NESTLÉ NESPRAY has brought together stakeholders in education and nutrition sectors in a panel discussion to discuss solutions aimed at boosting learner’s mathematics performance of primary school learners in the intermediate phase in South Africa.
One of the initiative’s that emerged from these panel discussions is the NESTLÉ NESPRAY South African Mathematics Challenge. The challenge aims to empower learners to become independent, creative and critical thinkers who will be able to interpret and critically analyze everyday situations that will allow them to solve problems.
The challenge promotes teamwork, enthusiasm and helps to support teachers and learners in making mathematics attractive and bringing the subject to the forefront seeing that the subject is needed to build a brighter future in South Africa. In an effort to address the poor state of Mathematics in South Africa, Pumla Mkhize, Category Brand Manager for Dairy at Nestlé South Africa believes that the private sector has a huge role to play in addressing issues as the state of Mathematics.
“I believe that it takes a village to raise a child” because that applies in all facets of life. We can achieve so much as a country if we all worked together to improve the lives of ordinary South Africans. Big corporate companies such as Nestlé have a responsibility to give back to the community, which is why we get involved in upliftment programmes such as the South African Mathematics Challenge,” said Mkhize.
NESTLÉ NESPRAY is targeting children who are between 5 – 14 years old. “We believe it is important to invest in the development of school-going children because they are the future of this country. With programmes such as the Mathematics Challenge, we want to highlight the importance of nutrition and how that contributes to learners performing at their optimal best when they get the necessary nutrients their bodies need,” said Mkhize.
“We want to empower learners to become independent, creative and critical thinkers who will be able to interpret and critically analyse everyday situations that will allow them to solve problems. The Challenge promotes teamwork, enthusiasm and helps to develop future leaders and influencers in science, engineering, marketing sciences across all walks of life,” she added.
Initially, the Mathematics Challenge was for learners in grades 4 – 7, they have also introduced the NESTLÉ NESPRAY WhatsApp Quiz Moment targeted at learners between grades 1 – 3. “We often focus our attention on grade 12 results but nobody is concerned about kids’ ability to grasp concepts and formulas in the foundation phase. With the WhatsApp Quiz Moment, we want to encourage parents/guardians to spend quality with their bundles of joy while solving mathematical questions,” added Mkhize.
Parents/guardians can get involved in the NESTLÉ NESPRAY WhatsApp Quiz Moment by texting the word ‘Hi’ to 061 483 3559 and follow the prompts. Once a person is registered, they will get questions which they will have to answer within 24 hours.
To ensure that parent/guardian and child are motivated, we have an interactive
