Date: 15/10/2005
Source: Department of Education
Title: Surty: Harmony South Africa National Mathematics Olympiad
Address by the Deputy Minister of Education, Mr ME Surty at the Harmony South Africa National Mathematics Olympiad, Riverside Hotel, Durban
Programme Director,
MEC for Education in KwaZulu-Natal, Ms Ina Cronje
Executive Director of the South African
Mathematics Foundation, Dr ME Bopape,
South African Mathematics Olympiad Committee,
Recipients of awards,
Distinguished guests, parents, ladies and gentlemen
I always consider it a special privilege to be invited to an occasion where exceptional achievement and outstanding performance in mathematics is recognised and celebrated.
As a developing nation still grappling with the crippling effect of below standard mathematics teaching and training for the African majority, we consider the National Mathematics Olympiad as an important contributor to the identification and development of mathematical talent amongst the youth of South Africa. We value, in particular, its role in complementing our national maths and science strategy, which we launched in 2001 to break the cycle of mediocrity in these critical areas of study. Though the olympiad you are doing a wonderfully good job in supporting this national strategy.
I don’t think there is a need for me to convince any of you of the importance of mathematics in the context of the challenges we face as a developing nation, nor do I have any reason not to belief that you understand the enormous challenges we face in promoting mathematics as a subject of choice among our learners.
Mathematics is the enabling discipline for many of the specialised skills our country needs to sustain and deepen the growth our economy is currently experiencing. Unfortunately these skills are mostly found among a very small percentage of the population. To give you a sense of what I mean at the end of September 2005 there were 24098 chartered accountants registered with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of whom only a mere 585 are African. In engineering and other highly skilled professions such as forensic auditing we find a similar situation with a very small number of Africans pursuing careers in these fields.
What these statistics suggest is that we still face enormous challenges in terms of changing the equity profiles in critical sectors of our economy such as in the engineering and financial services sectors. It implies that we have to do more to broaden our economic skills base, particularly among Africans. For this we need to encourage more learners to take mathematics because it is an essential requirement for careers in these economic sectors.
In pursuit of these tasks we need to acknowledge the many challenges facing us in implementing our national mathematics strategy because it is only on the basis of understanding these challenges that we will be able to draw the necessary lessons and respond with the appropriate strategies.
A major challenge we face is to break down the psychological barrier that has been created in the minds of learners that mathematics, and in particular higher grade mathematics, is a difficult subject. I believe that our teachers can do more to break down this psychological barrier by making the teaching of mathematics interesting and exiting for learners. However, I am also mindful of the fact that this might be more difficult for some teachers than others.
This is a reality that I observed during my recent visits to schools. At some schools, teachers are very competent in the way they present their maths lessons. Learners are able to grasp the essence of what is being taught. At other schools however, teachers conduct their lessons with the assumption that learners understand mathematical and scientific concepts. These teachers fail to take into account historical disadvantages in terms of language suffered by their learners.
Teacher development therefore becomes another critical challenge requiring a sustained effort in terms of upgrading the skills of our current mathematics educator corps and the training of a sufficient number of competent mathematics graduates for recruitment into the teaching profession. Competent mathematics teachers are the central pillar of our national strategy to promote mathematics among our learners, and the task of professionally developing them are simply too important to be comprised. In this regard I wish to acknowledge and pay special tribute to Harmony Gold for their contribution through the South African Mathematics Olympiad Teacher Development Project.
The department welcomes any kind of support from the business sector especially where the support relate to teacher development in critical subjects such as mathematics. I believe this project will significantly contribute towards developing mathematics teachers capable of teaching effectively and able to get more learners positively inclined towards mathematics as a subject.
A further crucial challenge facing us is the low participation of girl learners in mathematics. Girl learners continue to be significantly under-represented in mathematics. This limits their career choices and reinforces stereotypical views that women are not meant for certain careers.
I was glad to have been part of this year’s National Mathematics Week (which had as its theme “Women in Mathematics”) where I expressed the desire to see this initiative being used as a tool to deconstruct the prevailing myths about women’s abilities in, and perceptions towards mathematics and to encourage greater participation by women in mathematics. This is an appeal I would like to reiterate tonight, especially in the light of the disappointingly low representation of girls at this Olympiad.
