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Matric learners hone maths skills at Kovsies

19 July 2019 | Story Valentino Ndaba | Photo Charl Devenish

MEC for Education, Dr Tate Makgoe, presents an award to Khesa Maphakiso from Beacon High School at the ceremony.

Projections indicate that by 2020 about 80% of all jobs will require some level of competency in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Also, given the rising unemployment rate and the subsequent demand for entrepreneurial skills in the past few years, STEM education has become a priority for South Africa.

A step in the right direction

Equipping young people to be efficient in the world of work and business is a major driver behind the country’s education system. The MEC for Education in the Free State reiterated the importance of STEM subjects. Dr Tate Makgoe addressed about 200 top-performing Grade 12 learners from quintile 1-3 schools in the province who were attending the South African Institute for Chartered Accountants (SAICA) maths camp.

Making mathematics fashionable

The week-long camp recently closed with an awards ceremony which was held on the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS). Nine of the creams of the crop of matric learners were honoured for their achievements in mathematics, physical science, and accounting.

Zinhle Gumbi, from Morena Mokopela Secondary School, one of the three Mathematics Top Achiever award recipients has become more determined to choose a maths-related profession. “I have told myself that any career I follow must include maths. Dr Tate Makgoe said we must prove to people that the black child can do it.”

Emerging as one of the Accounting Top Achievers was Albert Ramatsekane from Tsoseletso Secondary School who intends to pursue a Chartered Accountant (CA) qualification. “The camp has boosted my confidence. Now I can choose the CA stream without thinking twice.”

Sowing the seed and reaping the fruits

Accounting lecturer Mojalefa Mosala was satisfied with the results of the camp. “I am happy to see many familiar faces in my classes who have attended previous camps. It means we’re doing something right.”

Mosala, a former assistant camp organiser, has confidence in the project as it “affords a rare opportunity to learners who have not been exposed to information, the higher learning environment, study skills and motivational figures to experience all of these”.
Kovsies prides itself in partnering with industry stakeholders to build the future of the country, one maths camp at a time.

News Archive

Prof. Aldo Stroebel serves on SAYAS

2011-09-23

Prof. Aldo Stroebel

Prof. Aldo Stroebel, from our university, has been elected as a Founding Member of the South African Young Academy of Science (SAYAS).

He is currently Associate Professor in the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, Rural Development and Extension, as well as the Director of International Academic Programmes in the Office of the Vice-Chancellor at the university.

The Young Academy has as its objectives to represent young scientists in advising the government on science and technology policy and human resource development. In addition, they will prepare the SAYAS to join the Global Young Academy (GYA) to engage with high-level international bodies, including the World Economic Forum. Twenty Founding Members have been elected – ten new members will be elected annually to a maximum of 50.

Prof. Stroebel obtained his master’s degree at the University of Ghent, in Belgium, and a PhD at the UFS after a year of graduate coursework at Cornell University in the USA. He completed post-doctoral work at Wageningen University and Research Centre in The Netherlands, where he has been appointed as a Visiting Fellow to their recently-established Centre for Food Security and Sustainable Development. He has published widely, including more than 90 journal articles, book chapters and reports, and co-edited a book published by CTA Wageningen. He has supervised ten master's and doctoral students.

He serves in various capacities: he is a member of the Research and Innovation Strategy Group of Higher Education South Africa (HESA), former member of the SANPAD Board, the President of the International Network of Research Management Societies (INORMS) Conference in 2010, and Vice-President of Research and President-elect of the Southern African Research and Innovation Management Association (SARIMA).

Prof. Stroebel has participated in a number of national and international conferences. He was a keynote speaker at the Society of Research Administrators (SRA) in Washington DC in the USA and at the Ministerial Conference on Higher Education in Agriculture in Uganda.

He has worked as a consultant and/or advisor for a number of international and multinational organisations, including the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), World Bank, Lux Development, and the World Conservation Union (IUCN), Switzerland.

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