18 July 2012
The maths and science revision campaign EduC8 will once again assist Grade 12 learners prepare for their exams through revision sessions broadcast at selected Ster-Kinekor cinemas around South Africa each Sunday from 22 July.
Each revision session of EduC8 – an 8ta initiative endorsed by the Basic Education Department and partnered by companies BHP Billiton, Primestars and Samsung – will be filmed at a single venue and broadcast to a network of 15 digitised Ster-Kinekor theatres across the country.
The sessions will run every Sunday until 23 September and will be both educational and entertaining, allowing learners to interact with qualified teachers who will be available at each cinema complex.
Additional coverage for equal opportunities
Launched in July last year, EduC8 is aimed at learners from disadvantaged backgrounds across the country. This year, it will reach three additional areas – Witbank, Richards Bay and Kuruman – as part of the project’s commitment to being as widely accessible as possible, and giving equal opportunities to all disadvantaged learners.
Special allowance will also once again be made for learners who will not be able to attend the revision sessions due to their geographical locations. These students will be able to access the material online at http://edusynergy.co.za/.
One of the initiative’s successes is last year’s participant Zanele Khumalo (18), who attended the revision sessions at Maponya Mall in Soweto. Khumalo is now on her way to Cuba on a scholarship to study medicine.
‘Maths and science a foundation for growth’
“We all acknowledge that maths and science education is the foundation for many of the jobs needed to develop the country’s infrastructure and therefore our economy’s growth,” senior managing executive of Telkom Mobile, Amith Maharaj, said in a statement.
“Increasingly these subjects are a critical component of getting ahead and the company is proud to be part of this student initiative which sees government and the private sector working closely towards a common goal,” Maharaj said.
BHP Billiton chairman, Dr Xolani Mkhwanazi agreed: “If we are to transform this nation, pushing it to greater heights than ever before, giving all who live here equal opportunities to grow and succeed, we need to start at a grassroots level with skills development and education.
“The children empowered by the EduC8 Matric Revision will be those talented, skilled employees, given the opportunity. We need to recognise that the future begins with the children of South Africa and that that future begins now,” he said.
Skills development in engineering and science
EduC8’s objectives run parallel to sponsor Samsung’s Blue Education programme, which aims to facilitate 10 000 electronic engineers across Africa by 2015, and it is hoped that learners who participate in the revision sessions will be fed through into Samsung’s skills development programme.
The Sasol Inzalo Foundation and national bursary organisation Studietrust are also adding their backing to the initiative by reserving at least five full-cost bursaries for qualifying applicants who attended EduC8.
The vision of the Sasol foundation is to be a significant contributor to sustainable economic growth in South Africa by focusing on skills development in engineering and science, including a bursary programme that started in 2010.
The main criteria for the selection of applicants are academic potential and financial need. Each programme workbook made available to participants contains a bursary application form with information on selection criteria and the application procedure. The closing date for 2013 applications is 30 September.
Learners interested in attending the revision sessions, or principals and teachers who would like more information, can call Jacques du Plessis or Mark Wilmot 081 445 9233.
Alternatively SMS your name, contact number and school to 081 445 9233 and you will be contacted. You can also register by visiting http://edusynergy.co.za/. Seats are limited.
SAinfo reporter
