Cape Town - Matric maths workshops offered by Awqaf SA are seeing massive progress, particularly in facilitating access to STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) fields at a tertiary level for matriculants from across the country.
Awqaf SA has been offering a maths upgrade intervention programme targeted at Grade 12 learners struggling with maths since 2016.
The workshops, in association with KWay Mathematics Institute SA, supported by the Department of Basic of Education, are an annual free offering that takes place in July, August and October.
Awqaf SA is a charitable endowment (waqf) receiving organisation, with the endowment funds invested into a range of community upliftment and development projects.
Previously, the workshops were in person and conducted in community halls. Instead of taking a pause due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the weekend workshops were moved to platforms such as YouTube, facilitating a wider reach.
Awqaf SA project manager Hasanain Abdullah said: “For the online matric maths workshop, we decided to host it on YouTube as modern-day school-goers use these social media platforms to consume content. We thought that it would be a novel medium to facilitate the workshop.”
Last year, 13 000 learners registered and 23 000 watched the session online. Awqaf SA CEO Zeinoul Abedien Cajee, said: “With the increasing numbers of registrations and YouTube views, it shows that our workshops are making their mark. The learners are hungry to learn, to improve, and that augurs well for the future.”
Following the October workshop last year, learners were invited to register and participate in a competition by posting their July and final maths results.
The top learner, Rorisang Matlaila from Mpumalanga, saw results jump from 85% to 100% and is currently studying Actuarial Science at the University of Cape Town.
Safiyyah Wadee from North West took second place and is currently studying medicine at the University of Witwatersrand. Wadee averaged 95% in seven subjects and was the top performing matriculant in her province, third in the country.
The third top learner, Matimba Makyani, scored 99% and is currently studying astrophysics.
Ayanda Sikhosane from KwaZulu-Natal, was the most improved learner going from 18% in July to 80% in December. Sikhosane is currently studying language and speech therapy at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Cash prizes were given to the winners. On Saturday, the organisation held a pledge line, raising R7 million to continue its work.