REFILWE MEKOA
More mathematicians are needed for South Africa to develop. This is according to Free State MEC of Education, Tate Makgoe.
He says he wants more children to love mathematics, see the beauty of it and proceed with the subject post Grade 10. Makgoe was speaking at the second provincial Mental Maths Whiz Kids competition on Saturday in Bloemfontein. He says once pupils develop an interest in mathematics there will be more doctors, engineers and chartered accountants.
He says the competition is in line with the department’s Maths for All campaign that every child has the ability to do mathematics.
“The kind of questions that we ask them are not low order questions. We have integrated some of the best questions and some of them we took from Singapore so that our children can be world-class. Everyone always says that we should start teaching the children at a young age and it is exactly what we are doing. Professors always write that the poorer you are, the worse you perform. We want to prove them wrong,” he says.
Makgoe says it’s not true that socio-economic conditions affect the performance of a pupil. He says a good support base helps a child to improve in mathematics.
