BPTT gives copier to Mafeking school

Mafeking Government Primary School received new photocopying machine which was donated by energy company BPTT.

At the presentation school principal Richard Roopnarine said BPTT's gesture and will provide a significant advantage to all of students. He said given that not all of the school's students have access to online resources, the copier would go a long way towards providing learning packages and other resources to students, a media release said.

"Apart from the students, this machine will also ease the financial burden on parents and help teachers to enhance the delivery of a quality education for all," Roopnarine said in the release.

Speaking at the handover on June 16, BPTT's community liaison co-ordinator Matthew Pierre said, "It has always been clear to bpTT that the future of this community, and indeed our nation, depends on the younger generations. We have always invested in developing opportunities for them in areas such as education, sports, the environment and arts and culture.

"Sustainability is the foundation of our strategy and with the change in dynamics due to the pandemic, we have refocused in order to ensure that students are given the tools to perform at their best in a virtual learning environment."

Mafeking Government is a top-performing school and last year, it fielded 11 of the top 20 students from Mayaro in the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) exam, the release said.

Senior teacher Anjanee Ramrattan-Kadoo also praised the company for its support of Mayaro students.

"I believe that the performance of students at Mafeking, and across our community, was aided by BPTT with learning devices as early as May 2020. They have always provided Mayaro students with key advantages including Smart boards, computers and even remedial learning via the Arrow Foundation," she said.

Having recognised that students needed assistance to function in a virtual environment, BPTT has provided over 300 devices thus far. This forms part of the company's overall covid19 response, which has provided well over $1 million in help for the most vulnerable populations across TT, the release said.

President of the school's PTA Anthony Mills was proud to point out that Mafeking Government was multi-faceted having achieved national success, not only in academics, but also in sports including netball, football and cricket; arts and culture through the Panorama and Best Village competitions; as well as participation in 4-H and Unesco's Sandwatch initiative.

Mills said, "I have two kids attending this school and I can attest that this donation will help all students to better attain their full potential and give an ease to parents in these difficult times. BPTT's support over the years has helped to create a happy, interactive and world-class learning environment at Mafeking Government. They are helping our kids to achieve the greatness they embody."