Ford-sponsored Scinece2Go Mobile Resource Centre to benefit thousands of Nelson Mandela Bay learners.
Run by Centre for the Advancement of Science and Mathematics Education Trust (CASME) in collaboration with founding project partner Mahle Behr South Africa, Science2Go is an initiative set to benefit a total of 15 000 learners, 330 teachers and 21 schools in the Eastern Cape.
The Ford Motor Company Fund has been supporting the project for three years with an initial grant of R1,4 million in the first year, as well as a specially equipped Ranger, our 2021 Top 12 best buys bakkie winner, which was donated by the manufacturer.
The initiative seeks to bolster education and deliver practical and hands-on science and learning experiences across the Eastern Cape, using the locally-built Ford Ranger as a mobile science laboratory and resource centre.
Henre Benson, director of CASME said, “Science2Go is an initiative by CASME and Mahle Behr to bridge the gaps in science teaching and learning in public schools,”
The Science2Go Mobile Resource Centre is a cost-effective solution to address the lack of access to scientific educational resources in rural and peri-urban public schools that either lack the funds to provide adequate laboratory equipment or do not have any laboratories at all. It not only brings much-needed resources, but also experienced facilitators to build teachers’ capacity and skills.”
The National Education Infrastructure Management System (NEIMS) Standard Report indicates that less than 6 percent of ordinary public schools in the Eastern Cape have science laboratories, highlighting the need for strategic interventions.
Shawn Govender, plant manager of the Ford Struandale Engine Plant in Gqeberha said, “Education plays a vital, foundational role in empowering and uplifting communities, particularly in South Africa where access to the necessary resources, training and practical learning opportunities is limited.” It is apt that Nelson Mandela Bay and the Eastern Cape have been chosen for this initiative, the former being where Ford started their legacy in South Africa in 1923.
Ford Science2Go Mobile Resource Centre will visit each of the targeted schools three times per term with teachers participating in workshops aimed at improving their skills and knowledge prior to the school visits. Learners will be provided with special sessions pertaining to their career, study, and subject choices, relating to the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
