Big plans for Mpuma matrics
2005-10-21 09:30
Kulani Mavunda and Justin Arenstein
Nelspruit - Mpumalanga unveiled ambitious plans on Thursday to ensure all its matriculants are both computer and maths literate by 2008.
Education MEC Siphosezwe Masango told teachers from across the province that the government would build computer labs in all 1 823 Mpumalanga high schools within the next two years.
"The aim is to ensure that by 2008 all learners leaving the school system have some level of computer literacy," said Masango.
The province has also pledged to double the current number of matriculants who pass higher grade maths, from the current 24 000 learners to an envisioned 50 000 learners.
Additional resources
"This will primarily be done by focusing support on 400 dedicated maths and science schools across the province," said Masango. "Targeted schools will receive additional teachers and resources."
Mpumalanga will be careful to ensure the policy also addresses current race and gender imbalances amongst maths and science whizzes, and will seek to boost access to the science for township and poorer rural learners.
The strategy will, however, not only focus on high schools.
Mpumalanga also intends building basic numerical skills amongst primary school learners by boosting resources and the numbers of teachers focusing on these skills in the first three grades.
"It is essential for learners in these grades to be quick and confident users of numbers. This is the basis for all further learning," said Masango.
The policy will be further entrenched by enthusiastically implementing the national policy to make mathematical literacy a compulsory subject all the way through to matric.
Teachers sceptical
"Our aim is to ensure that all learners are prepared for life and work in an increasingly technological, numerical, and data-driven world," said Masango.
Although Masango's pledges were welcomed by teachers at a conference of the provincial chapter of the South African Democratic Teachers' Union (Sadtu), individual teachers expressed scepticism that the province would be able to roll out and then support the computer programme within just three years.
Teachers also expressed doubt that enough good specialist maths teachers would be found to work in rural or township schools, when educators with these skills are already sought-after by better-paying private or 'Model C' schools in suburban and metropolitan areas.
None of the teachers wanted to be named for fear of possible retribution by the education department.