Top NC accounting pupils off to camp

DURING the upcoming school holidays, approximately 100 of the Northern Cape’s top performing Grade 11 pupils will spend a week at the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants’ (SAICA) Thuthuka Development Camps to improve their mathematics, financial literacy accounting, English and science knowledge.

Gugu Makhanya, SAICA’s Senior Executive for Transformation and Growth, said yesterday that improving South Africa’s poor high school pass rates was one of the country’s greatest challenges.

“With proficiencies in subjects like mathematics and science far below international standards, it is essential that parents, teachers, school governing bodies, government and the private sector do everything in their power to address the quality of passes high school pupils achieve in these subjects.”

She added that the annual Thuthuka Development Camps were a unique partnership between the Department of Basic Education and SAICA.

“Established in 2005, the Thuthuka Development Camps were created to help overcome barriers to transformation within the accountancy profession. The success of these camps has enabled us to highlight our role in assisting and improving the educational standards of disadvantaged pupils in South Africa,” she said.

The camps are run provincially to help motivate pupils.