• BASF in South Africa donates R250 000 to Maths and Science education project.
• Techno-blended Mathematics and Science school model supports skills for automotive, manufacturing and chemical industries.

BASF in South Africa yesterday made a R250 000 donation to the Govan Mbeki Mathematics Development Unit (GMMDU), Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth, in order to support their Tablet- and Laptop- Assisted Mathematics and Physical Sciences Support Programme in under-resourced secondary schools.

According to Professor Werner Olivier, Head of the GMMDU, various influential reports have recently confirmed that the crisis in Science and Mathematics Education has deepened in the country. “This dire situation is having a serious impact on skills development and subsequent economic growth in the country,” he said. “Also, it is affecting the progress of thousands of learners with potential to access higher education to become part of the skilled or semi-skilled workforce in the near future.” 

In response to this situation, the GMMDU has, over the past few years, successfully implemented a series of teacher development and learner incubation programmes in the Nelson Mandela Metropolis and adjacent regions of the Eastern Cape Province.  An innovative and modern digitally-based Techno-blended Teaching and Learning model (TBT&L) for NCS Mathematics and Science was developed by the GMMDU and extensively used during these project implementations.

As a result of BASF’s donation, two schools in the Nelson Mandela Bay area - Soloman Mahlangu High School and Ethembeni Enrichment Centre - recently received a set of 50 android tablets with the comprehensive TouchTutor® maths and science support package pre-installed. 

The package uses innovative curriculum aligned digital teaching and learning material to support teaching and learning at under-resourced schools in the Metropolis, including graphically enhanced video- and PowerPoint based lessons to cover the CAPS Mathematics and Physical Science curricula from grade 10 – 12, a video series of science experiments, interactive self-tests with scoring and feedback. The TouchTutor® package also integrated inter-active mathematics language support functions with concept explanations in English and any one of seven indigenous languages.

The schools’ Maths and Science FET phase teachers have also been equipped with laptops which include the TouchTutor® resource package for seamless integration of the programme in classrooms. At the handover ceremony, BASF South Africa Vice President and Managing Director, Benoit Fricard, said that developing future engineers and scientists is crucial for the success of the chemical industry.

“At BASF we are firmly committed to supporting the upliftment of science and mathematics programmes that will ultimately support the sustainability of our industry,” he said. “The support for programmes such as the Mathematics and Physical Sciences Support Programme developed by the GMMU is crucial in order that, down the line, there will be a pool of skilled staff feeding into the workforce of the Nelson Mandela Bay region.”