Programme Director, I believe that it is imperative that our young people are recruited into the fields of mathematics and science. We need to ensure that they are positively inclined towards these subjects. Failure to attain literacy in these critical areas will prevent many of our youth from meaningful participation in our nation’s economy and social life, making the promotion of social cohesion in our diverse society even more challenging. I therefore wish to thank and commend South African Mathematics Foundation, its Executive Director Dr Bopape and staff for your efforts with regard to empowering our youth in mathematics. Through this intervention programme, you showed that success is attainable and through these learners you provide role models that other learners can emulate.
It is true that one must judge the character of an organisation by how it treats those who can do nothing for it. What the South African Mathematics Foundation is doing separates you from other institutions. Your actions, norms and values display a strong commitment to education and you qualify to be called a centre of excellence in mathematics pioneering. Your unselfish contribution brings to mind a very pertinent statement by former President Nelson Mandela who said
“It is what we make out of what we have and not what we are given that separate one individual from another”.
My wish is to see you expand and provide even more opportunities for even more learners particularly those from previously disadvantaged backgrounds.
I want to conclude with a special word of encouragement to all the recipients who are here today.
Democracy has unlocked a door of opportunity that was not opened to many of our young people before. Go out and make use of these opportunities. Never give up on your dreams. If you can dream it, you can achieve it. Nothing is impossible. Robert H Goddard once said
“It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow.”
However, while you strive to enhance your individual advancement through the opportunities that are now available to all of you, you must equally endeavour to ensure that this is balanced against our commitment to the collective good. As young people you have a particular responsibility to help make a contribution to the rebuilding of South Africa and shape the ethos and aspirations of our united but diverse society. You need to realise that that to do well, you need not only individual skills, knowledge and drive to further your own separate careers, but also the collective instincts and commitment to the nation and society.
My sincere wish for all of you is that of success. Your schools depend on you, your community depends on you, and your country depends on you. We all depend on you. Please do not let us down.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Education
15 October 2005
Source: Department of Education
Title: Surty: Harmony South Africa National Mathematics Olympiad
Address by the Deputy Minister of Education, Mr ME Surty at the Harmony South Africa National Mathematics Olympiad, Riverside Hotel, Durban
Programme Director,
MEC for Education in KwaZulu-Natal, Ms Ina Cronje
Executive Director of the South African
Mathematics Foundation, Dr ME Bopape,
South African Mathematics Olympiad Committee,
Recipients of awards,
Distinguished guests, parents, ladies and gentlemen
I always consider it a special privilege to be invited to an occasion where exceptional achievement and outstanding performance in mathematics is recognised and celebrated.
As a developing nation still grappling with the crippling effect of below standard mathematics teaching and training for the African majority, we consider the National Mathematics Olympiad as an important contributor to the identification and development of mathematical talent amongst the youth of South Africa. We value, in particular, its role in complementing our national maths and science strategy, which we launched in 2001 to break the cycle of mediocrity in these critical areas of study. Though the olympiad you are doing a wonderfully good job in supporting this national strategy.
I don’t think there is a need for me to convince any of you of the importance of mathematics in the context of the challenges we face as a developing nation, nor do I have any reason not to belief that you understand the enormous challenges we face in promoting mathematics as a subject of choice among our learners.
Mathematics is the enabling discipline for many of the specialised skills our country needs to sustain and deepen the growth our economy is currently experiencing. Unfortunately these skills are mostly found among a very small percentage of the population. To give you a sense of what I mean at the end of September 2005 there were 24098 chartered accountants registered with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of whom only a mere 585 are African. In engineering and other highly skilled professions such as forensic auditing we find a similar situation with a very small number of Africans pursuing careers in these fields.
What these statistics suggest is that we still face enormous challenges in terms of changing the equity profiles in critical sectors of our economy such as in the engineering and financial services sectors. It implies that we have to do more to broaden our economic skills base, particularly among Africans. For this we need to encourage more learners to take mathematics because it is an essential requirement for careers in these economic sectors.
