With the 2025 academic year in full swing, Free State public works MEC Dibolelo Mance, through the department's “back-to-school'’ campaign, donated science and technology resources to schools in the province.
Mance visited St Bernard’s Secondary School on Thursday where she launched the province's back-to-school project and handed over the first batch of maths and science kits aimed at encouraging pupils to choose maths and science as high school subjects.
The department wants more pupils to choose pursuing careers in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics sectors, saying there is a need for more skills there.
The kits will make learning the subjects for grade 12 pupils easier and help them complete the academic year successfully, the department said.
“We have realised maths and physical science are gateway subjects that can have a significant impact on what a learner can apply to study at university — and their future job prospects. The country needs skills in science, technology, engineering and maths or it risks being left behind by other nations progressing with their fourth industrial revolution initiatives,” said Mance.
The donations include laboratory glassware and test tubes.
“The focus is to consolidate and enhance our achievements with a view to ensure that we leave no child behind by providing support for learners with disabilities, learners with learning barriers, promoting multilingualism and ensuring our schools are safe and can provide welcoming spaces to all,” Mance said.
Grade 12 pupils at St Bernard's said the donations would be a big help as some of them wanted to pursue careers in the maths, science and technology fields.
Pupil Dikgabiso Siqeye said: “We are grateful for the kits donated by the MEC [and her department] as we believe they will have a good contribution in our pursuit to complete grade 12. Practical learning tools are better than being taught in theory and the kits will help us get involved and experiment ourselves instead of just watching the teacher do it for us.”
Another grade 12 pupil said the donations will come in handy as they will no longer rely on their own initiatives only to pass the grade.
“We are excited and hopefully the practical part of science will help contribute to our final results at the end of the year. We no longer have to watch YouTube videos and we will do the practical ourselves,” Refilwe Chabalala said.
TimesLIVE
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