SOME 3002 learners, mainly in matric, from 57 schools across the Vhembe District of Limpopo Province, and their educators, collaborated in a science outreach programme hosted in the Vhembe District by Nelson Mandela University and the University of Venda.
The Vhembe district includes a large number of rural schools and annually produces a high percentage of top matric learners, especially in mathematics and science. On average, half of South Africa’s top 20 matric learners are from the Vhembe District.
The schools are close to the border between South Africa and Zimbabwe, in the Vhembe East and West education districts, including the Niani Circuit, Tshilamba Circuit, Vhembe West and the Nzhelele Education Cluster.
As part of the outreach activities, science experiments and demonstrations were conducted by the exhibitors, and interactive discussions and presentations aimed at fostering a fascination with science and educating learners about ‘science for society’ were held.
Nelson Mandela University’s Computing Sciences department empowering learners with fun coding activities.
It’s essential to have these science engagements at schools in every part of our country, as the declining number of students studying maths and science at South African universities is of serious concern for the country. Science is essential in achieving a better world through the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Africa Agenda 2063.
During the outreach, the Vhembe learners also attended workshops on career guidance, academic requirements for university access and the opportunities available in science-related fields, aimed at encouraging them to consider pursuing science as a career.
The aim was to expose learners at the school level to what our two institutions offer. Many learners do not know about the many fields of science they can study at university if they get a good university pass in maths and science.
For more info and full story visit the University website…
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