By Iviwe Mzandisi
“Little town, big brains” are the words that echoed in Arts Major, as Dean of Sciences at Rhodes University, Prof Tony Booth, addressed grade 12 students from the six no-fee paying schools in Makhanda. “Our top scientists in the faculty are from Grahamstown; from our little town comes big brains,” remarked Prof Booth. He encouraged the learners to use the resources and learning materials provided through such interventions to assist them in their studies. The RU Department of Mathematics runs the Winter School program to address the shortfalls in the public schooling system. The schools involved are Ntsika, Nombulelo, Mary Waters, T.E.M. Mrwetyana, and Khutliso Daniels. The Winter School runs over three days from 26 to 28 June and is run by lecturers Kate Koch and Amy Langston, alongside student assistants from the department.
Final-year Masters in Statistics student Stanley Mumamato Mbira says, “We help them as well as to try and understand during their tutorials after the lessons. We just try to converse with them and try to understand what the challenges are.” Nzuzo Ndlovu, one of the teaching assistants, says, “I was so happy to see the Dean of Science come and encourage them to apply to Rhodes University.”
“Yesterday I learned a lot about things I didn’t know and the fun in Maths,” said Sesona Yantolo, a T.E.M Mrwetyana learner. “Next year, I am thinking of doing business management, and I know I want to be an entrepreneur and have my own business.”
The Winter School covers topics in the curriculum that weren’t covered in classes. Zanele Ngcete, a learner from T.E.M Mrwetyana, says, “The program has helped me understand stuff that the teacher didn’t explain to us, like regression and new easier formulas.”
A lecturer in the department, Prof Lizanne Raubenheimer, says, “We have seen kids battle with concepts like Financial Mathematics, Statistics, and Probability. Those are also topics that are left to the third [school] term, and that’s also our expertise. We’ve seen that if we do it now, It's helping them, and it’s also motivating them to see Rhodes University.”
The Mathematics Department also offers additional support to the teachers in these schools by creating a communication line where they can talk to the Mathematics department about their challenges. Prof Raubenheimer hopes more schools can attend the program next year to benefit from it.