Toyota South Africa Motors recently donated nine vehicles to Toyota Nigeria Limited for the sole purpose of augmenting education and training in this area. This donation is in line with Toyota’s strategy to support the upliftment of education both in South Africa and on the continent as a whole.
The vehicles, which are a mix of locally produced Corolla and Hilux models, will be used by Toyota Nigeria Limited in partnership with a local university to train budding engineers.
“Education is at the heart of Toyota and we endeavour to support where we can. Toyota has various programmes and projects that assist education in this country and throughout the continent. Engineering is a very important field of study for this country and for Africa,” says Dr Johan van Zyl, President and CEO of Toyota South Africa Motors.
To further show support for education, a Toyota dealership in Nigeria built a private university located in llara-Mokin, Ondo State, Nigeria. The prominent businessman, Chief Michael Ade.Ojo in Nigeria established Elizade University with the main motivation to improve education in his country.
In South Africa, the Toyota Foundation specifically focuses on education and runs the Toyota Teach programme as a flagship programme. Since 1991, the project has benefitted more than 250 schools and 20 000 learners by improving the quality of education at schools in KwaZulu Natal. Toyota Teach takes a whole school approach to its interventions, working with selected schools for a four-year period to address ten focus areas including teaching skills and curriculum development, school management and governance.
“Through Toyota Teach, we focus on supplementing Literacy, Mathematics and Science with younger students in the hope that it will spark a love for these subjects. In turn, our hope is that these students will become the next generation of South African engineers, educators and professionals,” concludes Dr van Zyl.