Date: 25/03/2004
Source: Ministry of Education
Title: M Mangena: Career Guidance and Exhibition
ADDRESS BY THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF EDUCATION, MR MOSIBUDI MANGENA, AT THE CAREER GUIDANCE AND EXHIBITION IN MOGOTO VILLAGE, Zebediela, Limpopo Province, 25 March 2004
Director of Ceremonies
Members of the School Governing Body
Principals
Parents
Learners
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is indeed very encouraging to see how people who are determined to succeed against all odds strive to uplift themselves by paying more attention to the basics of development, that is, exposing their children to career opportunities that are now available, in order to help them to choose careers they feel passionate about and have the necessary potential to complete successfully. The career guidance and exhibition programme you lined up for this conference covers all the essential professions and skills training required by a modern economy. Your conference package is in line with the National Human Resource Development Strategy whose main goal is to develop scarce skills and improve quality in those areas where there is no sufficient supply of relevant human resources.
To achieve this goal, government has launched a series of initiatives that encourage more of our young people to pursue careers in science, engineering, technology, economic, and financial services. Different government departments, parastatals and the private sector are implementing these initiatives to meet the needs of their areas of concern. In education, we launched the National Strategy for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education as a means of preparing learners to follow higher education fields of study for the target careers.
In order to maximise the impact of scarce resources, and to develop the model of best practice for a complete rollout over time, provinces were requested, on a proportional basis, to select up to a total of 102 dedicated schools nationally that are located in disadvantaged areas. This part of the strategy is commonly known as the Dinaledi Project, and in the Limpopo Province, 23 schools are on this project. We are delighted to report that the Dinaledi Schools have made tremendous progress since 2001, when the strategy was launched.
In the last three years the Dinaledi Schools have surpassed all the targets they had set for themselves. In this year's Most Improved Schools Awards, 33% of the awards were scooped by the Dinaledi Schools, which comprise 102 out of more than 6 000 high schools nationally.
Although progress has been made with regard to laying a foundation for a future mathematics, science and technology education, more still needs to be done. We must recognise that the development of Africa depends on the successful merging of knowledge and value systems. The constant exchange of ideas, discoveries, innovations and art forms is what makes the human species unique, because this allows it to confront and triumph over a number of challenges. The mastery of mathematics, science and technology is a survival kit that humans have utilised over the millennia.
Changes taking place in the world today are happening much faster than they ever did before. Research tells us that scientific and technological knowledge currently increases at the rate of 13% per year and this figure is doubling every 5 years. This rate is expected to rise to 40% per year very soon. If we are to deliver the type of education that is in keeping with the realities of the modern world, it is only realistic to equip all schools with the necessary infrastructure and technical know-how to enable them to provide our children with a sound foundation in, among others, the use of information technology. Fundamental to this is adequate supply of competent teachers of mathematics, science and technology education.
This career guidance and exhibition hosted by the Mogoto Community Development Council is an important and relevant event for promoting both the aims of the National Strategy for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, and the National HRD Strategy. Career guidance and exhibitions provide an ideal opportunity of informing and directing our young people towards lucrative and essential professions. The more young people we are able to assist in choosing careers they are suited for, the sooner we will be able to produce a critical mass of human resource possessing skills that are required to compete favourably in the information and technology dependent global economy.
During the Bantu education era, the subject of Guidance was offered to those whom the system did not know what to do with. Dubbed a non-examinable subject, it was perceived as one of the most useless subjects offered at school. Yet every young person requires information and guidance in order to adequately prepare for the career options available to develop her or him into a productive adult in the future. Properly conceived and presented, career guidance has the potential of developing a learner that is armed with enough knowledge to make the right career choices. It exposes learners to a wide range of careers, and imparts the necessary information to enable prospective students to apply to the right institutions and funding agencies. These are the type of learners whom this conference is trying to develop.
In our new outcomes-based curriculum, Life Orientation is a compulsory subject having career guidance as its cornerstone. We require specific educators who are adequately trained to teach these subjects. Successful teaching of this subject requires empathic educators having a thorough grasp of the knowledge and skills needed by our youth in order to make it in the globalising world. The exhibition is, therefore, an important event for exposing our educators and learners to a range of skills and careers.