In pursuit of these tasks we need to acknowledge the many challenges facing us in implementing our national mathematics strategy because it is only on the basis of understanding these challenges that we will be able to draw the necessary lessons and respond with the appropriate strategies.
A major challenge we face is to break down the psychological barrier that has been created in the minds of learners that mathematics, and in particular higher grade mathematics, is a difficult subject. I believe that our teachers can do more to break down this psychological barrier by making the teaching of mathematics interesting and exiting for learners. However, I am also mindful of the fact that this might be more difficult for some teachers than others.
This is a reality that I observed during my recent visits to schools. At some schools, teachers are very competent in the way they present their maths lessons. Learners are able to grasp the essence of what is being taught. At other schools however, teachers conduct their lessons with the assumption that learners understand mathematical and scientific concepts. These teachers fail to take into account historical disadvantages in terms of language suffered by their learners.
Teacher development therefore becomes another critical challenge requiring a sustained effort in terms of upgrading the skills of our current mathematics educator corps and the training of a sufficient number of competent mathematics graduates for recruitment into the teaching profession. Competent mathematics teachers are the central pillar of our national strategy to promote mathematics among our learners, and the task of professionally developing them are simply too important to be comprised. In this regard I wish to acknowledge and pay special tribute to Harmony Gold for their contribution through the South African Mathematics Olympiad Teacher Development Project.
The department welcomes any kind of support from the business sector especially where the support relate to teacher development in critical subjects such as mathematics. I believe this project will significantly contribute towards developing mathematics teachers capable of teaching effectively and able to get more learners positively inclined towards mathematics as a subject.
A further crucial challenge facing us is the low participation of girl learners in mathematics. Girl learners continue to be significantly under-represented in mathematics. This limits their career choices and reinforces stereotypical views that women are not meant for certain careers.
I was glad to have been part of this year’s National Mathematics Week (which had as its theme “Women in Mathematics”) where I expressed the desire to see this initiative being used as a tool to deconstruct the prevailing myths about women’s abilities in, and perceptions towards mathematics and to encourage greater participation by women in mathematics. This is an appeal I would like to reiterate tonight, especially in the light of the disappointingly low representation of girls at this Olympiad.
Programme Director, I believe that it is imperative that our young people are recruited into the fields of mathematics and science. We need to ensure that they are positively inclined towards these subjects. Failure to attain literacy in these critical areas will prevent many of our youth from meaningful participation in our nation’s economy and social life, making the promotion of social cohesion in our diverse society even more challenging. I therefore wish to thank and commend South African Mathematics Foundation, its Executive Director Dr Bopape and staff for your efforts with regard to empowering our youth in mathematics. Through this intervention programme, you showed that success is attainable and through these learners you provide role models that other learners can emulate.
It is true that one must judge the character of an organisation by how it treats those who can do nothing for it. What the South African Mathematics Foundation is doing separates you from other institutions. Your actions, norms and values display a strong commitment to education and you qualify to be called a centre of excellence in mathematics pioneering. Your unselfish contribution brings to mind a very pertinent statement by former President Nelson Mandela who said
“It is what we make out of what we have and not what we are given that separate one individual from another”.
My wish is to see you expand and provide even more opportunities for even more learners particularly those from previously disadvantaged backgrounds.
I want to conclude with a special word of encouragement to all the recipients who are here today.
Democracy has unlocked a door of opportunity that was not opened to many of our young people before. Go out and make use of these opportunities. Never give up on your dreams. If you can dream it, you can achieve it. Nothing is impossible. Robert H Goddard once said
“It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow.”
However, while you strive to enhance your individual advancement through the opportunities that are now available to all of you, you must equally endeavour to ensure that this is balanced against our commitment to the collective good. As young people you have a particular responsibility to help make a contribution to the rebuilding of South Africa and shape the ethos and aspirations of our united but diverse society. You need to realise that that to do well, you need not only individual skills, knowledge and drive to further your own separate careers, but also the collective instincts and commitment to the nation and society.
My sincere wish for all of you is that of success. Your schools depend on you, your community depends on you, and your country depends on you. We all depend on you. Please do not let us down.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Education
15 October 2005
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