The school is located in Sebokeng, a middle-class township in the Emfuleni Local Municipality in southern Gauteng.
The township is segmented into various zones, with the hostel residence lying on the periphery of the township, when entering from Vanderbijlpark.
Schools of Specialisation do not have a fixed feeder area, so anyone should be able to benefit by having their children accepted at the school, depending on the outcome of the assessment for admission.
Therefore, the establishment of this school is aligned with the Gauteng Provincial Government’s (GPG) commitment to developing Townships, Informal Settlements and Hostels (TISH), enabling communities to benefit from the vast array of resources at the school’s disposal, as well as the advanced skills that learners will acquire.
As such, learners demonstrated an extensive knowledge in Engineering Graphics & Design (EGD) as a subject, which provides knowledge and skills that centre around mechanical, civil and electrical technology.
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Learners also showcased their proficiency in Electrical Technology and Power Systems, demonstrating their own automated power system as well as solar inverter.
Mechanical Engineering and Civil Technology is also taught at the school, where learners gain skills in welding, sawing, fitting and turning, as well as woodwork and construction.
This level of advanced education, coupled with commercial stream subjects, prepares learners to utilise these skills on an entrepreneurial level, not only tackling the skills gap, but addressing unemployment as well.
“It is clear what we hope to achieve as a government, to create model citizens out of our learners by exposing them to critical skills that are needed in this economy. We are creating the future of our province, and our country as education is the foundation of all careers. Thus, enriching this foundation with an abundance of advanced skills, as we are doing with our Schools of Specialisation, can only result in more competent, knowledgeable, capable and proficient learners who are ready to either be employed even upon exiting our system, or even venture into entrepreneurship and create employment for others. More so, we are creating problem-solvers, the answers to many challenges faced in our communities will arise from these very learners,” said MEC Chiloane.