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Advancing innovative, effective mathematics and science teaching across South Africa

01 October 2024 | Story Anthony Mthembu | Photo Kaleidoscope

S4F2024 — The Science-for-the-Future (S4F) unit in the Faculty of Education hosted a summit on 13 September 2024. The event, which was held on the University of the Free State Bloemfontein Campus, was well attended by nearly 300 guests from across the country.

Teachers from across the country and representatives of nine other universities recently gathered at the University of the Free State (UFS) to celebrate the achievements of the S4F Teacher Professional Development programmes as well as the successful collaboration between the UFS and other universities in this regard.

The Science-for-the-Future (S4F) unit in the Faculty of Education hosted a summit in the Centenary Complex on the Bloemfontein Campus on 13 September 2024. The acting Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the UFS, Prof Anthea Rhoda, delivered the keynote address at the summit. Representatives from the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) – the official funder of the Science for the Future initiative – were also present, along with about 300 attendees, representing teachers, participating universities, representatives from the Department of Basic Education, and other stakeholders.

In her welcoming address, Prof Matseliso Mokhele Makgalwa, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Education, said the event focuses, among others, on fostering collaboration and innovation across academic and professional communities. She later highlighted the fact that the project implementation period of three years makes provision for continued visits to the participating schools to sustain the continuity over time.

Dr Cobus van Breda, Programme Director of S4F and Project Manager of the Universities Collaboration initiative, elaborated on the rationale of the project as well as the collaboration with nine other universities. He stated, “We know from research that there are many factors that prevent learners, especially in rural areas in South Africa, from excelling in Mathematics and Science. These include subject content knowledge, lack of teaching resources at school and at home, language of learning and teaching that differs from home language, along with a lack of parental involvement, among others.” He said the project aims to address these rampant challenges by not only empowering teachers with the necessary teaching skills and content knowledge, but also providing classroom resources to benefit learners and adding a parental involvement component to the project.

To scale the project benefits for the rest of the country, the UFS has partnered with nine other universities; collectively, more than one hundred thousand project participants (teachers, learners, and parents) could be impacted during 2024. The collaborating universities are Nelson Mandela University, the Walter Sisulu University, the University of Limpopo, the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the University of Mpumalanga, Sol Plaatje University, the University of Venda, Stellenbosch University, and Nort-West University.

Representatives from the Department of Basic Education and other institutions were also given the opportunity to highlight the impact of the initiative in their respective institutions. Maki Molale, Senior Education Specialist from the Free State Department of Basic Education, reflected on the contribution of the project and said, “In the Department of Education we report on these key areas: teacher development, direct learner support, parental involvement, the utilisation of resources and partnerships … they are all addressed in this project.” She thanked the University of the Free State and the funder, SANRAL. Dr Glynnis Daries from Sol Plaatje University spoke on behalf of the collaborating universities and explained from an academic perspective to attendees how the project implementation strategy of S4F relates to Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory of human development and how the respective project components showcase the five levels of this theory.

During the keynote address, Prof Rhoda emphasised the importance of Mathematics skills, teaching children the capacity to solve problems and how it is extremely important to be analytical in one’s approach to resolving complexities and to work through problems in a methodical and logical manner. In the end, if one does this, no challenge is insurmountable. She commended the teachers present for fulfilling a vital task and pointed out the heavy responsibility on their shoulders. In this regard, she said, “As the UFS, and through the Science for the Future project, we are proud to support you in your work. The project is a vehicle through which we fulfil the central goals of the UFS, which are to impact the community in a positive way, and to instil a culture of excellence in a caring environment. We will continue to support you in your work and do all that we can to make your work more fulfilling and impactful – this is the promise of the UFS to our partners through this project.”

In acknowledging the contribution of the respective collaborating universities, Prof Rhoda emphasised that partnerships and collaborations are not easy to build, and most importantly, to maintain … “but what I’m hearing through these engagements today is that these partnerships are not just being maintained, they are expanded … the collaboration impacted the different institutions as well as, most importantly, the communities, close to and around them”. She alluded to the fact that universities’ roles are not just to retain and accept students, but universities have an important role in being the anchor within the society and communities in which they find themselves. According to her, the contribution of SANRAL and other project funders thus extends far beyond teachers’ professional development and community empowerment, it contributes towards assisting universities in engaged scholarship activities.

In reflecting on the parental involvement component of the programme, Themba Mhambi – Chairperson of the SANRAL Board – said that apart from being a maths and science project, and a project that is developmental, that is nation building, “… it becomes a kind of template for perhaps how our education system needs to be re-constructed … reclaiming the old times when parents and teachers worked together with the child in the centre”.

News Archive

Prof Jonathan Jansen bids farewell to Kovsies

2016-08-31

Dear Kovsie staff and students

This is my final message to you all.

I wish to use this opportunity for some brief reflections, share a word of gratitude, and convey a sense of the future for our beloved university.

Since the announcement of my departure, I have had more than a dozen breakfasts with mainly students, but also staff, to offer an opportunity for the final sharing of thoughts and, of course, goodbyes. The most common questions asked at those breakfast sessions were the following, with my responses. I repeat them here, since these might also be of interest or concern to you.

