Ways of Increasing the Pool of Technologists and Engineers, and the Role of the Teacher In-Service Training Program (TISP) in the Field of Technology and Engineering a South African Approach

A shortage of skilled people and engineers is one of the most critical issues facing South African government today. One of the problems facing South Africa is the old curriculum, which is outdated and could not address some of the developments in engineering and related fields. The country is embarking on a joint effort by the Department of Education (DoE) and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), and the different non-governmental organisations (NGOs) such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and Zenex in addressing the situation. Due to non-coordination of all the efforts, the Department of Education developed a national strategy on mathematics, science, and technology (NSMST) to create schools of excellence or focused schools, 'Dinaledi' schools with targets to produce more mathematics and science learners. The first white paper of 1995 after the democratically elected government, proposed the development of alternative curricula, the national curriculum statement (NCS) based on principles of access, redress and equity. In this paper, the creation of focus schools known as 'Dinaledi' schools, the role played by engineers in the development of a country, and the support given by industry is addressed.