/ 13 November 2009

Concern over science and technology merger

Will science and technology education get pushed out of the way by the public’s concern over lousy English and maths skills in primary schoolchildren?

In late October the department of education approved numerous recommendations from a task team reviewing outcomes-based education, including a proposed merger of science and technology subjects for grades four to six.

The proposals slash the time allocated to science and technology from five-and-a-half hours each week to only two hours for both. Peter Moodie, director of the Setlhare Science Curriculum Trust, a research and development association based at Wits University, said he is ‘very concerned”.

‘The claim that there are too many areas of focus for teachers to cope may be mixed up with the justified complaint about the enormous amount of administrative work,” he said.

The consequences of the proposal, Moodie said, are grim. ‘Either you try to cram all the work into less time, which will overload the learners, or you cut half the science content and 90% of the technology content.”

Chris van Rensburg of the South African Technology Network, which represents the six universities of technology, said the ‘extremely concerning proposals” could curtail the country’s independence and capacity in the long run. The issue will be raised at the network’s board meeting on November 18.

Further education and training (FET) colleges are also worried, because students without any practical knowledge of technology may be less likely to pursue practical courses, worsening the shortage of artisans and technicians.

But, deputy director general of education Palesa Tyobeka said: ‘There is no intention of cutting back on either science or technology education at all. It became clear that many teachers found the number of learning areas in the intermediate phase a stress factor.”

Tyobeka said her primary focus is to strengthen the existing curriculum rather than tinker with it.

‘The mistake many people make is to think that recommendations by an outside team will automatically be accepted by the minister. This is one area that goes beyond what we had set out to do. It would be a policy shift and so we are not likely to act on it without a proper process of consultation.”

Christina Scott hosts the weekly Science Matters programme on SAfm radio on Thursdays between 9pm and 10pm