STEM ACCELERATOR PROGRAMME FOR EDUCATORS

October 2021, Boshof Solar Power.

In collaboration with the Maths and Science Leadership Academy (MSLA), Boshof Solar Power has initiated a STEM training programme for primary school educators and Early Childhood Development (ECD) practitioners, in the Boshof area. Aimed at encouraging the incorporation of Maths and Science fundamentals into learning from a young age, and not only at High School level, the programme benefits educators from Grade RR up to Grade 3.

The inaugural training sessions, which took place over two days during the first week of September, at Boshof Combined School, drew ten educators from schools and ECD Centres in the area. These included Boshof Combined School, Boshof Intermediate School, Aramela Combined School, Kgatelopele ECD and Leretlhabetse ECD Centre.

The first year of the programme is focused on the Grade RR and R age groups, to ensure that the foundation years are solid. The programme has notably been initiated in collaboration with both the Department of Education, and the Department of Social Development.

Speaking to the Department of Education’s Chief Education Specialist: Curriculum Management and Support, ECD and Primary Schools, Mrs Amelia Mofokeng, she explains, “We believe that the integration of STEM concepts will build confidence in the learners from an early age which will lead to a love of the subjects. Furthermore, application of maths and science concepts to real life situations, which are familiar to them will help to increase interest and understanding of concepts; the concepts become relevant and useful to them.”

This programme is an extension of the education partnership, which kicked off in 2015, between Boshof Solar Power and the MSLA, aimed specifically at stimulating the desire amongst learners to study STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths) subjects.

The solar plant sees views this new programme as a natural progression, and a key step to driving the uptake and success of STEM in local schools.

“We would like to stimulate an interest in Maths and Science concepts from as young an age as possible as we have noticed when it comes to subject choice time in Grade 10 very few learners are choosing these subjects for Matric. We believe including these subjects until Matric will boost employment opportunities for the learners after school, with our dream being to see a local Boshof learner qualifying as an Engineer and working at our solar plant,” concluded Zuki Ndlela, Economic Development Officer of Boshof Solar Power.