DV pupil wins glory for EC in maths quiz
Sibulele’s love of numbers showed up at an early age
ATEENAGE girl from Duncan Village beat 99 other pupils from various schools around the province when she took first place in a numeracy and literacy quiz recently.
Sibulele Natuse, 13, from Nontuthuzelo Primary School in Duncan Village took part in the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (Saica) quiz, which tested the skills of pupils from all over the country.
A total of 900 pupils from all nine provinces participated. Each province quizzed 100 pupils.
After rounds of challenging maths and literacy problems to solve, Natuse was named the winner of the quiz with second and third position taken by two Clarendon Primary School girls.
The shy and soft-spoken Sibulele said her interest in numbers had started at a young age.
“I remember growing up I enjoyed games of playing cards and I would easily tally the scores. And unlike most of my peers, instead of playing with dolls and balls, I would study my times tables,” said Sibulele.
The teen, who shares a two-bedroom shack with her unemployed mother and construction worker stepfather, said solving maths problems comforted her.
“Whenever I feel down about my circumstances or anything that upsets me I do maths problems and after I solve them, I feel much better.”
She also tutors her peers to them improve in the subject. help
This is not the first time that Sibulele has come out tops in a maths challenge. Last year she was named provincial winner of the mental maths competition.
The principal at Nontuthuzelo, Mpenduli Nqoma said Sibulele’s gift had been uncovered by her Grade 5 teacher.
“We noticed that she was gifted and we took it upon ourselves to nurture that gift. She has entered many competitions and won almost all of them,” said Nqoma.
Saica’s senior executive, Gugu Makhanya, highlighted the importance of improving maths skills at an early stage to better prepare pupils for the marketplace.
Makhanya said having a good understanding of mathematics not only enhanced a child’s ability to do well in science and technology-related subjects, but was crucial to coping well with various aspects of an adult’s working and personal finance life.
“Yet, as a nation, South Africa seriously underperforms in maths.
“Our numeracy levels are extremely low and most learners opt out of continuing with maths beyond Grade 9.”