Local teachers recently completed the Professional Development Programme in the Applications of Dynamic Software for Secondary Mathematics Teachers.
On Tuesday (8 March) the Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone (SBIDZ), in association with the universities of Stellenbosch and the Witwatersrand, hosted a graduation ceremony at the Blue Bay Hotel.
Brent Walters, Education Superintendent-General of the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), gave the keynote address at the gala which honoured the 14 Grade 8 and 9 mathematics teachers.
He praised the cooperation and partnership forged between the SBIDZ, the WCED, the Saldanha Bay Municipality, and the schools. “The education department is in this for the long haul, and when we do it, we must do it well,” Walters said. “Education is a basic human right, and our vision is to provide quality education for every child in every school and to ensure that no child is left behind,” said Walters. He added the graduation was a true celebration of teachers, recognising their crucial role in the community.
“The role of the teacher is more than simply teaching maths. Teachers are the agents of change. You are the catalysts for change, the people who will help change the lives of our children,” he said. Walters and colleagues made a site visit to the SBIDZ facilities earlier in the day. Here, he commented on the opportunities the SBIDZ presented.
Walters reiterated the need to make Saldanha Bay and the SBIDZ a driving force for the region’s economic revival. He stresses that while infrastructure investment was crucial to providing opportunities for the future, there was also a need to provide the community with a sense of hope and belief in the future.
Kaashifah Beukes, SBIDZ CEO, pointed out that the teachers had formed a “community of practice” within which they would continue to explore, develop, and assist each other and other teachers in the region. “Being that agency of change is the cornerstone of our purpose in the IDZ. Our purpose is to act against history and be the catalyst for human development that goes beyond infrastructure investment but also brings about a durable transformation of the lives of the working class.”
Beukes praised the programme as an example of SBIDZ’s vision that schools provide the perfect opportunity to encourage and support the leaders of tomorrow.
The course was designed and run by Dr Erna Lampen, Alwyn Olivier, Dr Luci Abrahams and Songezo Mata under the auspices of the University of the Witwatersrand, LINK Centre at the Wits School of Education and the Stellenbosch University Department of Curriculum Studies.
