kathy driver
2.1 Introduction
T
he importance of mathematics in the only increased slowly during the following
intellectual, philosophical and scien- twenty years. This was primarily due to a
tific development of human civilisa- shortage of Doctoral supervision capacity,
tion has been recognised, implicitly and exacerbated by the practice of the tradi-
explicitly, for centuries. In medieval days, tionally research-oriented universities in
mathematics was considered a core area South Africa to encourage strong Honours
2

of study at universities in Britain and Eu- graduates in mathematics to pursue gradu-
rope and, when formal higher education ate education in the United States or United
began in the Cape Colony of South Africa Kingdom. In addition to losing the vast ma-
in the mid-nineteenth century, the role of jority of our mathematically well-trained
mathematics was also appropriately recog- young Honours graduates, international
nised. From 1850, mathematics was one of boycotts during the 1980s caused the iso-
three subjects examined when employing lation of researchers and the stagnation
civil servants in the Cape Colony. In 1877, of mathematical curricula. The apartheid
the University of the Cape of Good Hope education system also essentially blocked
began to offer a Master of Arts degree in the mathematical sciences as an area of po-
mathematics and arts and natural science. tential higher education strength for black
From 1881, mathematics and physical sci- South Africans and, prior to 1990, there
ence constituted one of four faculties at the were very few locally trained black South
Stellenbosch College. African Doctoral graduates in the math-
ematical sciences.
As universities and technikons
1
increased in
number across South Africa during the 20
th
In examining and analysing the current
century, mathematics as a core discipline, status of research in mathematics in South
as well as a service course in engineering Africa, the focus will be strongly on the
and commerce, played a central role in rel- post-1994
3
response as a system of higher
evant undergraduate curricula throughout education to the challenges of creating
the higher education sector. However, the and building capacity in the various sub-
percentage of academics in mathemat- disciplines that constitute the mathemati-
ics departments holding Doctoral degrees cal sciences. Mathematical sciences can be
was relatively modest until the 1970s, and broadly conceived as incorporating pure
1 Technikons were higher education institutions in South Africa that focused on technological training.
2 Honours is a 1-year programme that follows a 3-year Bachelor’s degree.
3 1994 marks the year of South Africa’ s first democratic elections.
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TWAS book_Chap1-6.indd 69 2009/10/06 12:03:47 PM
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