Chemistry in Action - V4
Organization Details
We have developed a cost-effective, curriculum aligned chemistry kit, thereby exposing disadvantaged learners to “Chemistry in Action!” These kits are to provide learners with a hands-on experience which has been identified as a bottleneck to school level, science studies. This, in turn, could spark and initiate an interest in chemistry as a future career, thereby benefitting from the increasing demand for STEM related qualified individuals. It is envisaged that using the kits along with the explanation of how it relates to their lives enable learners to better understand the subject as well as developing a higher level of interest.
Impact Story
The current global market together with the changing economic trends, has created a huge demand for qualified individuals in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) related fields. Microsoft South Africa Managing Director, Lillian Barnard, said in 2018 that she expects by 2020 about 80% of all jobs to require young people to have some sort of STEM education. For Africa, the pressure on the education system to prepare the next generation of students to compete for these careers is huge. This can only be achieved by instilling an interest and proficiency in STEM from a relatively young age. Many students and their schools, particularly in rural areas, struggle with real difficulties such as the lack of classrooms, poor access to services such as water and electricity, limited public or school libraries, no landline telephones and hence no Internet. Many of these problems are linked to socio-economic factors, such as poverty and unemployment, and they also have a direct influence on the quality of education that is available to children.
School needs to inspire learners, especially those that walk long distances for that education. These learners are deserving of a quality education, but it is feared that in rural areas, that will only come about when there is significant social and economic development in those areas. Until then, the education provided in rural areas will limit people’s opportunities to lead long, healthy and creative lives, or to acquire knowledge and enjoy freedom, dignity and self-respect. V4 Group would like to contribute to creating not just an awareness of STEM in rural schools but to awakening and inspiring students in their science education. This in turn could open the possibilities that STEM can offer them a future in science. Science and Technology is part of the future as a new industrialization approach.
Diverse Social Enterprise
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