THE Amanzimtoti Civic Hall recently set the stage for a grand and glittering celebration of Promaths, a free educational programme that through extra maths and science lessons, strives to improve learner performance and equip South Africa’s young people with the skills to thrive in the economy and contribute to the country’s growth.

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Promaths is part of Investec’s corporate social investment initiatives, and jointly celebrates a fruitful 20-year partnership with the Kutlwanong Centre for Maths, Science and Technology, and its ongoing partnership with the Umlazi District, which ranked seventh in the country, and third in KZN, with an average pass rate of 91.98%.

Setlogane Manchidi, head of CSI at Investec, said that while South Africa remains one of the world’s biggest spenders on education, ranked fourth globally in education spending as a percentage share of gross domestic profit, spending more is not translating into better outcomes.

“In a landscape where access to quality maths and science education is directly tied to economic opportunity, we need powerful engines for change. With just five years left to meet the National Development Plan’s target of 450 000 learners eligible to study maths and science, time is running out. Current pass rates aren’t keeping pace with what the economy needs. Moreover, we need programmes that create a multiplier effect, ones not just for learners, but entire communities,” said Manchidi.

In comes Promaths, which works tirelessly to empower learners with education, building engineers, coders, doctors, entrepreneurs and innovators.

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Tumelo Mabitsela, CEO of Kutlwanong, said that since 2005 Promaths has supported over 28 000 learners from underserved communities through quality extra tuition in maths and science, resulting in over 45 000 quality passes in both maths and science and nearly 14 000 distinctions.

Promaths alum, Nxumalo Samkelo, started with Promaths in 2023. Since then, his confidence has skyrocketed, he became an A-student and gained valuable skills.

“Thanks to my time in the programme, I was able to get into university to pursue dreams I thought were unattainable before. The teachers are excellent and helped mould me into a top achiever. We were taught not only how to succeed, but how to grow as human beings and become independent,” said Nxumalo.

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