East Cape pupils excel in coding competition
Winners had limited instruction but got the gist immediately
Two pupils from the Eastern Cape reigned at this year’s Tanks national computer hackathon competition in Johannesburg.
Mihlali Ngudle, in Grade 6 at Nokwanda Primary School and Lisakhanya Nukwa, in Grade 9 at Sixishe Secondary, took the number one spots in their respective grade categories, with Ngudle being the overall winner.
Both schools are in Ezibeleni in Komani.
The competition was open to pupils in grades 5 and 6 and those in grades 8 and 9.
The hackathon sees competitors being given a problem to solve using a computer programme. The adjudicators watch and mark them accordingly. One hundred pupils from five provinces spent hours coding. The schoolchildren were all from remote and disadvantaged schools with little formal training in coding.
Mihlali said: “I was not sure if I was going to win but I was confident. Winning it made me feel good about myself.”
The 12-year-old said the only training she received was from Professor Jean Greyling from Nelson Mandela University which led to an interest in computer coding.
Lisakhanya said: “I am happy that this programme came to our area. We are a rural area and we do not get opportunities such as these.
“It was a great experience.” Nokwanda Primary principal Funeka Rozani said she was over the moon with Mihlali’s achievement.
“The children were not taught how to computer code. They had one session before they went to play in Johannesburg with Professor Greyling and they grasped it immediately.”
The Eastern Cape was represented by four schools – Nokwanda Primary, Sixishe Secondary, Greenpoint High from East London and pupils from the Artombo art project in Port Elizabeth.
The competition is sponsored by the State Information Technology Agency (Sita).
The co-ordinator of the Sita Tanks Hackathon, Professor Greyling, said they had reached 2,500 pupils from remote and disadvantaged schools.
Sita CEO Dr Setumo Mohapi’s said: "Sita will continue to create the kind of development we envisage as outlined in the NDP.
“This hackathon has been particularly exciting as Sita ensured that South African learners are exposed to the possibilities of being solution developers and designers.”
The winners share a R5,000 cash prize for their schools and other individual prizes.