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‘Tech partnerships can improve SA education’

Johannesburg - Better coordination among South African technology companies is needed to help boost the country’s education improvement efforts.

This is according to Murray de Villiers, who is the general manager for the Africa and Middle East academic programme at business analytics firm SAS.

The SAS GM told Fin24 that technology can boost South Africa’s education space in several ways, such as by providing access to online learning materials, tracking learner progress, evaluating key performance areas and improving teacher competence.

Several technology companies in South Africa have initiatives in place to help educators.

SAS, for example, says it provides over 1 000 free online supplementary modules for grade 6-12 subjects such as Mathematics, Science, English and Social Sciences.

The likes of Microsoft has also been piloting low-cost Television White Spaces (TVWS) broadband for schools in Limpopo.

But de Villiers has said more collaboration among SA tech companies is needed in this regard.

“Individually, SA Tech companies are doing a lot, unfortunately it is uncoordinated, meaning that generally little sustained impact is achieved,” de Villiers told Fin24.

He told Fin24 that "the biggest sustained impact" could also be achieved through "long-term individual coaching or mentoring of teachers" and supporting them with the "appropriate technology”.

The SAS GM added that more parties such as primary schools, high schools, universities, skills development institutes, businesses and parents should work together to improve South Africa’s state of education.

SA's low ICT skills

These comments from de Villiers, though, come as concerns exist about the state of South Africa’s education.

Last week Fin24 reported that a Joburg Centre for Software Engineering (JCSE) ICT Skills Survey revealed that 45% of corporate respondents said South Africa’s skills shortage is having a major effect on their business.

The study also noted that 14% of corporate respondents said the skills crisis is threatening their organisations' viability.

According to data from the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ), South Africa’s average student mathematics score is at position eight out of fifteen African countries.

“We have to achieve a paradigm shift to overcome the appalling fact that only about 10% of the students who enter the basic education process in South Africa achieve a pass in maths or science subjects - even with the low 30% pass mark hurdle,” read the JCSE report.

However, initiatives are in place to raise subject pass marks in South African schools.

South Africa’s Department of Basic Education said on the weekend that it has raised the pass mark for Grades 7, 8 and 9 for 2014.

Students previously had to pass seven of nine subjects, but this has been raised to eight.

Also, students looking to pass their grade have to achieve at least 50% in their home language and 40% in their first additional language. This requirement has increased from a previous 40% for the former and 30% pass mark for the latter.

* Follow @GarethvanZyl on Twitter. For more tech news, follow Fin24tech @Fin24_Tech.

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