Ntlathi was eager to help his peers uncover their own interest in science, and so started an after-school science club. “That’s how the Institute got its start,” he says, “with four young boys doing experiments.”
But, while these numbers are certainly
impressive, Ntlathi admits that he has encountered his fair share of challenges. Chief among these is the perception that is pervasive amongst black communities, that science and technology is not for them. “Black children are not encouraged to consider, say, engineering as a career option,” he he muses. “They grow up in an environment where the spirit of technology simply doesn’t exist.”
Another problem, this time with widespread implications for children across the African continent, relates to the mathematics and science curriculum taught at schools. Ntlathi laments the fact that it is not sufficiently interesting to captivate learners. As a result, they don’t realise how science impacts on their lives, affecting everything they do at every minute of the day. Compare this to other subjects, like history or accounting - it is obvious how decisions made in the past affect us today or the importance of maintaining the balance between assets and liabilities – and it is easy to see why they gravitate towards other disciplines.
This relates to Ntlathi’s next challenge: the fact that very few people, government included, appear to fully grasp what science is all about. This means that Ntlathi and his colleagues face a harder task when approaching funders; after all, potential investors often don’t fully comprehend the importance of what the Institute does.
It has also been difficult to get females on board, says Ntlathi. In fact, out of the 30 000 learners that have taken part in the SNSET Institute’s programme, only 9 000 are female – and even the Institute’s staff compliment is dominated by males.
How has Ntlathi addressed these challenges? “My first step has been to design programmes that appeal to young people and, at the same time, stimulate their interest in science and technology,” he replies.
There is no better way to do this than by
providing hands-on experience, he maintains. “The Institute therefore hosts an annual programme, where 3 000 children are recruited from each province to join in a three-day training programme. Once they have been introduced to the basics of science, they are assigned projects to work on over the course of the next three months – and the results are always astounding,” says Ntlathi. “Every year, we come across some truly incredible projects,” he enthuses, citing the example of a cooling umbrella, which uses energy to drive a motor which, in turn, produces cool air. But most importantly, the projects give them the chance to witness, firsthand, how the principles of science shape and form almost every activity in their daily lives.
The Institute encourages the participation of stakeholders such as schools, as Ntlathi believes that the more parties that are involved, the better – and the more entrenched science will become in learners’ routines. More than this, though, Ntlathi insists on working with schools to simplify their curricula so that learners stop viewing science and mathematics as abstract, inaccessible subjects; for example, by demonstrating how it would have been impossible to build the Nelson Mandela Br idge without trigonometry or calculus.
December 2011 | Management Today 45
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