By Lebone Rodah Mosima

The Primestars eduCate Maths & Science Revision Programme, supported by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), will be expanded to include Grade 10 and Grade 11 learners in an effort to intervene earlier and reduce the number of learners dropping Mathematics and Physical Sciences before reaching Matric.

Speaking at the launch of the 2026 eduCate Maths & Science Revision Programme at Cell C’s head office in Johannesburg on Thursday, Deputy Higher Education and Training Minister Nomusa Dube-Ncube said the partnership between DHET and Primestars demonstrated the importance of collaboration between government and the private sector.

“When companies invite learners and students into their offices, laboratories, workshops and boardrooms, they are not simply being generous; they are helping to build a curriculum that speaks the language of the real economy and giving young people a taste of the working world long before they ever apply for their first job,” Dube-Ncube said.

“This is the kind of partnership that government cannot build alone, and it is exactly the kind of partnership we want to see grow across every industry in this country.”

Dube-Ncube said the empty chairs displayed at the event had been placed deliberately to symbolise Grade 10 and Grade 11 learners who have the potential to become engineers, doctors, scientists, technicians and entrepreneurs, but who abandon Mathematics and Physical Sciences before completing school.

“When a learner drops Mathematics or Physical Sciences in Grade 10, they do not only close a door for themselves. They close a door that our whole economy needs open,” she said.

“Somewhere between today and their final exam, they walk away from the very subjects that could have opened the most doors for them.”

She said this was the reason for expanding the programme to reach learners earlier.

“Instead of only supporting learners in the final stretch towards Matric, it will now begin reaching Grade 10 and Grade 11 learners too – catching learners earlier, before they are ever tempted to give up on Mathematics and Physical Sciences,” she said.

“That means fewer empty chairs in the years still to come.”

Dube-Ncube said Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects were essential to developing the skills needed to build infrastructure, improve healthcare, strengthen food security, connect communities and solve complex societal challenges.

“A country that produces enough scientists, engineers and skilled technicians can build its own future rather than waiting for others to do it,” she said.

The deputy minister said South Africa must also prepare young people for the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, driven by artificial intelligence, robotics, automation and data technologies, while remaining focused on ensuring technology serves society.

“Technology should not just be advanced for its own sake; it should be used to solve real human problems – caring for the elderly, protecting the environment, and making everyday life safer and more comfortable for ordinary families,” she said.

“Technology in service of people, not the other way around.”

Highlighting international examples, Dube-Ncube said China had aligned its higher education system with economic priorities by rapidly expanding programmes in fields such as artificial intelligence while phasing out qualifications no longer relevant to the country’s needs.

She added that Germany and several European countries have strengthened links between education and industry by combining classroom learning with workplace training, ensuring graduates enter the labour market with practical experience.

“We do not want to copy Japan, China, or Germany exactly. We want to take the best of what works and build a uniquely South African pathway – one that starts right here, in programmes like eduCate and carries a learner from Grade 10 mathematics, through Matric, into further education or training, and finally into meaningful work or their own enterprise,” she said.

“That is what this programme now calls the Learning-to-Earning journey.”

Dube-Ncube encouraged learners to remain confident in pursuing Mathematics and Physical Sciences, saying that while not every learner would become a scientist or engineer, the subjects develop critical thinking, problem-solving and resilience.

“That is exactly the kind of thinking the Fourth Industrial Revolution demands, and it is exactly the kind of thinking that will shape whatever revolution comes after it,” she said.

She urged learners to persevere in their studies, continue asking questions and believe they belong in STEM fields, adding that government, Primestars, the YouthStart Foundation and Cell C remain committed to supporting them throughout their educational journey.

INSIDE EDUCATION

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