Maths and Science Professional Development programme celebration ceremony,
Engen Court, Cape Town
2 November 2006
"Science, teachers, and textbooks"
Programme director
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Thank you for inviting me to be part of this occasion.
It is always a pleasant occasion when we celebrate success and the
achievement of educators.
Science, maths and information communication technologies play a vital role
in social and economic development. Competence in science opens up access to a
range of disciplines, encourages curiosity and promotes innovation and the
search for new knowledge. Competence in maths is essential for new
entrepreneurs, financial analysts, statisticians, and accountants. Information
and communication technologies open new forms of communication.
Developing countries need to enhance their human and institutional capacity
in maths and science if they are to succeed in their developmental goals.
Building scientific capacity depends on creating quality schools. Teachers
have to have a positive appreciation of the role of maths and science, if they
are to attract larger numbers of young people to these important subjects.
Early introduction to the wonders of science and the magic of mathematics would
assist in building an expanded pool of mathematics and scientists.
Programmes such as this one are important because they support our objective
of expanding access to these fields. They also demystify science and introduce
teachers and learners to these disciplines in a fresh and accessible
manner.
Our recent performance in science and maths confirm that our most important
educational priority is to expand our mathematical and scientific capacity in
our schools. We are performing far below expected standards. Too few learners
study maths and science and not all our teachers are fully competent
professionals.
The Dinaledi initiative is our flagship programme in promoting the study of
maths and science at school.
Through collaboration and partnership between government and the private
sector we hope to double the number of learners passing higher grade maths from
24 000 in 2005 to 50 000 by 2008.
I urge the teachers who have participated in this programme to share their
knowledge and skills with other teachers. It is clear that we need expert
mentors to work with each school that offers maths and science to provide
professional support whenever it is required.
It gives me great pleasure today to congratulate the teachers who have
graduated. I congratulate you on your hard work, dedication and commitment. I
would like to encourage you to explore all the opportunities that are available
to you through this initiative.
Your graduation could not have happened at a more opportune time.
Dedicated mathematics and science teachers are the role models that will
support our drive to modernise South Africa.
I am sure that you will utilise your training to support our national
objective of increasing South Africa's success rates in maths and science.
I encourage teachers who have participated in this programme to take the
initiative of engaging in serious conversations with their colleagues. I
encourage you to form collaborative teams where science and maths is discussed
and programmes developed to support the professional development of other
teachers.
On behalf of the department I thank the National Business Initiative (NBI)
for taking steps to address the acute skills shortages in critical sectors of
the economy.
An initiative such as this one should be taken up by other non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) and such interventions should be firmly linked to the need
to increase success rates.
We have other examples of successful initiatives. Mathematics educators in
the tertiary sector and some well known non-governmental organisations
(Shuttleworth Foundation) have developed professional development programmes as
well as innovative curricula and learning materials.
It is interesting to note, by way of illustration, that international
research has consistently shown that most Asian pupils outperform American
pupils by a wide margin in mathematics.
One of the reasons for this lies in the nature of textbooks in countries
whose pupils excel in mathematics.
In Asia (and in Cuba based on East German materials) texts are language
intensive and well written.
They focus on applying mathematical understanding to real situations, and
they constitute a coherent curriculum that builds each year on previous
learning rather than repeating the same material year after year.
Such texts broaden and deepen teachers' understanding of mathematics, and
improve their own language skills, as they prepare their lessons.
Here a pioneering textbook project, The Free High School Science Texts
(FHSST) initiative is driven by volunteer contributions and funding from the
Shuttleworth Foundation.
About 60 scientists and mathematicians have been involved in the writing and
editing the books, many of whom are still students or just out of university.
What this means is that the writers use a language and style that a high-school
pupil will understand and enjoy.
The first three books are for Grade 10, 11 and 12, maths, physics and
chemistry and are due to be released next year.
The department will support this initiative and others like it; for example,
the recent publication of Xhosa dictionaries that focus on chemistry, biology,
mathematics and technology terms.
International research also shows that where school performance in maths is
low pupils are likely to be taught by maths teachers who are not properly
qualified, which is why we appreciate the upgrading of skills that the course
you have just completed has provided you with.
In closing, a special word of thanks to all the educators who have graduated
and the National Business Initiative (NBI) and the Organisation for Educational
Resources and Technological Training (ORT) Tech for the efforts they are making
through this initiative to improve the quality of teachers in mathematics and
science.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Education
2 November 2006
