Why Izibalo? The problem to solve
Parents are not able to assist their children with the maths concepts or afford private tutors which would buy them time to understand the concepts that are not grasped in class.
Learners are either dropping out of school at the end of their Grade 9 year or taking the easier subjects which do not require mathematics. According to statistics in the Eastern Cape 41% of learners take pure maths as a subject in Grade 10 and they achieve an average score of 29.74% (level 1 – not achieved i.e., FAIL)
30% of Grade 10 learners are taking Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM subjects) in their Grade 12 year. This is leading to a lack of qualified maths teachers, engineers, scientists, accountants, doctors, and the like, thus leading to a serious problem for the country’s future development.
Statistics from Eastern Cape Department Education.
The problem is two fold
1) learners are not confident to take maths at a higher level.
2) the lack of availability of strong maths teachers even in primary schools, resulting to learners who get in high school with gaps in their understanding of mathematics.
Goals & Objectives
Our vision is to increase the number of learners who write the final maths exam in grade 12 in the rural and township areas of South Africa over the next 5 years (2028). The target is to produce 1000 maths distinctions annually from Grade 8 to Grade 12.
Tutoring of 100 learners in each operating Maths Pod per month.
Establishing 10 Maths Pods in total over a 5-year period
Learners registered within our programme to achieve at least a score of 50% and above in the final maths exam in an academic year.
To produce 15 qualified maths teachers after the 5-year period
To employ future school-leavers to become maths tutors/teachers or to pursue a STEM based career.
Beneficiaries
High school learners in Grade 8 & 9 who attend schools in the rural and township areas of the Eastern Cape. The Izibalo container classroom (Maths POD’s) will accommodate 100 learners.
Unemployed youth between the ages of 27 to 35 years, who obtained a minimum of level 5 (60 – 69%) in pure maths in Grade 12.
Volunteers – Retired Maths Teachers