To improve education in Limpopo, Transnet, in partnership with the Department of Education, donated a mobile library to Maluta Secondary School last Thursday.

According to the regional manager of Transnet, Mr Lawrence Mavhungu, his company was approached by many institutions. "But we cannot sponsor all of them," he said. They then decided to sponsor two disadvantaged schools in Limpopo.

During the handing over of the library, Mavhungu said he hoped a library would be used in such a manner that it would be to the benefit of the pupils, ensuring an improvement in their end-of-year pass rate.

The principal of Maluta, Mr Joseph Phungo, welcomed the donation and said it came at a time when the school was in dire need of a library. "Our pupils are highly motivated and we thank Transnet and the education department for their help," said Phungo.

The MEC for Education, Mr Namane Masemola, said that the project of building real schools, especially in rural Limpopo, was achievable. Masemola said it was his dream to put an end to the traditional outlook of "just building a cluster of classrooms" and move on to building proper schools that aim to respond positively to the needs of pupils.

Masemola said that education was getting more support and that  it was producing good results. "The government cannot work alone and other institutions can help the government to initiate development," he said. Masemola has embarked on a serious mission to change perceptions about the state of education in the province. "One of the perceptions is that Limpopo is a province where pupils are taught under trees."

Learner representative Khakhu Mafunisa said that she was happy when the new mobile library was delivered to the school. She further said that the need to travel a long distance to the Louis Trichardt library will be a thing of past as they will be able to study close to home.