By Lebone Rodah Mosima 

North West Education MEC Ntsetsao Viola on Tuesday encouraged learners from rural communities to take up Science, Technology, Engineering, Accounting and Mathematics (STEAM) subjects, saying the stream helps drive economic growth and shape young people’s futures.

Speaking in Mabaalstad Village, Viola was delivering the keynote address at the First Annual Rural Career Expo, an event intended to motivate learners to improve their academic performance and to raise awareness of post-matric career pathways.

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“This Career Expo will promote careers aligned with the current South African socio-economic and skills landscape,” Viola said.

“STEAM education is broadly regarded as essential for achieving Vision 2030’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially concerning industrialisation and job creation.”

Viola said the department was grateful for initiatives that create opportunities for learners, particularly those in rural areas who are “seldomly” exposed to such programmes.

She also reflected on the legacy of apartheid-era education, saying the system was deliberately structured along racial lines. She cited the Bantu Education Act of 1953, which she said provided Black learners with inferior, underfunded education aimed at manual labour.

“This racial segregation was reinforced spatially; rural areas and townships were where most Black South Africans were forced to live, with schools featuring overcrowded classrooms, limited learning materials, poor facilities, and high learner-teacher ratios,” she said.

Viola said these historical conditions contributed to persistent inequities and financial barriers that continue to limit access to higher education and deepen socio-economic differences.

Despite that history, she encouraged learners at the expo to believe their backgrounds did not define their future.

“I come from a small village in Mahikeng called Madiba Makgabana, and today I stand before you as the MEC for Education. My past did not predict where I would end up,” she said.

“To the young people — continue to dream, and dream big. Do not allow anyone to discourage or limit your aspirations. I stand before you as living proof that it is possible.”

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Viola also pointed to recent academic gains in the province, saying North West recorded an 88.49% matric pass rate in 2025, an improvement of 0.9%, and retained its fourth-place ranking nationally.

“It is important that whenever I have the opportunity to engage with our communities, I express my sincere gratitude for this milestone achievement and acknowledge the collective effort that made it possible,” she said.

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