Urgent intervention is required to accelerate participation and success rates in Mathematics, Science, Technology (MST) subjects, the MST Conditional Inter-Provincial Seminar reveals. The Seminar, which took place at the DBE Conference Centre in Pretoria this week, is the brainchild of the DBE through which Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) collaborate to strengthen effective implementation of the MST Conditional Grant. Annually, the DBE is allocated R400 million, which is transferred equitably to the PEDs to support MST schools in improving quality learning outcomes.

Reflecting on some of the discussions, it is clear that national and provincial experts responsible for the MST subjects are concerned that learner participation and success rates in MST subjects are facing a decline or remain stagnant, making it difficult for provinces to excel in meeting the demands of the Inclusive Baskets of Criteria (IBC). The Basic Education Sector uses the IBC to measure quality learning outcomes of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations. In its practicality, the policy puts its emphasis on Overall Achievements, including Admission to Bachelor Studies; Distinction Achievement; Throughput rate, Tracking learners from lower grades to matric; Mathematics Achievement; Mathematics Participation; Physical Science Achievement; Accounting Achievement; and Technical Mathematics Achievement. In response to the challenges encountered by schools in achieving excellence in the MST subjects, the Minister of Basic Education, Ms Siviwe Gwarube, has advised the MST team to earmark a certain portion of the MST Conditional Grant to enhance quality learning and teaching in foundational numeracy from Grades R to 9.

MST Conditional Grant Project Manager, Mr Mlungisi Mkhwanazi, remarked that the support provided by the DBE towards the promotion of MST subjects in provinces evolved from a project called Dinaledi Conditional Grant and the recapitalisation of the Technical Schools Conditional Grant, and was subjected to reconfiguration over the years.

“During the 2014 /2015 financial year, the MST Directorate reconfigured the Dinaledi Grant and Technical Secondary School Recapitalisation Grant with an intention to accelerate curriculum diversification in the country. Initially, the Dinaledi Grant was supporting 500 Maths and Science Academic Secondary Schools whilst the Technical Secondary School Recapitalization Grant supported 200 Technical schools nationally. The MST Conditional Grant introduced 300 MST Primary Schools as Feeder Schools to the Secondary Schools benefiting from both Grants, which subsequently saw 1000 MST schools being supported during the 2015/2016 financial year. The scope of the MST Conditional Grant has since increased from 1,000 to 1,936 schools, which also includes the resourcing of Agricultural Schools across all nine provinces. Several provinces have benefited from the MST Grant; for instance, during the 2016/2017 financial year, the MST Grant contributed significantly towards building the Mandla Mthethwa School of Excellence located at Ndumo, Umkhanyakude District, and the Anton Lembede MST Academy located in the Pinetown District at La Mercy, KwaZulu-Natal. The MST Grant provides support to the OR Tambo MST Academy in Witbank, Mpumalanga, as well as the Albertina Sisulu Science Centre, in Cofimvaba, Eastern Cape. As much as there are success stories emanating from the MST Grant implementation in provinces, we as a sector, still need to strengthen the work that we do in provinces to improve the standard of numeracy across all primary schools benefiting from the MST Grant,” explained Mr Mkhwanazi.

Apart from the challenges that were raised during the Seminar, the participants were inspired by a series of success stories emanating from the MST schools supported through the MST Grant. The Acting Director for Communications and Research at the DBE, Mr Terence Khala, presented various videos of these success stories impacting communities across the length and breadth of South Africa.