The government’s biggest challenge is to make maths and science exciting and popular for school pupils, president Jacob Zuma said on Friday.
“Science offers students the ability to access a wealth of knowledge and information, which will contribute to an overall understanding of how and why things work the way they do,” he said in a speech prepared for delivery.
“Through science, you will be able to explain the mechanics and reasons behind the daily functioning of complex systems, which range from the human body to sophisticated modern methods of transport up to the workings of the Square Kilometre Array telescope that our country won the bid to construct.”
Zuma was speaking to finalists of the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists. He was hosting them as part of National Children’s Day at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guest House, in Pretoria.
Zuma said that by producing more science and technology graduates, the country was assured of a bright future economically.
“It means our economy will have all the scientists, technologists, engineers, artisans and other skills that we need for economic development. It also means we will have all the expertise we need to prevent and cure diseases or to fight poverty through better agricultural methods,” he said. — Sapa