BuaNews (Tshwane)
Seshnee Govender
28 August 2007
Cape Town — Girls of school going age should be groomed for careers in engineering, by encouraging them to study mathematics and science, says the Deputy Minister of Education.
Addressing the 4th annual Women's Parliament, in Cape Town, Tuesday, Deputy Minister Enver Surty said more needs to be done for girl learners in order to address the inequalities in the field of engineering.
"The under representation of women in engineering, science and maths is evident and we have to address these disparities. We have to encourage girl learners to pursue these careers," he said.
"We have to bring about the equality of education especially for girl learners," he said.
The Department of Education has allocated bursaries for science, mathematics and engineering especially to girl learners, as they are not represented equally.
Through, the National Strategy for Maths, Science and Technology, known as the Dinaledi schools, the department has already invested R5.8 million.
The number of women in the health sector and in humanities, he said has increased but in the science and engineering fields, there is not much progress.
The deputy minister cited rural schools as examples where more had to be done on issues of poverty, which makes accessing education very difficult.
In rural schools, he said girl learners are affected more because of HIV and AIDS and sanitation barriers.
He said the department is working on improving infrastructure and sanitation in these schools.
Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, who spoke earlier in the day, said children cannot function properly in school if they do not have food.
"These children that go to school and do not eat will suffer from malnutrition and will not be able to function," she said.
Part of the package of education, she said is nourishment and the Education Department with other organisations are currently working on feeding schemes to assist schools in the provinces.
Government is already feeding more than 1.3 million children in KwaZulu-Natal alone.
The initiative is a joint venture between the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education, Greater Durban Community Foundation, Ethkewini Municipality and Durban chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Other partners include Business Against Crime, Centre for the Advancement of Science and Education, Environment and Language Education Trust, Institute for Partnerships between Business and Education, Operation Upgrade, Project Build, Training and Education for Early Education, Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2007 BuaNews. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
