Including indigenous knowledge in the curriculum could make science more relatable to learners. 

This was the central theme during Science Week when the Science Learning Centre for Africa (SLCA) at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) invited primary and high school learners in the Western Cape to a full programme on Saturday, 5 August 2023. 

The centre aims to increase learners’ interest in science and provides professional development for science teachers. 

Northern suburbs high schools which participated include De Kuilen, Sarepta, Masibambane, Fairmont and Bothasig, while Trafalgar, Habibia and Kulani Secondary and Nkazimlo Primary - the overall winner of the event’s science art competition - were some of the schools which represented the Cape Flats and southern suburbs.

Research conducted by Professor Josef De Beer, Director at the SLCA, showed that including indigenous knowledge in science curriculum themes makes science more relevant and interesting for culturally diverse learners. The day’s programme exposed learners to the rich Khoisan indigenous knowledge and customs. Guest speakers focused on medicinal plants, customs and modern-day challenges relating to cultural issues.

The SLCA also hosted an art competition because art is included and encouraged in science learning. Entries were displayed at the event. 

CLICK HERE FOR BROCHURE OF WINNING ARTWORKS

Mr Zane Truter, a teacher from Kulani Secondary in Langa, said the opportunity to have learners enter the art competition is particularly valuable. One of his students, Abongile Maqoko, a Grade 11 learner, won the category in the competition which called on learners to depict how mathematics impacts their lives. Maqoko is keen on pursuing an art career. 

Keynote speaker, the famous indigenous plant expert and author of the book, People’s Plants, Professor Ben-Erik van Wyk from the University of Johannesburg, discussed the plants in San Rock Art and their medicinal properties. However, he warned that the last people who possess knowledge of indigenous plants and their uses are getting older and are already in their eighties. 

“If scientists don’t act now and collect as much information as possible, we are about to lose a precious treasure forever once this group is no longer alive. The younger generation will be asking us why we haven’t preserved this precious knowledge.”

He encouraged learners to ask their grandparents about the plants they use for medicinal purposes and as food sources. 

Annelize Kotze from the Iziko Museums of South Africa - another scientific space learners were exposed to - discussed the dilemma of human remains in museum spaces and the decolonisation of these spaces.

She said many museums worldwide are grappling with matters of repatriation and restitution of looted objects from around the world. 

“Many are not aware that museums, like many universities, house the ancestral remains of many indigenous communities. 

“For far too long, communities have been subjugated, underestimated, marginalised, studied and stolen from. Indigenous voices very rarely found their way into museum spaces and practices, but as the museum of today, it is imperative that community consultation does not just take place with affected peoples, but that the museum of today is honest about its past and honest about its strides to decolonise, and be open to listening to the public which it serves.”

The celebrated SABC journalist, Jacqui January, who hails from the Northern Cape, told various stories about her childhood in Namaqualand, the games they played and songs sung as part of a treasured cultural tradition. She touched on some of the bulbous plants they would eat from the veld and explained how they could identify plants that were used for their medicinal uses to cure headaches and flu, for instance.

UWC’s Dr Jacob Cloete spoke about his soon-to-be-released book, The Attempted Erasure of the Khoekhoe and San, about the problematic coloured identity. He said this erasure started in 1652 and is still ongoing in present-day post-apartheid South Africa.
 

All images by Ruvan Boshoff/UWC Media