The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof Blade Nzimande, joins the nation in celebrating the hard work and excellence of the Grade 12 class of 2024.
The Minister also wishes to encourage those learners who didn’t do so well and to tell them not to despair, but to explore other opportunities, including the various post-school options of training opportunities, and or using the second opportunity available to complete or improve their results.
As Minister responsible for the development and promotion of science, technology and innovation in South Africa, I fully share the concerns of the Minister of Basic Education that “our learners in Grades 5 to 9 significantly underperform in relation to their global counterparts in Mathematics and Science” and the “decrease in enrolments in subjects, such as Physical Sciences, Mathematics, Accounting and Economics, which are all subjects that are critical for a nation’s ability to advance in science, innovation and economic development.”
Over the next five years, the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) will vigorously support efforts by Government to strengthen the performance of our schooling system in the science and mathematics subjects.
Our nation requires a massive and sustained growth in the production of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) graduates if we are to forge a technology-led future.
It is for this reason that we as the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) have adopted the mantra, which says: Placing Science, Technology and Innovation at the centre of government, education, industry and society.
As part of our department’s contribution to addressing the maths and science-related challenges in the basic education sector, we will seek to strengthen our existing cooperation with the Department of Basic Education, which is supported by cooperation agreements with the nine provincial departments of education.
We will also strengthen our existing cooperation with the Department of Higher Education, which is the main department in respect of higher education skills development, which includes science skills development.
We are currently implementing a number of extra-curricular and non-formal activities in the basic education sector, whose main objective is to excite learners about maths and science and contribute towards improved learner performance in maths and science.
These activities include our flagship science engagement programme which is National Science Week (NSW).
This is a national week-long science awareness and engagement programme, which engages thousands of learners in all provinces in a variety of informative and exciting science awareness activities.
We are currently exploring the possibility of converting National Science Week to National Science Month.
In the area of career guidance, our department produces set Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) career materials which are distributed to various events, communities and schools.
These SET career materials include a 200-page book, Science, Engineering & Technology Careers, a 16-page Self-Help Guide to my future career in SET, two posters on professional pathways and SET Resources manual.
Our newly developed SET resources manual makes it possible for teachers, career development practitioners and other facilitators to host career guidance activities, using the existing resources.
With this full complement of SET career resources, a comprehensive offering is available to learners, students and graduates.
All our SET career resources are accessible via QR Codes and can be read online or downloaded.
Furthermore, all these resources do not have copyright and so learners, parents and members of the public are free to download and print copies.
In the area of talent identification, we involve learners in our STEMI Olympiads and fairs. The Mathematics Olympiads are extremely important as they help develop the problem-solving skills of learners.
In 2023, more than 77 000 (seventy-seven thousand) learners participated in the South African Mathematics Olympiad (SAMO). SAMO is a science engagement activity that focuses on high school learners. In 2024, more than 84 000 (eighty-four thousand) primary school learners participated in the South African Mathematics Challenge.
For more information on how to access these science careers and training material, please contact, Mr. Bersan Lesch as follows: Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, Deputy Director: Science Promotion
Telephone: 071 112 6236
Email: Bersan.Lesch@dsti.gov.za
We believe that all our science awareness and engagement interventions are not just critical for enhancing learner performance in maths and science, but also to enable our strategic goal of placing science, technology, innovation at the centre of government, education, industry and society.
For Enquiries:
Veli Mbele
Cell: 064 615 0644
Email: Veli.Mbele@dsti.gov.za
