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From News24 article

Written by Aphelele Mbokotho

4 April 2025

• South Africa is equipping more than 40 000 teachers with coding skills, preparing them for the robotics and coding curriculum and advancing digital education.
• Tangible Africa's "coding unplugged" initiative makes coding accessible in underserved communities
using physical tokens and a companion app.

Beyond the numbers lies the heart of this programme: the inspiring stories of teachers like Joseph Mvungande, who are using their new skills to empower their pupils. He is a mathematics teacher in Nkandla.

His motivation was simple yet powerful: he wanted to equip his students, some of whom had limited access to resources, with the tools to navigate the demands of the digital age.

He said he focused on "unplugged coding and robotics", a learning method that requires no internet connection and caters specifically to pupils in underprivileged areas.

"The programme has opened my eyes in terms of the amount of talent and thinking our learners possess.”

He said his newfound skills didn't just impact his understanding of technology - they revolutionised his teaching methods.

"It has drastically reduced absenteeism and late coming from my school. During the morning assembly learners are given a chance for reading and coding," he said.

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