Page 12 - Cornwall Issue 3 2025

EDUCATION

ARE OUR SCHOOLS

READY TO TEACH

CODING AND

ROBOTICS?

resident Ramaphosa, speaking said, much of our school system remains phase curriculum is focused on unplugged
at the January 2023 Education understaffed and under-resourced, coding, eliminating the need for such
Sector Lekgotla, said, “The begging the question of how teachers will facilities or tablets for learners. The
Pskills that our country needs, be trained to teach coding and robotics, curriculum aims to develop computational
the jobs that can grow our economy and how they will be able to teach this thinking, critical thinking, problem-
and importantly, the avenues for technical subject to students, especially in solving skills and innovation, which
entrepreneurship that are so sorely rural schools. are fundamental skills that could help
needed, can best be achieved by bridge the skills gap in the country and
increasing learner access to technical and To help navigate this new educational across the continent, equipping learners
vocational subjects.” landscape, Oxford University Press South with competencies for future careers in
Africa has published The Illustrated emerging tech roles.
The demand for digital skills and literacy Coding and Robotics Dictionary, which
has grown rapidly in most industries includes key terms to help educators, Teaching a technical language requires
across South Africa, emphasising the learners, parents and guardians demystify that educators be trained effectively
need for learners to be skilled in coding the language of coding and robotics. in coding and robotics, and ongoing
and robotics when entering the workforce. professional development and support
The Department of Basic Education has ARE OUR SCHOOLS READY TO will be crucial to the success of learners
piloted the coding and robotics curriculum TEACH THE NEW CURRICULUM? studying the subject. “The technical
in public schools, and teacher training is There have been concerns about vocabulary and abstract concepts can
already underway. whether schools without the necessary feel like a foreign language; terms like
infrastructure such as computer ‘algorithm’, ‘variable’, and ‘loop’ often
This is a positive and vital step towards laboratories, would be able to offer the overwhelm learners encountering them for
future-proofing our education system. That subject properly. However, the foundation the first time,” says Christo Spies, Grade

10 Cornwall View • Issue 3 2025