Finding the 'STEM Brains': the Siyanqoba mission to disarm the fear of maths

Date Released: Mon, 10 November 2025 10:42 +0200

By Siqhamo Jama

 

South Africa has a deep, untapped reservoir of young people with a natural talent for logic, patterns, and problem-solving - so-called ‘STEM brains’. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. However, for decades, many of these brilliant minds have been lost – not due to a lack of ability, but to a school system that often teaches mathematics and science in a way that is rigid, uninspiring, and, in many cases, outright intimidating.

Makhanda-born Dr Ntsikelelo Charles, now an astronomer at SARAO, is a prime example of a 'STEM brain' the world nearly lost. He was a gifted student who found himself under-stimulated by the way STEM was taught at school. A visit from a Rhodes University Mathematics Professor, Julien Larena, organised by the high school principal, inspired young Ntsikelelo to rediscover mathematics and pursue a career as a radio astronomer.

Before the intervention, Ntsikelelo’s vision for the future was to leave school at sixteen and become a taxi driver. It’s a common story: a subject presented as dry and inaccessible almost caused him to walk away entirely. 

This national problem, where the teaching method can stifle a student's natural potential, is precisely what the Rhodes University Siyanqoba Mathematics Olympiad Training Programme addresses.

A targeted mission to find STEM brains

This is not just another outreach project. It is a targeted mission to find these learners, to intervene before their fear of maths becomes permanent.

Central to this mission is Professor Eric Andriantiana, the Head of Mathematics at Rhodes University. His involvement in the Siyanqoba programme is not the distant oversight of a typical department head. He is on the ground, in the classroom, coordinating the sessions himself. The reason is simple: he sees himself in every student who walks in.

Decades ago, as a student in Madagascar, Professor Andriantiana loved maths. He wanted to join the Maths Olympiad, but he never did. He felt he was in the wrong school, not in the right circles, and targeted communication simply never reached him.

“I never participated as a contestant. But I wanted to,” he recalls. “I was like those kids.”

Now, he is the Chief Coordinator for the very thing he once felt excluded from. He has thrown himself into Siyanqoba, building the kind of supportive and inspiring team he wishes he had. That team, which he always credits first, includes mathematics lecturer Dr Catherine McLean, who has been with the programme since the start, and Dr Wetsi Poka, whose energetic coaching keeps learners coming back time after time, form its academic core. 

They are joined by Babsy Makombe from partner organisation GADRA Education, who is as present in the classroom as she is behind the scenes, ensuring that the learners have every practical support they need.

Together, this small but dedicated group manages between 60 and 80 Olympiad hopefuls from six local no-fee schools every second Friday – a logistical feat that relies on passion more than resources. 

But for them, the Olympiad is just a tool. The real mission is to disarm fear.

Making maths loud and proud

“We don't really push anyone away if they want to join. It doesn't matter how strong they are in maths,” he insists. He actively encourages failure as the first step to learning. “I have to keep the psychology up. I tell them that having zero now is okay. However, having zero when the competition arrives is not acceptable. And that is why we are here.”

This approach transforms the classroom. It is not quiet. It is loud.

“Sometimes I have to open the door and check outside if there is another class going on, as we make too much loud noise,” he laughs. “This is when they are marking their work, and they find the answer, and they're cheering up. 'Yeah!'”

That cheer, that sudden eruption of collective joy, is the sound of minds unlocking. It is the sound of fear evaporating. And it is translating into staggering results.

On 13 September 2025, the Siyanqoba teams participated in the Maths Olympiad Teams Competition. The results were a vindication of the method. The Senior Team 1 rocketed to 7th place nationally out of 78 teams. This was a monumental leap from their 24th-place finish in 2024. Top scorers, one from Ntsika Secondary School and one from  Khutliso Daniels Secondary School, proved that these learners can compete with anyone in the country.

But the true victory is not the ranking. It is the future.

Siyanqoba’s success, beyond the Olympiad

The 2025 university acceptance lists read like a testament to the programme's impact. Two Siyanqoba veterans, one from Ntsika Secondary School and one from Mary Waters High School, were accepted to study aviation at the 43 Air School. Two Nombulelo Secondary School learners who went through the Siyanqoba programme are now studying Pharmacy degrees at Rhodes University. A current Ntsika Secondary School learner, who scored an impressive 80% in Grade 11 Maths, holds a provisional acceptance for a BSc in Information Systems at Rhodes University.

These learners are the "STEM brains" that could have been lost. Instead, they were found. Because they were told it was safe to fail. They were given a space to be loud. And now, they are on a path to change the world.

For the professor who once felt invisible, the work is deeply personal. "We would like to bring to the spotlight the talent of the schools," he says. His ultimate dream is still ahead. “We never had one in the national team. But it's our dream that one day someone from Makhanda will be part of the national team. That's our dream.”

 

Source: GADRA, Rhodes University Maths Department

Source:Communications