Address by Minister Mosibudi Mangena at the opening of National Science Week 2008 and launch of South African Mathematics Foundation (SAMF), Eskom Convention Centre, Johannesburg

Programme director
Mr Vishnu Naidoo, Chairperson of the South African Mathematics Foundation Board
Professor Johann Engelbrecht, Executive Director of the South African Mathematics Foundation
Ms Mmatladi Khembo, President of the Association of Mathematics Education of South Africa
Professor Hlengani Siweya, President of the South African Mathematics Society
Sponsors
Representatives of other government departments
Organised professions and non-governmental organisations
Educators and learners
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen

It is perhaps fitting to begin my address to this august gathering by quoting words of an insightful anonymous author who claims that "The human mind has never invented a labour-saving machine equal to algebra".

The launch of the South African Mathematics Foundation, or SAMF, is a milestone for our country. For the first time in our history we have an office established by organised formations of professional practitioners in the fields of mathematics and mathematics education, including statistics and statistical mathematics. I understand the Foundation is designed to provide administrative support for the activities of both the Association of Mathematics Education of South Africa and the South African Mathematics Society. This initiative is an example to other professions, and is to be applauded.

The formation of the SAMF comes at a time when mathematics has become a compulsory subject in the general education and training band, and when everyone in grades 10, 11 and 12 is expected to take either mathematics or mathematical literacy. This is of vital importance considering the importance of these subjects. Making our children learn these subjects will allow us to build a numerically literate society.

Launching the South African Mathematical Foundation at the beginning of the Mathematics Week will strengthen the efforts to make people aware of the new organisation and what it stands for. I was encouraged to read in one of the daily newspapers that many parents have realised the importance of Mathematics if their children were to receive a well-rounded education. The South African Mathematics Foundation should strive to ensure that the majority of parents and members of the public are aware of the importance of this learning area in the knowledge economy we are striving to build.

Our country's continued poor performance in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) brings the usual recriminations. But I believe it is time we focused on using South Africa's strengths to counteract the challenges we are facing in the teaching and learning of these subjects.

It is against this background that my Department has entered into a formal collaboration agreement with the Department of Education to support the implementation of both the Youth into Science Strategy and the National Strategy for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education. And we are pleased to report that the collaboration is beginning to bear fruit. The Department of Education is supporting the participation of all Dinaledi schools in the Mathematics Olympiads, as well as South Africa's participation in international competitions such as the Pan African Mathematics Olympiads.

We are concerned about how accessible these Olympiads are to the under-represented sections of the population, and the SAMF has assured me that efforts are being made to ensure a more representative team at the 2009 Pan African Mathematical Olympiads event, which South Africa will be hosting.

The South African Mathematics Foundation manages my Department's two key curriculum support interventions, the Educator Support Programme and the Supplementary Tuition Programme. The former has facilitated the selection of science teachers to attend the summer camps at the Perimeter Institute in Canada in the past two years. The latter is being piloted in the 18 Dinaledi Schools, adopted by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), and recent feedback on the programme has been positive.

The above successes could not have been achieved without the alliance between government (represented by the Department of Science and Technology and the Department of Education), the mathematics community, and some generous sponsors. An evaluation of the Educator Support Programme reveals the need for greater co-ordination and the support for interventions aimed at enhancing the subject and pedagogic competence of educators. The SAMF is the most appropriate driver for establishing such synergy.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is becoming increasingly urgent for the various industrial and business sectors to become involved in ensuring that curriculum delivery is meaningful, and that the public is aware of the many economically valuable applications of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. I am heartened to see representatives of business and industry with us today. Your contribution to youth development is highly appreciated. We hope others will learn from you, and add their weight to our efforts to take our country forward in the global economic race.

All of us are aware of the interdependence between mathematics and science, and we welcome the fact that the SAMF has begun exploring ways of formalising this "marriage" at both project and structural level. I urge you to consider what value could be added if the Mathematics Week coincided with the National Science Week. My other suggestion relates to the establishment of a formal structural relationship among the South African Mathematics Foundation, which oversees the implementation of Mathematics Olympiads, the National Science and Technology Forum and the Federation of Engineering, Science and Technology Olympiads and Competitions.

All these collaborative efforts would definitely be enhanced if the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement was included in order to streamline the activities and improve co-ordination. Of course, responses to all these suggestions should be aligned with national policies that are aimed at greater representivity and excellence in areas of scarce resources.

The launch of the South African Mathematics Foundation coincides with the review of mathematics in South Africa by a panel of international experts, which has been initiated by my Department. The process is expected to generate recommendations that will guide responses to some of the issues I have just raised. We urge the communities involved in mathematics, mathematics education, mathematical statistics and statistics to enrich the review process with their participation.

We are mindful of expecting too much from an office with only two full-time staff. Nevertheless, two volunteers, appointed through the DST National Youth Service, have helped make this occasion a success. We hope the said volunteers and many others will continue to benefit from the Youth Service programme. Participation in real work situations usually goes a long way towards developing the capacities needed for success in the knowledge intensive modern economies.

Allow me, in closing, to convey a special message inspired by the words of John Louis von Neumann to the learners: "If people do not believe that mathematics is simple, it is only because they do not realise how complicated life is".

For too long mathematics has been portrayed as a very difficult subject to be avoided if a student wanted to obtain a qualification in the shortest possible time. The truth is, without mathematics, one is unlikely to get anywhere in life. So, do not let any false beliefs get in the way of your future. You need mathematical agility to survive in the knowledge economy. Make good use of the opportunities offered during the Maths Week. Read the Mathematics Career Book to get some ideas proposed by role models in various fields. Grasp your future with both hands; otherwise it will escape you.

It is now my singular pleasure to launch the South African Mathematics Foundation, and declare the Mathematics Week 2008 open.

I wish you all the best.

Thank you.