VANDERBIJLPARK. – There is a new subject for high school learners on the map.

Marine Sciences offers students the opportunity to discover the wonderful world of the ocean and its inhabitants.

Best of all, one of the first schools in Gauteng to offer this subject is the Mohloli Maritime School of Specialisation in Sharpeville.

Yes, indeed the Vaal area has its very own Maritime School!

The subject was officially approved as part of the FET curriculum by Parliament on 27 November 2019.

It all started years earlier when the Two Oceans Aquarium got involved with education.

They felt that the 45-minute tours the learners did at the aquarium were just not enough.

With the help of Russell Stevens, a former principal, and a born educator, they developed several environmental programmes that were offered as holiday courses.

Still, it wasn’t enough. The learners craved more general knowledge about marine biology and the ocean.

Fifteen years later in 2015, the Department of Education asked Russell and his team to write an official FET curriculum.

“At first we said no, but we realised the need for greater understanding and in January 2016 we commenced writing the curriculum,” Russell said.

After consultation with scientists and advisors, they finally had an official subject called Marine Sciences on the table.

It stands on four pillars, biology, oceanography, ocean ecosystems, and humans in the ocean.

Marine Science covers 85 topics over the course of three years and can be taken as a subject from grades 10 to 12.

Russell recently moved to Vanderbijlpark where he is the head of Marine Sciences at Mohloli.

He is also the one who presents the online course consisting of zoom classes.

“In 2021 we had 12 matric students doing Marine Sciences as an eighth subject. All of them were in the Western Cape.

“This year we expect 140 students to write the final exams, and by the end of 2024 there will be 500,” he said.

The curriculum is internationally accredited by, among others, universities in the UK, Taiwan, China, and Australia.

Russell dreams of introducing the subject in Namibia, Morocco, Nigeria, and Egypt as well.

He also plans to do a workshop for schools from Potchefstroom, Sasolburg, and the Vaal area for possible implementation of the subject at the schools in 2024/5.

Currently, there is a learner from Hoërskool Sasolburg and a matriculant from Hoërskool Driehoek, Lize Kriel who is taking Marine Sciences as an extra subject.

Lize agrees with Russell, “We know so little about the ocean, but we can learn so much from it.”

For more information about the course visit https://aquariumfoundation.org.za/education/marine-sciences-curriculum/ or contact Russell at 082 336 6361.