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Eastern Cape Department of Education hosts the Horizon Mathematics Competition

Author: Xabiso Nyati
Date: 29/10/2024

The Eastern Cape Department of Education recently hosted the Horizon Mathematics competition prize giving, bringing together the province's intelligent young minds to award them on the exceptional performance on the mathematics competition that was held sometime during the year.

Out of 44 000 learners who participated in the competition in the Eastern Cape, 100 of those learners performed very well and were awarded prizes at the Mandla Makupula Education Institute on Saturday, 26 October 2024.

According to the Acting Chief Director for Curriculum Management, Chulekazi Xundu-Bula, “This esteemed event will identify and recognize top of the cream aspiring mathematicians in the province who demonstrated exceptional knowledge of mathematics terms and functions"

Horizon Maths Competition is an initiative designed to inspire and engage primary school learners in the field of mathematics through enjoyable and competitive activities that emphasize the importance of mental calculation skills.

By creating a positive and challenging environment, this competition seeks to enhance learners' cognitive abilities, bolster their confidence in mathematics, and deepen their understanding of numerical concepts.

The competition is closely aligned with the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) requirement, which mandates that teachers dedicate 10 minutes each day to mental mathematics in the classroom.

The Eastern Cape Department of Education (ECDOE) partnered with the funders for (Horizon Mathematics Competition) HMC as a strategic motivation to implement the Foundations for Learning (FFL) policy.

These competitions begin at the school level and progress through cluster and district level with cool prizes to be awarded to the winners such as certificates of participation which include laptops, tablets, smartphones, bicycles, EarPods and calculators.

Horizon Mathematics Educator Yasin Gul stated, “this competition is conducted every year around provinces, but the most participating schools are from the Eastern Cape.

We have spent around R65000-R70000 on the prizes because our goal is to equip the learners with the right resources so as to help them grow in the mathematics sphere”.

A grade 6 learner who won position two in the top 100 Thalitha Tyo from Xwili Primary School has truly liked the competition and spent a significant amount of time and effort preparing for it and was so excited that she came second on the competition. Iyazi Somdaka secured the top position and was thrilled to be recognized as the best among many talented individuals.

By providing resources and information to young people and highlighting math prospects, we may strive toward a bright future and productive career path.