You have asked me to address the question of where the Dinaledi Project is, and where we are taking it. The development of the National Strategy for Mathematics, Science and Technology was the Department of Education's response to one of the imperatives set out in the National HRD Strategy. It was intended to address the enormous challenges that the country is facing in order to bridge the gaping digital divide. The MSTE Strategy was informed by the realisation that the schooling system was unable to produce sufficient numbers of learners who were adequately prepared for the demands posed by the mathematics and science related disciplines at higher education. The reality was that a very small percentage of African and girl learners were taking, and passing well, mathematics and science on the higher grade. Financial and relevant human and other resource constraints demanded the initial implementation of a pilot project now known as the Dinaledi Project. Through this project the department wanted to develop a sustainable model of best practice we could use in order to:
* Raise the participation and performance of disadvantaged learners in Senior Certificate Mathematics and Physical Science
* Provide high quality Mathematics, Science and Technology education for all learners taking the first General and Further Education and Training Certificates and
* Increase and enhance the human resource capacity to deliver quality Mathematics, Science and Technology education.
We set targets for ourselves. Through the commitment of the educators, we made valuable progress in just three years:
1. The number of students taking Mathematics and Science in Grade 12 has improved. Despite a decrease in the total number of students writing the Senior Certificate in the past three years, the number of students enrolled in Mathematics Higher Grade increased from more than 25 000 in 2001 to about 29 000 in 2003, and the number in Mathematics Standard Grade increased from nearly 98 000 to more than 123 000. In Physical Science Higher Grade, the number increased from about 35, 5 thousand in 2001 to 40 000 in 2003, while in Physical Science Standard Grade the number of students rose from 70 000 in 2001 to 82 000 in 2003.
2. We have seen an overall steady increase in the number of students passing Mathematics and Science since we introduced the MSTE Strategy. What is more pleasing about this is that schools from the most remote of areas have been consistently counted among the best performing Mathematics and Science schools in the country. The example set by schools like Mbilwi Secondary School in Limpopo and Mathenjwa Secondary School in KwaZulu-Natal is now being followed by a larger number of schools. More stars are shining brighter as a result of our efforts.
3. The department, in collaboration with universities and non-governmental organisations, has provided training and technical support to the teachers of these important subjects.
4. The department has provided bursaries for students wishing to become teachers of Science and Mathematics through the National Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS). We hope that the NSFAS funding will attract a greater number of Mathematics and Science graduates to make teaching their first choice career.
5. A number of private sector companies have and are continuing to direct more financial and other resources into the Dinaledi and other schools in order to promote the teaching and learning of Mathematics, Science and Technology.
As we consolidate, deepen and widen the National Strategy for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, we need to improve the language of teaching and learning of mathematics, science and technology. The language of instruction for content subjects, including mathematics, science and technology after the Foundation Phase (Grades R-3), is for the majority of our learners, different from their mother tongue or home language. Although language problems reflect insufficient conceptual understanding, difficulties associated with the learning and teaching of these subjects is also associated with the lack of proficiency in the medium of instruction.
Consequently, the future direction of the Dinaledi Project involves the implementation of the following strategic objectives:
1. Setting performance targets for all mathematics, science and technology schools, especially for African and girl learners;
2. Placing in every mathematics, science and technology classroom a qualified and competent teacher;
3. Improving the language of teaching and learning mathematics, science and technology;
4. Identifying and nurturing talent and potential in mathematics, science and technology;
5. Strengthening cooperation between the Departments of Science and Technology and Education in implementing the objectives of the strategy;
6. Entering into partnerships with relevant parties to raise the required resources and mobilise technical support and expertise;
7. Evaluating and monitoring programmes in mathematics, science and technology education; and
8. Making interactive digital content on mathematics, science and technology available via satellite, television, Internet, multimedia, print supplements and the portal.
Given the magnitude of the task ahead, it is vital for our public and private sectors to invest massively in our education system. We invite all parties to join hands to ensure that our children receive high-quality learning and teaching, particularly in the critical areas of mathematics, science and technology.
In order to speed-up delivery, monitoring and evaluation should be done at all levels of the system, especially at district level where mathematics, science and technology advisors will be having, as their main job requirement, on-going professional support to the Dinaledi and other mathematics and science schools.
The centrality of mathematics and science in developing our human resource capacity can never be sufficiently emphasised. An inter-provincial committee has been established to ensure proper coordination and management of the implementation of the Strategy. The Mogoto Community Development Council would do well to support and participate in the activities of this Committee. We commend and congratulate you for your commitment to improving the education and quality of the people of this area.
Ke a leboga.
