More than 70 first-year Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University students now have a better chance of excelling at mathematics following the university’s successful pilot project to upgrade their NCS Mathematics problem-solving skills before registering for a study programme.
FRF Chair in Mathematics Education Prof Werner Olivier says that the NCS-UP project aims to address the need to create greater access into study programmes with Mathematics as a pre-requisite.
“At the same time, the programme also offers those students whose NCS Mathematics results place them at risk to fail, an opportunity to upgrade their Mathematics skills in time,” he says.
This initiative, under the auspices of the Govan Mbeki Mathematics Development Unit, is an extension of a similar successful incubator school programme over 14 Saturdays offered to top previously disadvantaged Grade 11 and12 learners in the Nelson Mandela Municipal region each year.
The NCS-UP Mathematics upgrade programme is a structured short learning programme over a 12-day period, covering the core topics of the NCS Mathematics school syllabus.
Mrs Marinda Anthony, a spokesperson for the sponsor Chevron, expressed her company’s full support for this initiative to improve the throughput rate of students in critical areas of study.
The performance of the NCS-UP group of students will be monitored and researched to determine the measure of success of this support programme.

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