By Lebone Rodah Mosima 

Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Nomalungelo Gina, says government wants more girls and women to enter and lead in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), particularly in rural and township communities where resources and career guidance are scarce.

“Our goal as the department is an inclusive, equitable, and globally competitive innovation system where women stand as equals,” she told Inside Education during an interview.

Gina said that women remain underrepresented in senior STEM jobs and decision-making roles, with progress slowed by structural inequities in career pathways, limited mentorship, work–life balance pressures, and entrenched institutional cultures and stereotypes.

“My experience as a teacher has profoundly shaped my approach to gender transformation in science. In the classroom, I witnessed both the immense potential of young women in STEM and the subtle barriers that discourage their participation”, she said.

Gina was appointed Deputy Minister of Science and Technology in June 2024, after serving as Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition from 2019.

Before entering national executive leadership, she worked as an educator for more than 15 years in KwaZulu-Natal’s uThungulu District and held leadership roles in the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU).

She completed a PhD in Leadership and Management in December, awarded by the University of Gideon Robert in Zambia, focused on challenges faced by local authorities implementing information and communication technology.

“The thesis developed a strategic ICT planning and implementation framework that aims to equip local authorities with the necessary tools and strategies to overcome challenges and enhance service delivery, citizen engagement, as well as governance,” Gina said.

“This journey has reinforced that evidence-based leadership matters, and that science, technology and innovation must be deliberately positioned to strengthen the state and improve the lived experience of our people.”

The DSTI programmes target the full talent pipeline — from school learners and postgraduate students to early-career researchers and senior scientists — and are increasingly focused on whether women move into leadership.

“Success in increasing women’s participation in STEM is measured not only by rising enrolment and employment numbers, but by the extent to which women advance into leadership, research management, and decision-making roles,” Gina said.

“We track indicators such as equitable representation in postgraduate studies, research grant awards, senior appointments, and national recognition platforms such as SAWISA and National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF).”

Gina said monitoring bodies also mattered in determining whether transformation was real. She said that the National Advisory Council on Innovation (NACI) plays a crucial role in tracking whether transformation is real or merely rhetorical.

The department has consolidated programmes that include postgraduate funding policies aimed at ensuring women receive 55% of bursaries, including the South African Women in Science Awards (SAWISA), National Research Foundation (NRF) instruments to advance black and women academics, and international exposure initiatives such as the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings and the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science awards.

More recently, it introduced the Women in Technology and Innovation Programme (WTIP), providing gender-responsive funding, incubation and mentorship for women innovators and entrepreneurs.

“Achieving this transformation requires the active involvement of industry, civil society organisations, and academia, working in partnership with government to expand opportunities, break systemic barriers, and embed gender equity across the entire innovation ecosystem,” Gina said.

“Women in South Africa have significantly improved access to research grants, postgraduate funding, and innovation incentives, but equity is not yet fully achieved.”

At school level, Gina said preparing girls for STEM careers remained a national priority, with outreach targeted at rural and township schools.

“The department remains committed to ensuring that every girl receives the skills and confidence to thrive in science and innovation, in line with our mantra of placing science, technology and innovation at the centre of government, education, industry and society,” she said.

“I want to instil a sense of desire in rural and township girls and boys, where there are not enough science and computer laboratories, that they too can become our future nuclear scientists, space science professionals, computer engineers, chemical and mechanical engineers.

“I will want to see more rural girls getting into these STEM-related professions. With our NRF bursary and scholarship programme, I am delighted at the number of women growing through leaps and bounds in pursuing these studies.

“For science month, we mobilise school learners to expose them to opportunities. I am steadfast on the emphasis to target rural and township schools where career guidance is non-existent,” she said.

INSIDE EDUCATION

Staff Reporter

The department of health in KwaZulu-Natal recorded 144 births by midday on New Year’s Day, including 21 teenage mothers, prompting renewed concern from provincial Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane over child and teen pregnancies in South Africa’s second-most populous province.