Issued by: Ministry of Education
25 March 2004
Source: Ministry of Education
Title: M Mangena: Career Guidance and Exhibition
ADDRESS BY THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF EDUCATION, MR MOSIBUDI MANGENA, AT THE CAREER GUIDANCE AND EXHIBITION IN MOGOTO VILLAGE, Zebediela, Limpopo Province, 25 March 2004
Director of Ceremonies
Members of the School Governing Body
Principals
Parents
Learners
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is indeed very encouraging to see how people who are determined to succeed against all odds strive to uplift themselves by paying more attention to the basics of development, that is, exposing their children to career opportunities that are now available, in order to help them to choose careers they feel passionate about and have the necessary potential to complete successfully. The career guidance and exhibition programme you lined up for this conference covers all the essential professions and skills training required by a modern economy. Your conference package is in line with the National Human Resource Development Strategy whose main goal is to develop scarce skills and improve quality in those areas where there is no sufficient supply of relevant human resources.
To achieve this goal, government has launched a series of initiatives that encourage more of our young people to pursue careers in science, engineering, technology, economic, and financial services. Different government departments, parastatals and the private sector are implementing these initiatives to meet the needs of their areas of concern. In education, we launched the National Strategy for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education as a means of preparing learners to follow higher education fields of study for the target careers.
In order to maximise the impact of scarce resources, and to develop the model of best practice for a complete rollout over time, provinces were requested, on a proportional basis, to select up to a total of 102 dedicated schools nationally that are located in disadvantaged areas. This part of the strategy is commonly known as the Dinaledi Project, and in the Limpopo Province, 23 schools are on this project. We are delighted to report that the Dinaledi Schools have made tremendous progress since 2001, when the strategy was launched.
In the last three years the Dinaledi Schools have surpassed all the targets they had set for themselves. In this year's Most Improved Schools Awards, 33% of the awards were scooped by the Dinaledi Schools, which comprise 102 out of more than 6 000 high schools nationally.
Although progress has been made with regard to laying a foundation for a future mathematics, science and technology education, more still needs to be done. We must recognise that the development of Africa depends on the successful merging of knowledge and value systems. The constant exchange of ideas, discoveries, innovations and art forms is what makes the human species unique, because this allows it to confront and triumph over a number of challenges. The mastery of mathematics, science and technology is a survival kit that humans have utilised over the millennia.
Changes taking place in the world today are happening much faster than they ever did before. Research tells us that scientific and technological knowledge currently increases at the rate of 13% per year and this figure is doubling every 5 years. This rate is expected to rise to 40% per year very soon. If we are to deliver the type of education that is in keeping with the realities of the modern world, it is only realistic to equip all schools with the necessary infrastructure and technical know-how to enable them to provide our children with a sound foundation in, among others, the use of information technology. Fundamental to this is adequate supply of competent teachers of mathematics, science and technology education.
This career guidance and exhibition hosted by the Mogoto Community Development Council is an important and relevant event for promoting both the aims of the National Strategy for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, and the National HRD Strategy. Career guidance and exhibitions provide an ideal opportunity of informing and directing our young people towards lucrative and essential professions. The more young people we are able to assist in choosing careers they are suited for, the sooner we will be able to produce a critical mass of human resource possessing skills that are required to compete favourably in the information and technology dependent global economy.
During the Bantu education era, the subject of Guidance was offered to those whom the system did not know what to do with. Dubbed a non-examinable subject, it was perceived as one of the most useless subjects offered at school. Yet every young person requires information and guidance in order to adequately prepare for the career options available to develop her or him into a productive adult in the future. Properly conceived and presented, career guidance has the potential of developing a learner that is armed with enough knowledge to make the right career choices. It exposes learners to a wide range of careers, and imparts the necessary information to enable prospective students to apply to the right institutions and funding agencies. These are the type of learners whom this conference is trying to develop.
In our new outcomes-based curriculum, Life Orientation is a compulsory subject having career guidance as its cornerstone. We require specific educators who are adequately trained to teach these subjects. Successful teaching of this subject requires empathic educators having a thorough grasp of the knowledge and skills needed by our youth in order to make it in the globalising world. The exhibition is, therefore, an important event for exposing our educators and learners to a range of skills and careers.
