News Bulletin of 13 October 2025, 12pm

To date a total of 8,596 smart classrooms have been introduced by the Gauteng Education Department.
This is part of an initiative that aims to transform classrooms into digital learning spaces with top of the range information communications technology.
The classrooms are prioritised for township secondary schools and identified primary schools in line with the department's Information and Communication Technology Strategy.
The department says full ICT schools receive smart classrooms from Grade 7 to 12, while township fee and no fee paying schools receive the classrooms from Grades 10 to 12, depending on classroom infrastructure readiness.

A new app is helping residents of Soweto, South Africa, turn local knowledge into income.
Timbuk2 trains young data agents to map informal businesses like spaza shops and salons using their smartphones.
The project aims to capture the true value of South Africa’s vast informal economy while creating jobs for unemployed youth.
Timbuk2 Founder, Matimba Nkuna says the company is making it fun and rewarding for locals to map their community's businesses, which are often invisible:
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5-bright young South Africans will represent the country at the 2025 FIRST Global Challenge taking place from 29 October to 1 November.
The team will go against 190-countries in a robotics challenge, in Panama City.
The theme, Eco Equilibrium, will challenge teams to do something good – design and programme robots that can help protect the planet’s biodiversity.
The Spring-Bots, founded in 2018 by a group of passionate learners, have evolved into a movement, transforming STEM education for kids in schools.