Canva graphic image by:Bontle Malowa
On Saturday, August 2, the Wits School of Mathematics, in collaboration with the Origins Centre, hosted an informative lecture that re-centred the value of mathematics to honour two black South African mathematicians who obtained their doctorates in mathematics during the apartheid era.
- Prof. Nongxa was keynote speaker at a lecture hosted by the Wits School of Mathematics in celebration of National Science Week.
- The lecture was meant to promote the value and accessibility of mathematics.
- Professors Ismail Mohamed and Joe Mokoena were also remembered for having earned doctorates in mathematics during apartheid, in the face of especially formidable challenges to Black higher education.
Professor Ismail Mohamed and Dr Joe Mokoena. Both professors are Wits alumni who defied systemic discrimination to obtain their doctoral degrees in mathematics-in an era where Black South Africans were deliberately excluded from higher education and academic opportunities.
Delivering the keynote address was Professor Loyiso Nongxa, former Vice-Chancellor of Wits and a leading figure in South African mathematics. With humour and humility, Prof. Nongxa reminded the audience full of young learners that mathematics is not just about numbers and equations. “Mathematics is a powerful language. It is about creativity, identity, resilience, and possibility,” he said.
Nongxa shared how Dr Mokoena completed much of his PhD research alone, in isolation, at a time when formal academic support was withheld from Black scholars. Similarly, Prof. Mohamed was denied a position as a mathematics lecturer because it would “upset the National Party” — a reminder of how apartheid weaponised education.
Yet both men persisted, earning qualifications that remain rare among Black South Africans in STEM. Their stories are not just about academic brilliance, but about resistance using mathematics as a form of intellectual protest.
While South Africa celebrates its National Science Week 2025 from August 4 to 9, the country is forced to come to terms with a growing problem in its school system: a persistent drop in mathematics enrolment and performance amongst students. Literacy in mathematics is more crucial than ever, not just for STEM professionals, but for the future of the nation itself.
South Africa’s relationship with mathematics remains troubled. According to the Daily Maverick fewer than 40% of matriculants now take pure mathematics, and many are steered toward mathematical literacy.
In some cases, educators, and school administrators themselves push learners toward mathematical literacy to protect their respective school performance statistics, often perpetuating the cycle where fewer learners are exposed to advanced mathematical thinking.
This has disproportionately affected Black students, especially girls, who are already underrepresented in STEM fields and often face the compounded burden of both racial and gender bias.
In his closing remarks, Prof. Nongxa emphasised the need to tell these stories more often — not just during National Science Week, but in everyday classrooms and conversations. “There is no written history of how mathematics evolved in South Africa. We have a responsibility not just as mathematicians, but as a society — to make that history visible.” he said.
FEATURED IMAGE: South Africa celebrates its National Science Week 2025 from August 4 to 9 by Bontle Malowa .
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