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In celebration of the International Day of Mathematics, which took place on 14 March, teachers at Nokuphila Primary School in Thembisa are helping pupils struggling with the subject.
Shepherd Chihwehwete, the Head of the Department of the senior grades at Nokuphila Primary School, says their core functions are to deliver quality Christian education to primary school and pre-primary children in their school, which is based in Tembisa, Midrand.
In addition to that, they train black South African adult women as accredited early childhood development teachers to teach Grades 000, 00 and Grade R school children.
Read: Multi-award-winning teacher tells us how he makes maths fun for his students
But now, they have taken an extra responsibility working with The Love Trust to offer support to pupils struggling with mathematics, even extending support to their alumni students.
This is because they believe that mathematics is vital for pupils as it allows them to make sense of their world and build a solid foundation for success during their school years and at later stages in their lives.
Chihwehwete points out that mathematics is an essential tool that helps pupils develop their logical reasoning skills while dealing with practical challenges.
He notes that pupils were underperforming in mathematics even before the pandemic, and many researchers wondered why. One of the most significant factors for him is access to good quality teaching.
Also read: Mathematics with Nqayiya makes top 10 at the Junior Chamber International SA awards 2021
According to Zingiswa Jojo, a professor in the Department of Mathematics Education in the College of Education at UNISA, the teaching of mathematics in South African schools has been pronounced to be among the worst in the world.
According to this professor, unacknowledged poor mathematics teaching in majority of public schools deprives many pupils of access to both higher education and modern, knowledge-intensive work skills.
The Love Trust and Nokuphila hope to provide the best quality education and support for their learners, both past and present, in core subjects such as mathematics.
They further offer voluntary extra tuition to their alumni as they don't know the quality of the education they'll receive outside of Nokuphila and are busy planning further expansions to include Grades 8 and 9 by 2023.
Because they have found that many have dropped out of school, and they say that this is worrying considering their early schooling years and their potential.
Chihwehwete says that teachers from Grade four and up volunteers to "adopt" a pupil they help tutor beyond their term at Nokuphila and provide pastoral care and guidance. This offer is available to all pupils they've successfully tracked, according to Chihwehwete.
Nokuphila still keeps in touch and is up to date on their alumnis performance thanks to the strong ties with the parents and that learners often still have younger siblings attending the school.
Keeping in touch, according to Chihwehwete, fosters solid social bonds between the learners, the school, and the community.
For more information on The Love Trust, you can visit their website here.
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