Programme director, Dr Kwaisi
MEC for Education, Mr Raymond Elisha
SAASTE National President, Mr Moyahabo Modiba
Chairperson of North West SAASTE, Ms Matlhodi Motsepe
Campus Rector, Prof Dan Kgwadi
Rep of Space Science and Technology, Mr Kaizer Moroka
Science and Technology Educators
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is such a great honour to open this auspicious event, the South African Association of Science and Technology Educators 5th Biennial Conference. More exciting, it is in the North West, my constituency, about which, as a parliamentarian, I am extremely passionate.
This is the right time to convene this conference. In three weeks, South Africa’s focus will zoom into the stunning world of science during the National Science Week, from 1 to 6 August. It will expose learners, educators and the broader public, to the critical role of science in society and its potential to drive economic growth, create decent jobs and contribute to the creation of a better life for all.
The National Science Week resonates with the theme of “Innovations in Sciences and Technology Education for a Developing South Africa”. This theme foregrounds the need to invest on gate-way subjects and on how they are taught in schools. It highlights, just as conference intends to do, the urgency of strengthening the teaching of mathematics and science.
There is consensus on the value of science and technology in development and on the need to stimulate the interest of learners in these areas. Our collective challenge, underscored by SAASTE when it was launched in 2000, is to uncover effective strategies for promoting science and technology for all.
Economic growth is depended on learners acquiring those critical skills found in mathematics and physical science.
South Africa needs teachers capable of thinking outside the box, who are willing to go the extra mile for their learners. President Jacob Zuma, in the 2010 State of the Nation address, said strongly that:
“The dearth of skilled citizens creates a need for South Africa to address the current skills deficit, and at the same time build sustainable capacity to maintain a skilled workforce.”
We have a dire shortage of engineers, physicists, chemists, technicians and artisans – the mainstay of a strong economy. I know I am speaking to astute educators willing to help us achieve our human resources development goals and our government’s commitment to economic transformation and freedom for all.
With SAASTE, a professional body for science teachers, we cannot afford to overlook the interdependence of mathematics, science and technology. The question we must ask is what can each one of us do to improve the teaching and learning of mathematics and science.
The 2010 Grade 12 results highlighted the need for added focus on these critical areas. Performance remained low in physical science, only rising from 36% in 2009 to 46% in 2010.
This conference takes place shortly after we’ve released results of the Annual National Assessments, on 28 June 2011 (ANA). The ANA was administered in February 2011 to about 6 million learners, to test literacy and numeracy skills. In Grade 3, the national average performance in Literacy was 35% and in Numeracy it was 28%. In Grade 6, the national average in Languages was 28% and in Mathematics it was 30%.
We trust that the SAASTE conference will strengthen our work on improving academic performance. We call upon all mathematics, science and technology teachers to play their rightful role in ensuring that our learners excel in these areas.
Our overarching goal is to “improve the quality of basic education, as required by the Delivery Agreement for Basic Education. Our key outputs include high-quality teaching and learning, improved literacy and numeracy skills, broadening access to quality early childhood development and achieving equity in educational provision. These call for innovation in the teaching and learning of science subjects.
On our part, we have made huge strides in laying the foundation for an improved quality of basic education. We have developed the Action Plan to 2014: Towards the Realisation of Schooling 2025 – which will serve as our blueprint for improving learner outcomes.
We have completed the review of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) and will phase them in the Foundation Phase in 2012. In April 2011, our Department, with the Department of Higher Education and Training, launched the Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Education and Development which is key to improving teacher capacity and practices.
Programme director,
My challenge to this gathering is that as you consider the utilisation of technology in schools, you should also think of how best to employ ICT as an enabler in the classroom.
I am confident that this conference will allow for the sharing of experience on innovation in the classroom. It must generate strategies to help science teachers in deepening content knowledge.
We hope that you will also shed light on creative ways of celebrating, on 4 to 10 October, World Space Week, an international celebration of science declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 1999.
I wish you well in your exploration of innovative solutions for improving the teaching of the sciences. This will help in resolving “the current skills deficit, and at the same time build sustainable capacity to maintain a skilled workforce”, as President Zuma urged us to do.
A final message: Do remember, as science and technology teachers, “the quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers” (McKinsey & Company Report, September 2007).
Meeting the challenges of education for the 21st Century calls for versatile and dedicated teachers committed to lifelong learning. There are resources all around – on the internet, cellphones and various social networks.
Many companies appreciate that corporate social investment is a business imperative. They dedicate resources to critical areas like education. Make good use of the training session on the chemical industries resource pack for teachers and learners, here in Mafikeng.
This comprehensive learning kit, to be distributed to more than 6,000 Grade 11 and 12 physical science teachers to bring chemistry alive in the classroom, was developed by Sasol, the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Catalysis, the University of Cape Town and PetroSA.
In fact, the sustainability of cutting-edge technology of companies like Sasol and PetroSA depends largely on innovative and quality teaching of our children that must come from all members of SAASTE, from all teachers of science and technology.
We can do it! As former President Nelson Mandela once said:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”
I thank you!
Source: Department of Basic Education
