Science, technology and innovation minister Blade Nzimande has committed to enhancing interventions for access to ICT gateway subjects – mathematics and science – including upscaling science centres.
The minister was speaking at the launch event of the 2025 National Science Week at the weekend, hosted in partnership Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria.
The theme for this year’s event is: “Science, technology and innovation are for everyone.”
Maths and science are regarded as the key building blocks for entry into STEM and ICT career pathways, and are critical for a nation’s ability to advance in science, innovation and economic development.
However, there has been heightened criticism that learners are being discouraged from studying mathematics in high school in favour of mathematical literacy. There is also the challenge of a shortage of qualified maths teachers.
The Department of Basic Education, which is the custodian of the country’s basic education efforts in 24 000 public schools, has rebuffed claims it is pushing learners away from maths.
According to Nzimande, one of the things the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) is fighting against, together with the deputy minister, is the fear of maths and science.
“If we hope to address our skills development needs and significantly reduce youth unemployment, one of the things we need to do is to ensure the majority of our younger people are able to access high-quality maths and science education at foundation level, regardless of which part of our country they may reside in, urban or rural.
“We must not fear maths and science. Educators, please help us. Don’t say: ‘I want to improve the pass rate in my matric class,’ by taking out kids, even those who have potential to do what we call pure mathematics, to do maths literacy because you want to improve your results in your school.
“The results of your school may well improve, but you are depriving the country of the necessary maths and science that we need for the development of our country.”
The minister noted that “maths isn’t as difficult as we think”, as there is one main rule in mathematics and that is to practise and do all the formulas.
To further its science engagement strategy, he said the DSTI is building on existing programmes that will include introducing National Science Month in 2026.
“This means that this year’s week-long National Science Week format is the last one and serves as the transition to the month-long programme we intend to introduce next year,” he explained.
On upscaling the science centre’s project, he said in the past, the department donated mobile lab units in the form of vans, which were customised to serve as labs for the schools that do not have laboratories.
“This intervention has proven to be quite impactful. Working with the Department of Basic Education and with the experience we have gathered, we intend to scale up this programme.
“We are also currently considering the establishment of two forms of science centres. One must be a national flagship science centre, which will comply with the highest global standards. The other is the introduction of limited-scale science centres. These are service delivery-focused and strategically located within localities for easy access to the public.”
The minister said the decision to upscale the department’s science engagement interventions is informed by several considerations. “One is my dream of seeing each of our provinces having a high-quality science centre before the end of this administration.
“The other is that, if we are to realise our departmental mantra, which calls on us to ‘place science, technology and innovation at the centre of government, education, industry and society’, we will have to significantly change a number of things.
“We need to significantly raise the level of our public awareness efforts about the benefits and opportunities that derive from science, technology and innovation.”
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