Mathematics and Science are two subjects that South Africa usually finds itself ranked near the bottom. And while the government rebuttals usually attack the methodology behind such reports, more energy should be spent in finding solutions. A pilot project in Kaalfontein, Midrand did just that, and more. A non profit organisation Utolo Education joined forces with Teach360, and ran a 10-week tutoring programme at the Ponelopele Oracle Secondary school. This is their story. – Stuart Lowman
By Edwell Gumbo*
If I told you that you could take a group of Mathematics and Physical Science learners in a township school, put them through a 10-week tutoring programme and see their average marks improve by over 10% for each subject, what would your response be?
Well, this is exactly what has happened at the Ponelopele Oracle Secondary School in Kaalfontein, Midrand as part of a programme that has the potential to be rolled out nationally.
Non-profit organisation, Utolo Education, together with teaching and educational technology resources business, Teach360, reached out to Ponelopele Oracle Secondary School in February this year to launch a 10-week programme to give 150 learners in Grades 10-12 access to an additional eight tutors (four of these being maths tutors and the other four being Physical Science tutors).
The tutors were teachers from other schools in Gauteng and they supplemented the learners’ Mathematics and Physical Science lessons with extra classes during weekends and holidays.
The learners further received additional learning materials from the likes of Teach360’s Quanta Physical Science books while being supplied with meals during the programme as well.
The final results of the project have been very encouraging as the average performance of learners improved by 14% for Mathematics and 27% for Physical Science respectively.
As part of pre -and -post assessments, the highest Mathematics mark among the learners increased from 68% to 86% while the highest Physical Science mark increased from 68% to 96%.
In particular, the top performing learners showed the greatest improvement by moving two to three grades up in their marks. The result of this jump is significant as these learners are now in a position to qualify for bursaries as well as gaining entry to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) courses at university.
What was inspirational about this project was that the attendance throughout the 10-week period was around 100%, showing the commitment on the part of learners to succeed.
Addressing SA’s Mathematics, Physical Science dropout problem
A key reason why we decided to launch this programme is that it’s become an all-too-regular occurrence for high school learners in our country to drop the critical subjects of Mathematics and Physical Science during the FET (Further Education and Training) phase.
The reality is that these two subjects are vital when it comes to equipping our children for skills in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Mathematics and Physical Science open up learners to a greater number of career opportunities and jobs.
One solution to this dropout problem could lie with the efficient use of CSI (Corporate Social Investment) initiatives such as Utolo Education’s Maths and Physical Science tutoring programme at Ponelopele Oracle Secondary School.
In terms of funding, this project was backed by Utolo Education and Teach360. The FutureLearn Group – which specialises in education solutions for learners at any age in South Africa – has a stake in the Utolo Education while it also owns Teach360.
FutureLearn also owns Teach360 which provides teaching and learning solutions such as school policies as well as CAMI practice software.
The total cost of this specific project at Ponelopele Oracle Secondary School stood at less than R300,000.
For corporates, this model would be an ideal CSI project opportunity and Utolo Education is hoping that more companies will see the benefits of such an initiative. Utolo Education strongly believes that it can duplicate this model nationwide with more funding.
In addition, this model doesn’t need to be implemented at schools only: it can also be carried out at community learning centres where Grade 10 – 12 Maths and Physical learners from various schools can attend.
Because of the Utolo Education’s links to FutureLearn and Teach 360, it has access to a wide tutor network making a national rollout of such a project possible.
Commitment from participating schools, parents and teachers
Of course, rolling out a programme of this nature requires buy-in from all stakeholders.
Ponelopele Oracle Secondary School has traditionally been regarded as a township school that has strong management as well as committed teachers and parents. As a result, the school’s matric results have consistently been higher than the national average.
It’s therefore not surprising that parents of the school’s learners have communicated their desire to see the Utolo Education’s Mathematics and Physical Science tutoring project being extended for the remainder of the academic year.
What Ponelopele Oracle Secondary School has illustrated is that every township school in this country has the ability to dramatically improve its academic results in key subjects and play their part in uplifting our country.
We hope that many corporates and organisations, of all sizes, see the benefit that such an initiative can bring and that we can start to lighten up more projects like this across the length and breadth of our country.
- Edwell Gumbo, GM Schools at FutureLearn.Â