What are your proudest achievements?
Two things. The increase in the academic standard for the UFS, both in terms of admission standards and pass rates, but also in relation to the requirements for appointment and promotion especially of professors. This is important because in a globally competitive world, a university stands or falls by the quality of its degrees. And for this you need the best students and the best professors.

What would you do differently, given another chance?
Nothing. I believe that leadership is about doing the best you can with the cards you are dealt in the circumstances in which you are placed. There is no point in second-guessing past decisions. I have always been ambitious as a leader, knowing that most of my goals would be met, and that some would not. That is normal in large and complex organisations, and so, I do not sit around pondering regrets, only remembering with gratitude the things we could achieve together.

What did you learn?
A lot. I learnt that our students have tremendous capacity for greatness both in their academic pursuits but also in their ability to live, and learn, and love together. I have learnt never to underestimate the capacity of our youth to excel in whatever they do. Sometimes I felt I was more ambitious for our students and staff, than they were for themselves. But I have constantly been surprised by the capacity of young students to rise above bitterness and division, and to make great our campus, country, and continent.

I learnt, again, that the overwhelming majority of our staff and students are good people, respectful of each other, and determined to work together to heal our broken past and build a more just society. And I learnt that it is much more fulfilling to build up than to break down, to embrace than to exclude, and to love than to hate.

Were you frustrated with the pace of transformation?
Sometimes, yes. But fortunately I studied educational organisations all my life, mainly schools and universities. Universities are called institutions for a reason, and on century-old sites like the historic Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State, there are core beliefs, values, and practices deeply ingrained in the culture of the place.

Anyone, therefore, who believes that transformation is easy, has obviously never tried to change an old university. It is difficult. You will get blowback. You will get bad press. You will, sadly, lose the support of some people. Some believe the university is changing too fast while others will tell you it is not changing fast enough. As you press for change, you find the university going two steps forward and one step back; in these circumstances, the solemn duty of the leader is simply to ensure that the overall momentum is always forward.

For such a time as this –
a commemorative journey:
2009-2016 (PDF book)

I therefore budget for disappointment even as I relish the many changes we have experienced together over the past seven years. If you want to obtain an objective sense of the scale of the changes at the UFS, ask those students and staff who were here in 2009, not those who came recently. They will tell you that we have a very different university, even though we all acknowledge that there is still some distance to travel. Our remarkable story of change is told in the recent Transformation Audit of the UFS, chaired by Prof Barney Pityana; that Audit Report will be released after it is read and studied by the University Council at its November meeting.

At an individual level, I learnt that most campus citizens change quickly and others more slowly, and that one has a duty to constantly push for change, but also to be patient about change. And I learnt that the ideal change retains the best of our past even as we embrace a more just and inclusive future in which all campus citizens feel that the university truly belongs to each and every one of them.

Are you optimistic about the future of our university?
Yes. The UFS is a very well-managed university thanks to the exceptional talent in the management of our finances, human resources and information technology environments. By the end of 2016, we will have record enrolments, from undergraduates to doctoral students, which is good for our future income. We run a tight ship with regard to the university’s finances, and we have greatly improved the academic standard of our qualifications; in this regard, I am very proud of my senior management team, and the talented middle management personnel, and those who make things work at the coalface of our operations.

I am very concerned, however, about future funding of the 26 public universities and the extremely vulnerable situation of at least 10 higher-education institutions. The economy is not growing and the costs of running a modern university are escalating. The delays in government commission reports on tuition fees do not help, and there seems no urgency ‘higher up’ to make the tough decisions.

We have to ensure free education for the poorest students — that is the position of your senior management – but we also need to guarantee the financial sustainability of our universities. The task of the UFS leadership, in this period of uncertainty, is to manage those two expectations as best we can. But this cannot happen without your assistance, and I do ask that you provide the new Rector and his or her team with the same understanding and support which I have enjoyed from you.

In conclusion
I am grateful.

To the many hundreds of students who have passed through my office and our home, and who sat in my many lectures and engaged me in your residences – thank you for enriching my sense of life and leadership. I am grateful that Grace and I could support and mentor many of you over the years and see you graduate. I am a better leader because of you.

To the staff of the three campuses – there is no university Rector, I can assure you, who enjoyed more love and support than what you offered me since the day I arrived here. Students come and go, but you have been my foundation year after year, and I thank you for that.

To parents, friends, and followers off-campus, in South Africa and abroad – thank you for hundreds of letters, emails, phone calls, prayers and ‘packages of support’ (from biltong to books). In the most difficult times, you rallied from everywhere with a word of support, often on social media. Know this: your words kept me calm in the storm.

Thank you, everyone.

Goodbye.

Prof Jonathan Jansen
Vice-Chancellor and Rector
University of the Free State

Description: Prof Jansen saying goodbey Tags: Prof Jansen saying goodbey

Prof Jonathan Jansen steps down as UFS Vice-Chancellor and Rector (16 May 2016)

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