Simelane said the New Year’s Day total had climbed from 63 babies by 7 am to 90 by 10 am, before reaching 144 by 12 pm, with 73 boys and 71 girls recorded by midday.

She said the teen-mother figure was preliminary and still subject to verification as facilities continued reporting.

“While we welcome these New Year babies, we must also register our concern, particularly over our very young mothers,” Simelane said.

Referring to the births recorded on Christmas Day in the province, she said there had been 302 deliveries, but that “alarmingly, 70 mothers were teenagers, with the youngest being three 15-year-old girls”.

“Among these young mothers was a 16-year-old girl, who was impregnated by a 32-year-old man,” she said.

“What is also concerning is the fact that these girls were just 15 years old when they fell pregnant, which is absolutely shocking and concerning, because at that age, they are nowhere near ready to be mothers.”

She said facilities had recorded nine teenage mothers in the early New Year’s Day data, including one 17-year-old, four 18-year-olds and two 19-year-olds, while the midday update put the preliminary total at 21 teenage mothers as reporting widened across the province.

Teen pregnancy remains a persistent challenge in South Africa, where official statistics show more than 106,000 registered live births occurred among adolescents aged 10–19 in 2019, with KwaZulu-Natal accounting for the highest provincial share, according to Statistics South Africa.

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) has reported a decline in the adolescent fertility rate for 15–19-year-olds in recent years, but has warned that prevention and support require coordinated, multi-sector interventions.

“These statistics are cause for deep concern, and highlight the ongoing need for education, guidance, and access to reproductive healthcare for teenagers,” Simelane said.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Simon Nare

Gugu Motlanthe, executive director of the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation, has dedicated her career to supporting young learners and addressing the gaps left by South Africa’s public education system.

Through the foundation, she has developed what she describes as a unique window into the lives of children — an insight into their struggles, aspirations, and the support they need to thrive.

“At the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation, we are acutely aware of the gaps many learners in public schools must navigate — gaps shaped by access, resources and socioeconomic realities,” she told Inside Education.

“This awareness guides our commitment to step into the lived experience of our learners, to understand what their minds hunger for and what their hearts respond to.”

Motlanthe cherishes her own early school memories — the classroom, teachers and shared curiosity — because they help her interpret the minds of today’s young people. She values the imaginative world children inhabit, believing that adults can rediscover solutions by observing how children think and interact.

“One of the ways we do this is through intergenerational dialogue,” she said. Before and after extracurricular sessions, the team spends time speaking with learners, sharing meals and, crucially, listening.

“Listening is a muscle that must be exercised intentionally.”

In a world dominated by social media noise and shrinking attention spans, she believes active listening has become rare. Yet it is precisely what children want. “Listening helps us reconnect with our intuition — a voice many adults have long ignored. Children are masters of instinct. They remind us what it feels like to trust our gut, follow our emotions, and explore the world with openness.”

Motlanthe views education as the most powerful tool for transformation, offering skills, confidence, networks and opportunity. Her work is anchored in the recognition that circumstances differ widely. While some high-profile figures built careers without completing degrees, she warns that such examples are the exception and not a model for young people.

“We must encourage learners to pursue education — not to follow a single path, but to expand their choices and tools for life,” she said.

Motlanthe also reflected on the mounting burdens teachers face: poverty, trauma, inequality, and shifting societal expectations. “They are idols, mentors, counsellors, disciplinarians, coaches and caregivers — all in a single day,” she said.

Despite the challenges, many continue to show up with dedication and compassion. Society, she argued, must offer them resources, professional development, emotional care and meaningful recognition.

Motlanthe’s own educational journey was profoundly shaped by her Standard 8 mathematics teacher, Mr Noor, at her Sydenham high school in Durban. He was not loud or forceful; rather, his quiet confidence made her feel capable. He often recognised her potential before she did.

Though she was placed in the top academic classes, she did not take Physical Science — a limitation that sometimes affected class placement. Mr Noor looked past this, recognising her ability to excel in mathematics and challenging her to rise to it.

