City growth hangs on better tools at schools
'For the Bay to continue to grow, we must provide industries in future with a 21st century workforce, starting with today’s school children' - Unizulu Science Centre Director Derek Fish
IF Richards Bay is to become globally competitive, local schools will need to ‘get with the times’.
According to Unizulu Science Centre Director, Derek Fish, there is a critical lack of skills in the region owing to substandard education at schools in Zululand.
‘For the Bay to continue to grow, we must provide industries in future with a 21st century workforce, starting with today’s school children.
‘The town is built around high tech industries that are world leaders and cannot operate without a highly technically skilled workforce.
‘Unizulu Science Centre’s main aim is to assist in providing more scientists, technologists and researchers by first ensuring a steady supply of qualified school-leavers.
‘We have a critical lack of these skills because our schools’ output in this area is so poor.
‘The significance of our ailing education system is shown in the World Economic Forum (WEF) report, confirming that the number one driver of the global economy is proficiency in maths, science and engineering.’
SA ranked last
The WEF Global Information Technology Report 2016 ranked South Africa last in mathematics and science education quality.
SA also finished close to last – 137 out of 139 countries – when looking at the overall quality of its education system.
The report ranks SA’s mathematics and science education quality lower than that of Nigeria, Mozambique and Malawi.
This is the third year in a row that SA has finished last in the WEF’s mathematics and science education quality rankings.
The KZN Central Regional Co-ordinator for the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists, Krishnie Naidoo also stated professionals in these fields are critical to the nation’s economic well-being.
‘Developing the country’s pipeline of young researchers, scientists and engineers is fundamental to survival in a competitive and constantly evolving global village.’
She said the annual expo, which is SA’s largest science fair for learners from grades five to 12, aims to stimulate youth interest and participation in fields related to sciences, technology, engineering, mathematics and innovation.
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