RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT
RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT A SINGLE GRADUATE FROM A UNIVERSITY, HAS AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT ON THE LIVES OF TEN OTHERS WHEN THEY RETURN TO THEIR COMMUNITY. ONE GRADUATE FROM A RURAL COMMUNITY CAN BE A CATALYST FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH! TALENT PIPELINE PROGRAMME The Talent Pipeline Programme (TPP) at Sol Plaatje University is a pre-university enrichment programme aimed at increasing the academic, social, and psychosocial preparation of learners to enter higher education. We will identify the top ten performing learners in grades 10, 11 and 12 from a broad range of underresourced schools in the Northern Cape Province. The learners will be accommodated at the University during their school holidays (one week in March, two weeks in June and one week in September) and participate in a programme that focuses on a psychosocial, educational enrichment curriculum of deep immersion in ten subject areas: Mathematics, Scientific Thinking, Science, Molecular Literacy, Computer Science, Language, Economics and Law, Diversity Studies and International Relations. The academic instruction will be accompanied by a personal skills development curriculum (life skills, sport, art and music) focusing on coping and success mechanisms. Programmes such as the TPP which are run elsewhere have been highly successful in creating a pipeline of excellent learners from under-resourced schools that enter University and have already produced several medical doctors, nurses, actuaries, accountants, economists, and engineers who have positively impacted their communities. EDUCATORS ENHANCEMENT PROGRAMME We take pride in SPU being located within the Northern Cape Province; thus, we must play a part in dealing with some of the general issues in our space. A priority is to contribute towards improving the quality of schooling in our province to enable young people from these parts of the country to access post-secondary education. We will therefore run an Educators Enhancement Programme as part of the TPP for Mathematics and Science Educators from the participant schools. This programme will ensure that the learners have the necessary support in their studies, receive the appropriate academic interventions at school, and that their teachers encourage their commitment to success. Through this enhancement programme, we will assist educators in teaching and assessing in ways that make the transition from high school to University smoother, thereby facilitating access. We also endeavour to ensure that educators have the appropriate technology, access to data and connectivity, and gain experience using online resources for teaching and collaboration. The Educator Enhancement Programme will be a residential workshop which runs over two weeks in June on the SPU premises.
FAMILY WORKSHOPS One of the most critical assets of any education system is the solidarity between parents and teachers. We want to promote the involvement of families and communities in the education process of the learner. We will host workshops through which we will explain the role of the family in the success of the learner in the TPP; and establish sustainable partnership practices across schools, families, and communities. ONLINE TUTORING For the time in-between the residential sessions at the University, the TPP learners will be supported by online tutoring. This support will be conducted by their teachers who have been taken through the Educator Enhancement Programme, and we will assign online tutors that the learners can access at learning centres that the University will establish across the Northern Cape Province. “As I embark upon my second five-year term as the Chancellor of Sol Plaatje University, I am committed to the SPU Talent Pipeline Programme’s success because it speaks to my belief that academically excellent students who come from modest means must be given a fair chance to succeed in higher education. Sol Plaatje University has a vision of enhancing democratic practice and social justice in society. This programme puts it on a path to achieving that vision and to making a positive impact on uplifting rural communities in the Northern Cape Province. I hope you will consider supporting this ambitious but necessary programme at our University.” CHANCELLOR, JUDGE STEVEN MAJIEDT For more information, send an email to specialprojects@spu.ac.za. You can also visit our website at www.spu.ac.za.