One lesson from him stayed with her for life: “In mathematics, the answer is always hidden in the question.”

Through his teaching, mathematics became more than numbers; it became a way of thinking — about logic, patterns, planning and problem-solving. It even helped her absorb content-heavy subjects. His belief built her confidence and strengthened the resilience and independence she carries today. “If a supportive teacher can change a learner’s trajectory, then he surely changed mine,” she said.

English and history classes fuelled her imagination, but mathematics taught her that every problem contains the seed of its own solution — a message she believes remains essential for today’s learners.

Motlanthe worries about the growing narrative that formal education is unnecessary for success. Public figures often cite their unconventional paths — Kanye West’s The College Dropout, Oprah Winfrey leaving university early, or Bonang Matheba’s insistence on hard work. These stories are inspiring, she acknowledged, but they are outliers.

“Success without education is not a formula learners can rely on,” she emphasised. A more constructive message would be: ‘If I had been able to complete my studies, I might have been even more empowered and successful.’ Education strengthens confidence, discipline, critical thinking, creativity and resilience. It creates networks and opportunities many young people do not even know exist.

Reflecting further on her journey, Motlanthe noted that teachers often underestimate their influence. Learners spend more waking hours with teachers than with their own parents, and educators shape intellectual, emotional and social development. Today’s teachers face unprecedented pressures, yet many continue to serve with heart.

Her reflections pay tribute not only to her favourite teacher but to educators everywhere. “Teachers need empathy, encouragement and respect,” she said. “Society must equip them with resources, professional development and emotional care.”

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Sihle Manda

From a small studio in Bloemfontein, Kabelo Makhetha is reshaping the way society sees jewellery. 

Through his start-up, Owa Jewellery, he creates pendants that are not only eye-catching but potentially lifesaving. Each piece carries a QR code that helps identify people living with dementia and other cognitive impairments if they go missing.

A QR code (Quick Response code) is a type of two-dimensional barcode that stores information and can be quickly scanned and read by a smartphone or scanner.

“The main goal of Owa Jewellery is to assist people living with cognitive impairments, which includes dementia and other conditions that affect the mind… Our primary target is people living with dementia due to the severity of the illness.”

Dementia is a condition that causes a decline in memory, thinking, and behaviour, affecting daily functioning.

The concept merges jewellery design with safety in a simple but effective way. “What we do is integrate QR coding with jewellery so that when a person goes missing, the person who finds them can identify them. It is basically an identity document on the go,” he explains.

Makhetha started developing the idea shortly after completing his studies in jewellery design at the Central University of Technology (CUT).

“I started the business in 2021. When I completed my degree, I went into research and development, and in 2024, I started to sell the jewellery.”

The seed for Owa Jewellery was planted years earlier through a painful personal experience.

“What inspired the enterprise was that in 2019 I lost my grandmother to dementia. She was 78. Before she died, there was a time she got lost and we couldn’t find her for about eight hours. The dementia became worse after that. I was doing matric. I lost another elderly relative to the illness in 2022.”

Determined to find a solution, he immersed himself in entrepreneurship opportunities while at university.

“In 2020, I got involved with different organisations within CUT that advocate for entrepreneurship. One of those was the Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE).”

Getting the business off the ground required both personal sacrifice and external support. “I received R10 000 seed funding from my father,” he explains.

His operation now includes “a team of five students” who assist him with production and outreach.

Institutional support has also been crucial. “The business has also received support from the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) in the form of equipment – a jeweller’s bench, a polishing machine, a microscope, pliers and a laptop.”

For Makhetha, Owa Jewellery is about far more than ornaments. It is about creating peace of mind for families, and honouring the memory of his grandmother and others who lived with dementia.

“Having gone through what I went through with my grandmother, I don’t want other people to experience the same pain. If one pendant can help bring someone safely home, then it means the idea has served its purpose.”

This article first appeared in Vuk’uzenzele.