Seen are some of the highlights of the 2017 Minquiz KZN Regional Competition.School of Education hosts 2017 Minquiz KZN Regional Competition
The School of Education recently hosted the Minquiz Regional Competition, an annual national Science and Mathematics competition for Grade 12 learners.
Close to 120 high school learners from various high schools, accompanied by their teachers, attended and participated in the competition held at Edgewood campus.
The competition has written and oral components. Mintek sponsors the entire event including lunch, prizes and accommodation and air-tickets for the final KZN team to participate in the national finals.
According to UKZN academic and Co-ordinator of Mintek-KZN Regional Quiz, Dr Nadaraj Govender, the School has hosted the competition for the last 17 years. The competition aims to encourage interest in careers in Science, Engineering and Technology, especially in minerals and metallurgy, and to promote an awareness of the importance of minerals and metallurgy to South Africa.
Govender explained that participating learners write a preliminary multiple-choice question test individually, followed by competing as a team during a live, on-stage oral quiz, also with multiple-choice questions.
‘Semi-finals are held in all nine provinces on the same day and the finals will be held in Johannesburg on 18-19 July. Questions are in the areas of Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and general knowledge in Science, Engineering and Technology, and are in line with the National Curriculum,’ said Govender. Teacher Mr Vincent S Khuluse from Wiggens Secondary will chaperone the KZN team to Mintek finals.
Speaking at the event, Mintek Engineer Mr Sibabalwa Mxinwa encouraged all learners to pursue a career in Science, Engineering and Technology while addressing the various bursaries, funding and career options at Mintek.
Winners of the regional competition were grouped into Gold or Platinum categories based on the school’s historical resources and results.
The top three winners for the written quiz from the Platinum category are Mr Hendrik Pieter le Roux (Maritzburg College), Mr Rorke Matthew Lilford (Westville Boys) and Daiman Somerville (Westville Boys). From the Gold Category, winners were Mr Yanga Austine Jafta (Wiggens Secondary), Mr Sibusiso Gerald Zitha (Siyamukela High) and Ms Thabisile Ntokozo Mthembu (Thubelihle High).
The top five schools in the written quiz in the Platinum category were Maritzburg College (1st), Westville Boys’ High (2nd), Star College (3rd), Kingsway High (4th) and New Forest High (5th). In the Gold category were Wiggens Secondary (1st), Adams College (2nd), Ohlange Secondary (3rd), Siyamukela High (4th) and Lincoln Heights Secondary (5th).
The top five schools in the oral quiz in the Platinum category were Star College (1st), Kingsway High (2nd) and Maritzburg College (3rd). In the Gold category were Wiggens Secondary (1st), Adams College (2nd) and Lincoln Heights Secondary (3rd).
Ms Thembeka Nyuswa, a Science teacher at Adams College, one of the winning schools said, ‘This competition is a great way for learners to become interested in the Science field. They gain more confidence, more exposure to life after school and the possibilities for success that Science offers. I would encourage more schools to enter and be a part of this.’
Govender thanked the science cluster team comprising of academic and administrative staff and B.Ed students for their support in organising the event.
Photographs: Melissa Mungroo, Nadaraj Govender