ISIbalo-3: Maths, Stats & the Girl-Child

Millennium Development Goals (MDG) report indicates that South Africa achieved gender parity in primary, secondary and tertiary education. Yet challenges still remain, that merit attention be given to the support of girl-children in mathematics and statistics education.Girl children in Africa as a whole, still account for less than 20 percent of students in scientific subjects in tertiary education, and female teachers are particularly under-represented at secondary and tertiary levels, being more represented at lower levels of education.
This ISIbalo programme, currently implemented in South Africa only, seek to empower girl-children through education with the understanding that support to girl-children more easily translates into immense benefits not only at individual level but at community and country level, particularly as many rural communities are witnessing higher numbers of households headed by girl-children, reproductive health challenges they face and other social issues that impacts on girl-children’s educational performance differently to that of boy children.
Currently a pilot programme is being implemented with four schools in disadvantaged communities: Somashe Secondary School in KwaZulu-Natal; Our Lady of the Rosary Secondary School for Girls in KwaZulu-Natal; Sekano-Ntoane Secondary School in Soweto and Mmamodibo Secondary School in the North West Province.
 

Activities of the pilot programme include:

  Maths and Geography learner support for Grades 10-12

  Girl-child Leadership

  Sponsor-a-girl-child

✔  Facilitation of bursary and sponsorship of girl- child education

  Sponsor-a-girl-child

  Facilitation of bursary and sponsorship of girl- child education

For more information, contact:

Dr. Miranda Mafafo

mirandam@statssa.gov.za