Welcome

Our South African youth must study maths and science in order for us to be a winning nation.
The late Dr Govan Mbeki voiced this fervent appeal during his 90th birthday speech against the backdrop of a growing crisis in Mathematics and Science Education in our country.
He also recalled how he struggled with mathematical aspects of his studies in economics whilst on Robben Island. To honour his wish a group of academics in the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics at the then UPE (now NMMU) decided, in 2001, to respond to the Mathematical needs of communities in the Eastern Cape by consolidating existing Mathematics projects into an expanded Mathematics development programme.
Dr Mbeki gave his full support to such a programme and agreed to have his name associated with it. In December 2001 the group of academics  managed to secure a sponsorship from SASOL. This led to the formation of the Govan Mbeki SASOL Mathematics Development Programme (GMSMDP). Since its inception the GMSMDP has grown into a vibrant entity at the NMMU that focuses on Mathematics development amongst educators and learners in the Eastern Cape province.
A number of new projects, including a Mathematics Incubator School project for Grade 11&12 learners and a Mathematics Skills Upgrade Programme (MATHSUP) for FET educators, were added after 2004 to the list of GMSMDP projects.
In October of 2008 the GMSMDP was re-constituted as a formal NMMU entity and is now known as the Govan Mbeki Mathematics Development Unit (GMMDU).
Since the beginning of 2011, the GMMDU is housed in the School of Computing Science, Mathematics, Statistics and Physics alongside the newly established FRF Chair in Mathematics Education at NMMU.
The MATHSUP project for in-service Maths educators has become an exciting initiative that holds great promise to have a positive impact on the quality of teaching in the NCS Mathematics classrooms in the province and elsewhere. Up to the present, ab0ut 400 in-service FET Maths educators have benefited from the two NMMU-accredited short learning programmes that form part of the 1-year MATHSUP programme.
The successful Maths and Science incubator school programme for learners attracts many learners on an annual basis into Science Engineering and Technology (SET) as well as Science and Maths teacher training study programmes at the NMMU.

The active 2011 GMMDU projects are:

  • A Mathematics Olympiad competition for learners in Grades 3,5,7,9 and 11
  • A Maths and Science Grade 11 & 12 incubator school for prospective SET students (in PE and in Somerset East)
  • A commerce incubator school (COINS) Maths pilot project  for Grade 12 learners (in PE)
  • NCS Maths and Science Exam preparation workshops for learners in Grade 12 (in PE and in Somerset East)
  • Problem solving workshops for educators and selected learners prior to the Mathematics Olympiad competition
  • Workshops for in-service FET Maths educators in use of technology to enhance the teaching and learning ofMathematics in the classroom
  • Maths Skills upgrade programme for FET educators – two accredited Short Learning Programs are offered to groups of educators in PE, Mthatha and Somerset East
  • NCS-UP Mathematics upgrade project for prospective NMMU students prior to registration in January
  • Physical Science Skills upgrade programme for FET educators – two Short Learning Programmes are offered to a group of educators in PE
  • FET Maths and Science resource material research and development – Grade 9&10 Maths DVD series and NCS Mathematics GeoGebra applet series development