Cape Town will be abuzz next month as the country welcomes students from over 100 countries, who will participate in the 55th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO).

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga on Tuesday launched the Olympiad – the first to be held in Africa. The IMO is a problem solving contest for high school students held in different countries each year in July. This year, 582 students from 109 countries in five continents will participate in the IMO.

Each participating country enters a team of up to six high school students, who will sit for 4.5 hours solving three challenging problems per day, for two consecutive days. Each problem has a maximum of seven points and covers areas of maths that are not covered in schools.

The participants will be accompanied by a team leader, who is the country’s representative on the jury and a deputy leader, who is responsible for the well-being of the team. Teams may also be accompanied by observers.

Their solutions are assessed by the team leaders and their marks are approved in consultation with a team of coordinators, appointed by the host country.

The top half of the contestants are awarded with gold, silver and bronze medals. All contestants, who do not win a medal, but have solved at least one problem correctly, earn an honourable mention.

Speaking at the IMO launch, Minister Motshekga said it was an honour to host the prestigious contest.

She acknowledged her colleagues from the South African Mathematics Foundation (SAMF), whose passion and dedication to the subject of mathematics has grown local talent in the Olympiad by record numbers across South African schools.

“We do believe that it is important for learners to enjoy mathematics and this Olympiad gives participants a unique opportunity to broaden their mathematics horizon and compete against the very best in the world. These competitions are usually the privilege of developed countries and awaken mathematical talent in many learners,” said Minister Motshekga.

Sparking a love for maths

The IMO is perceived by some as the World Cup of Mathematics. South Africa hopes that hosting this event will create enthusiasm around mathematics and inspire the country’s future engineers, accountants, doctors, teachers and inventors.

“The department has prioritised mathematics, as we recognize the importance of excellence in this particular subject. It has a major impact on the developmental objectives of the country and the economy.

“We are working to improve not only the enrolment of learners in mathematics in South Africa, but also learner outcomes in this crucial subject. Events like this help to create enthusiasm around mathematics,” said Minister Motshekga.

Executive Director at SAMF, Professor Johann Engelbrecht, said that hosting this year’s IMO is an opportunity to show the world that the country is able to host world class events and it has top class mathematicians.

Director of the IMO2014 and a lecturer at the University of Cape Town – which will host the IMO-- said: “Holding a high profile event such as the IMO in South Africa will bring mathematics into the public eye and highlight the importance of mathematics education in South Africa’s economic and technological development.”

The main sponsors for the IMO2014 are the Basic Education Department, Google, SABC Education, South African National Roads Agency Ltd and Sasol.

The Pre-Olympiad camp will start on 30 June. Team leaders will arrive on 2 and 3 July to set the papers and teams are expected to start arriving around 6 July.

A big opening ceremony will be held on 7 July, and participants will start writing papers on 8 and 9 July. After that, the marking of papers will start.

The closing ceremony will be on 12 July and participants will leave on 13 July 2013. – SAnews.gov.za

Today is the last day on which parents can submit forms and documents back to schools for the registration of learners for the 2015 academic...

More South Africa Education ...

School Governing Body (SGB) associations have committed to help the task team investigating the alleged sale of posts in the education sector.

The Acting Director-General of Education, Panyaza Lesufi, on Tuesday consulted with SGB representatives to map out plans regarding the investigation.

The meeting comes after media reports emerged alleging collusion between certain education officials and stakeholders, including certain individuals, in the selling of posts.

Lesufi reiterated Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga’s sentiment that the practice of selling posts was of a form of corruption and against the law.

The SGB associations, which attended the meeting, include the Federation of Association of Governing Bodies (FEDSAS); Governors’ Alliance (GA); National Association of School Governing Bodies (NASGB); United Front for School Governing Bodies (UF4SGBs) and the South African National Association for Special Education (SANASE).

An apology was received from the National Congress of School Governing Body (NCSGB).

Teacher unions and SGB associations agreed to co-operate with the investigation to root out the alleged practice and take strong action against those found guilty.

Motshekga last week met with unions to outline her plans to set up a ministerial task team to investigate the allegations.

The task team will be an independent body constituted by the Public Service Commission, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, the Department of Basic Education as well as external independent education experts, human resources and legal experts.

The names of the members of the investigating team will be announced once the terms of reference have been finalised.

Representatives of the SGB associations commended Minister Motshekga and her department on the quick action taken to safeguard the integrity of the education profession and the quality of the education sector in general.

Anyone who wants to report incidents of selling of posts will be expected to provide information to the investigators.

The terms of reference for the task team will be finalised through due legal processes. It is envisaged that the task team will be led by a retired judge or an independent education expert. - SAnews.gov.za

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga and teacher unions have strongly condemned the selling of posts in the education sector.The minister met...

More South Africa Education ...

The Department of Basic Education has noted the court ruling made today at the North Gauteng High Court on the delivery of textbooks in...

More South Africa Education ...

Higher Education and Training Minister Dr Blade Nzimande says work is underway towards the establishment of the new comprehensive health and allied...

More South Africa Education ...

Public schools across Gauteng have opened their doors for the registration of learners for the 2015 academic year. Gauteng Education MEC Barbara...

More South Africa Education ...

Education plays a defining role in breaking the cycle of poverty, says Statistics South Africa (Stats SA).

Stats SA on Thursday released the Poverty Trends Report (2006-2011). The report analysed trends in poverty and inequality between 2006 and 2011, based on data collected through the Income and Expenditure Survey and the Living Conditions Survey.

According to the report, the relationship between education and poverty appears strong.

“The lower the level of education attained, the more likely adults were to be poor and experience more intense levels of poverty,” reads the report.

It noted that four million fewer people experienced poverty in 2011 compared to 2006.

The rich (the top 20% of earners) accounted for 61.3% of national consumption, while the poor accounted for 4.3%.

“Your levels of education would have to be higher for you to be able to get employed, so that you cannot be negatively affected by poverty,” said Kefiloe Masiteng, the Deputy Director-General for Population and Social Statistics at Stats SA.

Additionally in 2011, 6.8 million people reported hunger, down from the 13 million that had reported hunger in 2002. - SAnews.gov.za

Learners from the Ntambanana community in the uThungulu District of KwaZulu-Natal are expected to reap the benefits of a R11 million investment in a...

More South Africa Education ...

The importance of the Secondary School Improvement Programme (SSIP) will be pushed to the fore, as Gauteng matrics will for the first time write the...

More South Africa Education ...