You have asked me to address the question of where the Dinaledi Project is, and where we are taking it. The development of the National Strategy for Mathematics, Science and Technology was the Department of Education's response to one of the imperatives set out in the National HRD Strategy. It was intended to address the enormous challenges that the country is facing in order to bridge the gaping digital divide. The MSTE Strategy was informed by the realisation that the schooling system was unable to produce sufficient numbers of learners who were adequately prepared for the demands posed by the mathematics and science related disciplines at higher education. The reality was that a very small percentage of African and girl learners were taking, and passing well, mathematics and science on the higher grade. Financial and relevant human and other resource constraints demanded the initial implementation of a pilot project now known as the Dinaledi Project. Through this project the department wanted to develop a sustainable model of best practice we could use in order to:
* Raise the participation and performance of disadvantaged learners in Senior Certificate Mathematics and Physical Science
* Provide high quality Mathematics, Science and Technology education for all learners taking the first General and Further Education and Training Certificates and
* Increase and enhance the human resource capacity to deliver quality Mathematics, Science and Technology education.
We set targets for ourselves. Through the commitment of the educators, we made valuable progress in just three years:
1. The number of students taking Mathematics and Science in Grade 12 has improved. Despite a decrease in the total number of students writing the Senior Certificate in the past three years, the number of students enrolled in Mathematics Higher Grade increased from more than 25 000 in 2001 to about 29 000 in 2003, and the number in Mathematics Standard Grade increased from nearly 98 000 to more than 123 000. In Physical Science Higher Grade, the number increased from about 35, 5 thousand in 2001 to 40 000 in 2003, while in Physical Science Standard Grade the number of students rose from 70 000 in 2001 to 82 000 in 2003.
2. We have seen an overall steady increase in the number of students passing Mathematics and Science since we introduced the MSTE Strategy. What is more pleasing about this is that schools from the most remote of areas have been consistently counted among the best performing Mathematics and Science schools in the country. The example set by schools like Mbilwi Secondary School in Limpopo and Mathenjwa Secondary School in KwaZulu-Natal is now being followed by a larger number of schools. More stars are shining brighter as a result of our efforts.
3. The department, in collaboration with universities and non-governmental organisations, has provided training and technical support to the teachers of these important subjects.
4. The department has provided bursaries for students wishing to become teachers of Science and Mathematics through the National Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS). We hope that the NSFAS funding will attract a greater number of Mathematics and Science graduates to make teaching their first choice career.
5. A number of private sector companies have and are continuing to direct more financial and other resources into the Dinaledi and other schools in order to promote the teaching and learning of Mathematics, Science and Technology.
As we consolidate, deepen and widen the National Strategy for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, we need to improve the language of teaching and learning of mathematics, science and technology. The language of instruction for content subjects, including mathematics, science and technology after the Foundation Phase (Grades R-3), is for the majority of our learners, different from their mother tongue or home language. Although language problems reflect insufficient conceptual understanding, difficulties associated with the learning and teaching of these subjects is also associated with the lack of proficiency in the medium of instruction.
Consequently, the future direction of the Dinaledi Project involves the implementation of the following strategic objectives:
1. Setting performance targets for all mathematics, science and technology schools, especially for African and girl learners;
2. Placing in every mathematics, science and technology classroom a qualified and competent teacher;
3. Improving the language of teaching and learning mathematics, science and technology;
4. Identifying and nurturing talent and potential in mathematics, science and technology;
5. Strengthening cooperation between the Departments of Science and Technology and Education in implementing the objectives of the strategy;
6. Entering into partnerships with relevant parties to raise the required resources and mobilise technical support and expertise;
7. Evaluating and monitoring programmes in mathematics, science and technology education; and
8. Making interactive digital content on mathematics, science and technology available via satellite, television, Internet, multimedia, print supplements and the portal.
Given the magnitude of the task ahead, it is vital for our public and private sectors to invest massively in our education system. We invite all parties to join hands to ensure that our children receive high-quality learning and teaching, particularly in the critical areas of mathematics, science and technology.
In order to speed-up delivery, monitoring and evaluation should be done at all levels of the system, especially at district level where mathematics, science and technology advisors will be having, as their main job requirement, on-going professional support to the Dinaledi and other mathematics and science schools.
The centrality of mathematics and science in developing our human resource capacity can never be sufficiently emphasised. An inter-provincial committee has been established to ensure proper coordination and management of the implementation of the Strategy. The Mogoto Community Development Council would do well to support and participate in the activities of this Committee. We commend and congratulate you for your commitment to improving the education and quality of the people of this area.
Ke a leboga.
Issued by: Ministry of Education
25 March 2004
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