Sasol makes science and technology lessons possible for rural schools
Access to basic resources that enable the teaching and learning of science and technology subjects is one of the critical challenges faced by rural schools.
To address this obstacle, the Sasol Foundation has been donating much-needed science resources to under-resourced schools around the country.
The Sasol Foundation recently handed over a Science Mobile Lab vehicle to KZN Department of Education uMkhanyakude District, north of KwaZulu-Natal.
The Science Mobile Lab investment goes a long way in ensuring that no child is left behind in the teaching of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) at school level. The uptake of these subjects in schools also prepares the learners to study for careers that address the country’s skills shortage challenge.
The lab, which is equipped with appliances for science experiments, will traverse schools in the district without adequate conventional labs.
The largely rural uMkhanyakude district consists of towns such as Jozini, Hluhluwe, Hlabisa, Mtubatuba, Ingwavuma and Mkhuze.
Despite its rural geographic location, the district held the night position among the top ten best-performing districts in the 2022 Grade 12 results. The district scored an 86.3% pass rate.
Since 2014, seven new mobile labs have been established. These exclude the three labs run by the Sasol-funded Osizweni Science Centre in the Gert Sibande District Municipality in Mpumalanga.
“The initiative is in response to the lack of functionally equipped laboratories in about 95% of public schools in the country. A mobile laboratory offers a viable and cost-effective alternative as it can serve up to 30 schools per year when fully utilised,” according to the Sasol Foundation.
Sasol enters into partnerships with organisations in the science and technology field and government departments in the rollout of the programme. In the uMkhanyakude project, the Foundation partnered with the Department of Minerals and Energy.
In May, the Foundation will donate a Science Mobile Lab vehicle to the University of Mpumalanga which will be used by schools neighbouring the institution.
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