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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

UFS researchers discover the many uses of the cactus pear

2015-02-17

UFS researchers discover the many uses of the cactus pear

For many South Africans, the dry, arid areas in many parts of the country became synonymous with cactus pear growing at random in the natural veld. For some the fruit of a cactus pear, if chilled really well, is a delicious snack on a hot summer’s day. But few actually know that these cacti can be money growing wild in the veld.

For the past 15 years, scientists at the University of the Free State (UFS) have been looking into the benefits and many uses of the cactus pear. This project has grown steadily in vision and dimension, and today the UFS is recognised as a world-leading institution in the world conducting multi-disciplinary research on spineless cactus pear.

Dr Maryna de Wit, from the Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology, together with Prof Wijnand Swart from the Department of Plant Sciences and Prof HO de Waal from the Department of Animal, Wildlife and Grassland Sciences, determined the nutritional and, more importantly, the commercial and viable uses of the cactus pear.

The aspect of human consumption is now giving the cactus pear the status of ‘superfood’.

Dr De Wit and her team have successfully made various products using either the cactus pear fruit, the cladode (also referred to as the leaf) and the mucilage (the sticky liquid in the cladode).

Some of these products are:

flour for baking carrot cake, biscuits and health breads
jam, fruit juice and canned fruit
sweets – marshmallows and Turkish delight
stir-fry, salads and other cooked dishes.

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