DWS’s Gauteng SA Youth Water Prize Competition a success despite COVID-19 scare
The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) in Gauteng has successfully hosted the SA Youth Water Prize Competition online for the first time, ensuring that learners who participated in the competition were protected from the raging impact of the coronavirus.
This year, the competition was cast in doubt due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 but DWS’s Gauteng officials adapted to running it online. Under normal circumstances the learners present their papers and innovative water models in front of a panel of adjudicators.
Through the competition, the Department offers tertiary education bursaries and cash prizes to the winner. The competition is collaboration between the Department and the Stockholm Water Foundation in Sweden.
DWS’s Shoki Malepe, the coordinator of the competition in Gauteng, said the outbreak of the COVID-19 presented a threat to holding the competition as they could not gather leaners and teachers in the same venue in strict adherence to safety regulations.
Malepe said since the competition provides rare opportunities to many learners who would otherwise not have the means to pursue their dreams in education, this required a change of plans on our part to hold the competition.
She said: “This is a science and technology competition and therefore as organisers we were challenged to come up with other options and think outside the box. We had to tap into available avenues to hold the competition so that there was not black out in as far as the competition is concerned.”
Malepe added that the competition was about encouraging innovations to current challenges, saying the COVID-19 was also a challenge of our times that required them to seek solutions to continue to hold the competition.
To adjudicate the work submitted by learners for the competition, Mhlabaze said the work was distributed to adjudicators and virtual communication between them took place to discuss it and then scored the participants.
Five schools participated in the competition with the following three schools taking the top spots.
Position 1: Sandown High School
Represented by Grade 11 learner Mr Kedumetse Mmako and Ms Mahek Bhala
Their project was an Invention called “Tengiso”
Position 2: Uitsi High School
Represented by Grade 11 learners Ms Dzanga Matodzi and Ms Yoanda Chantal
Their Project was an Invention called “Hydrogenn Alpha Product, Running Dry”
Position 3: Protea Glen Secondary School
Represented by Mr Mohube Vutomi and Mr Kubayi Katekani both in Grade 11
Their Project was an Invention called “SANIPURIFICATION”
The Sandown High School learners will represent Gauteng at the national leg of the competition
For more information contact: Sputnik Ratau on 082 874 2942 or Hosia Sithole on 082 723 2442.
