Mbabane – Ezindwendweni High School form 4 pupil, Thobani Gina went overboard with his creativity and innovation by designing a drone under the Design and Technology Department.
The amateur drone version is made from light recycled materials and it can fly under close supervision using a small cell phone battery. But, the drone, yet to have improved versions, is programmed and has a camera that takes both pictures and videos.
With such a move, Gina has put Ezindwendweni High School which is located 172 kilometres away from Mbabane, in Lavumisa, the Shiselweni region. His first known invention within the public school set-up has impressed the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) leadership.
SNAT General Secretary, Lot Vilakati, hasn’t stopped talking about it. During his tour to Ezindwendweni School, in the far flung rural parts, on Thursday, accompanied by the Mhlosheni-SNAT branch chairperson, Ndoda Matsebula, to assess the aftermath of the storms during the first term holidays, Vilakati said marvelled.
It turned up that the storm caused havoc at the school, blowing off roofing in two classrooms. The design and technology lab where the drone was forged was also blown off in the process, along with three teacher’s houses that remain roofless.
But despite that, the design and technology school teacher, identified as Vilane, said Gina and other pupils have so much potential, talent and passion for the subject.
Gina is not new to similar tech products. “I have also designed a solar using old CDs,” he said.
“However, the solar has low voltage but I am still working on finding a way of increasing the charge because I want to use the solar on a water pump.”
The school teacher, Vilane, said lack of resources are a challenge and de-marketing the subject instead of letting the pupils explore more. He highlighted that even those who take-up the subject do not get to explore as the school still has old machinery and has not been maintained in years.
The school also struggles with procuring the learning material for the subject. This propelled SNAT’s Vilakati to extent a plea to the government to invest more in building design and technology laboratories in all the schools across the country for the subject.
He said the subject was practical and needed to equip the learners with skills that would better position them in the life after school, as the country grapples with unemployment.
“If the pupils are equipped with these skills, even if they fail to secure employment, they can form a corporation and go apply for money from the youth enterprise revolving fund and start a workshop. They can do welding, carpentry, upholstery and many more skills that they get from design and technology,” the school teacher said, concurring with Vilakati.
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