Speaking during the speech and prize giving day at St Thomas Aquinas Primary School in Khumalo suburb last Friday, Mrs Kaira said schools must not be stuck in the past.
She said technology has seen a number of education materials and programmes being accessed through the use of smart phones and tablets.
"Our children learn in ‘tablet classrooms' and we have to move with the global trends and times. It should not surprise us when one day part of the admission requirement for a child into a school may be a possession of a smartphone or laptop more than any other learning tool," she said.
Mrs Kaira said the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education continues to re-skill teachers to be computer compliant to facilitate quality teaching and learning in schools.
She said the new curriculum which is in its second year running has a number of learning areas that have plenty of scope for innovative thinking.
Mrs Kaira said parents must play a critical role in shaping the future of learners in lifelong attributes and the school should be an extension of what happens at home.
She commended St Thomas Aquinas for embracing change in line with the Ministry's vision to produce competent and wholesome individuals in its education system.
St Thomas headmaster Mr Cuthbert Chiromo said gone are the days when parents thought little about sports and concentrated on the academic.
Mr Chiromo who is credited for helping blossom talented footballers at Mzilikazi High School between 1985 and 2002 when he was the headmaster resulting in the school winning a record four COPA Coca-Cola titles with the likes of Peter Ndlovu among his pupils, said sport has become big business in high schools .
He said some high schools are on the lookout for talented pupils and are prepared to offer bursaries at the school level.
"Many people are making a living out of sport and we have many examples to prove this. The name Peter Ndlovu has ruled the roost for quite some time in the world of soccer. We can also talk of Kirsty Coventry who has swum herself to the post of Minister of Sport," he said.
"Parental involvement is called for in sport and I am pleased to say that many parents are realising that not every child is cut out to pass Mathematics, English, Agriculture, General paper or Ndebele. As I said last year, we have among our pupils artists who do not need to understand Mathematics, musicians whose Chemistry marks will not matter and swimmers whose physical fitness is more important than Physics."
