The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) officially announced its adoption of 20 schools across the country in partnership with the Adopt-a-School Foundation on Friday, 8 March 2012.
This partnership marks the 167th school adopted under the auspices of the Adopt-a-School Foundation. Through a model of Whole School Development, the Foundation aims to provide disadvantaged schools with sustainable solutions by addressing social, skills and infrastructure challenges facing the education system.
Founder and chairman of the Foundation, Cyril Ramaphosa, explained that collaboration is an essential element of Foundation’s adoption process. “To ensure that we make a meaningful impact in these 20 schools, we will work very closely with the IDC, the Department of Basic Education (DBE), other non-profit organisations, the local people and the school communities.”
Ramaphosa further explained that the successful and sustainable transformation of schools under adoption lay in ensuring the provision of a well-developed strategic plan, good governance policies and a strong, supportive leadership body.
The IDC’s 2013 roll-out strategy will initially introduce strategic planning, leadership and teambuilding programmes in each of the selected schools. The implementation plan for the following five years will then concentrate on improving learner performance with a specific focus on mathematics and science education and the provision of basic facilities and resources. By empowering the school leadership with critical management skills, the Adopt-a-School Foundation aims to ensure the sustainability of all future interventions.
Since inception in 2002, the Adopt-a-School Foundation together with its adoption partners, has invested almost R100 million in education. Executive Director of the Foundation, Stephen Lebere, confirmed that the IDC is the Foundation’s 49th adopter and joins an extended network of over 120 strategic partners and donors. “The IDC have committed a significant investment to the transformation of these schools,” he added.
