UNESCO - International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa organized training workshop on Skills Development for Enhanced girls’ participation in SMTE in Cape Town South Africa from 19 – 23 September 2011.
The Cape Town workshop was one of the series of workshops mapped out as IICBA’s intervention at school level to assist with the elimination of gender disparity at all levels with particular focus on SMTE in order to reach the millennium development goals of achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment by 2015.
The workshop aimed at impacting skills to senior primary and high school teachers to improve the participation and performance of girls in Science, Mathematics and Technology (SMT) subjects. The workshop also aimed at developing and equipping teachers with skills and knowledge to deal with gender issues in schools, community and the society at large.
The participants who attended this workshop were heads of departments and subject heads of SMTE from senior primary and senior secondary schools.
The five-day workshop was conducted in collaboration with the University of Pretoria Science expert and the support of the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU). The workshop was very highly participatory, with lots of discussions on various aspects of gender issues that relate to principles, practices, stereotypes, gender equality and equity, cultural values, role of family and the community and school curriculum development.
At the end of the workshop, participants pledged their commitment to replicate this training in their schools, community and other provinces for the benefit of other SMTE teachers in order to maximize the effect of IICBA’s intervention.