With the lowest ranking in the world for Mathematics and Science education in 2016, according to the World Economic Forum, the situation for South African education is critical.
The top Matric candidates in Maths and Science usually attend the top schools in the country often the leading private schools, where access to quality teaching and resources is what makes the difference.
And this means that transformation in professions requiring Maths and Science becomes extremely difficult.
So, when someone from a so called ‘township school’ shines, it’s particularly encouraging for the country.
In last year’s Matric group, the top Physical Sciences matriculant in the Western Cape was Siphelele Xabendlini, a learner from Phandulwazi High School in the poverty stricken area of Philippi.
Siphelele achieved full marks 100% for Grade 12 Physical Sciences, an incredible achievement by any standard.
In talking about his success, Siphelele acknowledged the benefits of having had access to a unique local resource, which enabled him to use his phone to gain instant access to an extra teacher for any of the exam questions he struggled with during his studies – all without requiring an internet connection or data.
The resource was the Paper Video Exam Book for Grade 12 Physical Sciences.
Paper Video, a Cape Town based social enterprise, have been making waves with their unique books of past exam papers since their inception in late 2014.
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What sets their resources apart from any other in the country is that each question is linked to a unique video solution, taught by an experienced and passionate teacher.
All a student needs to do to watch the solution video is scan the QR code next to the question using the Paper Video app and a teacher will pop up
on their phone, taking the student through the problem step – by – step.
