The deputy ministers of science, technology and innovation and basic education will work together to secure private sector support for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in schools across SA.
This is according to the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), which notes the aim is to foster partnership between government and business in addressing the country’s low intake of STEM subjects in schools and the resultant skills challenges.
This week, DSTI deputy minister Nomalungelo Gina met with two business chambers in the Eastern Cape – the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber in Gqeberha and the Border-Kei Business Chamber in East London.
The meeting, according to the department’s statement, follows the first meeting that took place in November with the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Says the statement: “The Eastern Cape is home to major original equipment manufacturers for the automotive sector – VW and Mercedes-Benz – as well as the East London Industrial Development Zone (ELIDZ) and the Coega Special Economic Zone in Gqeberha.
“These economic drivers alone are important catalysts for joint efforts to build a renewed critical skills pipeline through STEM education from a basic level through to post-school education and training institutions and internship systems in line with industry needs in the region.”
Gina highlights that STEM education is a catalyst for socio-economic transformation and innovation. “We need to create a strong, interconnected value chain that connects STEM education, skills development and innovation with industry needs, so that it would be easier to plug these skills into the economy.
“We are meeting with business chambers across the country to discuss how we can work together, to bridge the gaps in our education system on STEM subjects as a basis for a supply-side to university courses that require this foundation.
“Engineering, science and technology courses will take off again from the current decline once we get STEM right at the basic education level. It's only through partnerships like these that we can create meaningful change.”
According to the DSTI, the deputy minister’s engagements are in response to the declining levels of business investment in research, development and innovation in SA.
The 2023 South African Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators report shows R&D expenditure by the business sector has declined significantly since 2017.
There was a further decline in 2020/21 in comparison to the previous year (10.8%). R&D expenditure by the business sector in 2020/21 is 40% lower than it was a decade ago.
Denise van Huyssteen, CEO of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber, welcomed the opportunity to collaborate with the department. “We fully appreciate the significance of STEM-related professions and are deeply committed to addressing the skills gap.
“One of the challenges is that the few engineers we have in our business member organisations get poached by international industry players in Europe, so we need to produce more if we are to survive.”
The ELIDZ is home to a science and technology centre that is underutilised in terms of scaling up innovation by companies that rely on technology.
Dr Chris Ettmayr, sector manager of renewable energy and ICT at the ELIDZ, says a digital hub in the zone was being used to encourage the youth in East London to get involved in gamification, coding and robotics.
“We want to start influencing their young minds and then give them a platform by giving them the opportunity to actually work on the digital setting at the IDZ and start inventing smart projects as required by the city.”
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