A Northern Cape educator, recently honoured with a provincial teaching award for her exceptional skills in Physical Sciences, is working to dismantle the perception that STEM subjects are inherently difficult. Palesa Makhata, a teacher at Vuyolwethu High School in Galeshewe, believes this misconception is a significant barrier to student achievement.
Makhata, who teaches approximately 100 learners, has made it her mission to make Physical Sciences a favourite subject. Her passion has produced outstanding results and earned her recognition for teaching excellence.
“What our society believes in terms of the STEM subjects… people always say math is difficult, physics is difficult,” Makhata said, highlighting the common attitude she confronts. To counter this, she and her colleagues take a proactive approach. “At school level we ensure that we expose learners to a lot of information and kids are here to learn. So we go out of our way to teach them. We do whatever is required to ensure that they understand.”
Her method involves making learning a collective effort rather than an individual one by actively involving her students. This approach, learners say, is key to their comprehension.
“Ma’am doesn’t just give us physics as it is but then she makes it much simpler for all of us to understand,” one learner explained. “Most of the time because some of us don’t understand certain topics but then when Ma’am starts explaining we then grasp that this topic leads to this and with perfect examples around us.”
Another student shared a personal journey of overcoming the fear associated with the subject: “I used to be like no I won’t be able to do physics because of how people used to say physics is hard, don’t do physics. But like I was like no I want to do it cuz I know my potential. So because of Ma’am Makhata I am able to challenge physics even though it’s hard sometimes.”
The need for dedicated STEM teachers is acute in the region. A number of Northern Cape High Schools still do not offer STEM subjects due to a lack of specialized teachers.
The context of Makhata’s work is set against a backdrop of national focus on Physical Sciences performance. A report from the Department of Basic Education revealed that in 2024 the national Physical Sciences pass rate was 75.6%, a slight decrease from 76.2% in 2023.
As more than 16,000 candidates in the province prepare to write their final exams, Makhata’s commitment extends beyond the regular school day. She will be offering Matrics extra support to help them finish the academic year strong.
