Crisis for SA science education
SOUTH Africa came last out of 39 countries in a 2016 assessment that focused on the science performance of Grade 9s.
This prompted the question: where is the nation going wrong?
Now a report from the Institute for Race Relations has revealed a major part of the problem: Only 18% of high schools have a laboratory‚ and they are unevenly spread across provinces.
In Gauteng‚ the Western Cape and the Free State‚ only around one third of high schools have labs – but they are the best off.
Worst off are the Eastern Cape and Limpopo‚ where only around 6% of high schools have labs. Mpumalanga‚ North West‚ KwaZulu-Natal and the Northern Cape have labs in 10% to 20% of high schools.
Education specialist Judy Andrew says in response to the report: “I believe equipped science labs are essential in high schools.
“An innovative educator can use a classroom to teach science in the early years. But once experimental work at high schools needs to be done‚ without an equipped laboratory the teaching and learning of science becomes extremely difficult, if not impossible.”
This comes in the wake of new ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa’s hearty words on the value of science at the Science Forum in Pretoria earlier this month‚ when he spoke of how important it was as a subject.
“We have a responsibility to develop a community of young people who believe there is a future for science in South Africa and on the continent‚” he said.
“They must see themselves as agents of development‚ working to redesign the urban environment‚ expanding transport networks and building new‚ more sustainable human settlements.”
The Department of Basic Education was not available for comment. — DDC