Mamokgethi Setati
Encyclopedia
Rosina Mamokgethi Setati (née Mmutlana, born November 1, 1966) is a South African Mathematics Education
Researcher
, Academic, Vice
Principal
Research
and Innovation
and previous Executive Dean
of College of Science Engineering and Technology of the University of South Africa
. In South Africa
she is well known for her outstanding work in mathematics development. In 2002 she became the first black female South African to obtain a PhD
in Mathematics Education
.
to Frank Mmutlana and Wendy Mmutlana (née Thipe). Her mother started as a domestic worker
and factory
worker who went back to school after giving birth to all her three children to complete Form 3 (Grade 9) which allowed her to study for her Primary Teachers Certificate and practice as a teacher. Her father, Frank Mmutlana, was one of the first black radio announcers at the South African Broadcasting Corporation
(SABC). Her brother is Rufus Mmutlana and sister is Mmahati (Shosho) Mmutlana both of whom are graduates and successful in their own right.
Mmutlana started school in 1972 at Ikageleng Primary in Marapyane village where she stayed until 1973 while her mother was completing high school. In 1974 she moved to Ga-Rankuwa
to live with her family and continued with her primary schooling at Ikageng Primary in Ga-Rankuwa. Throughout her schooling she never spent more than two years in one school and this was as a result of her parents search for a better school for her. In this period she attended the following schools; Tsela-tshweu higher primary; Tswelelang Higher Primary; Thuto-Thebe Middle School; Odi High School and Hebron.
She completed her matric (Grade 12) in the rural village of Hebron at the College of Education which also used to teach high school classes. Mmutlana was in the last group of high school students at Hebron College of Education and completed her matric with University Exemption in 1983. Mmutlana's love for mathematics was encouraged by Mr Motiang who was her Standard 5 (Grade 7) mathematics teacher at Tswelelang higher Primary School. By the time she got to Standard 8 (Grade 10) at Odi high school she was scoring mathematics marks in the range 80%–100%.
in Pure Mathematics
at the University of North-West, and a MSc
in Mathematics Education
at the University of the Witwatersrand
followed by a Phd
in Mathematics Education
at the same institution.
in 2007 Kgethi has been living with Tsholo her son who is currently a University student.
Besides growing up in Marapyane and Ga-Rankuwa
, Setati has also lived in Mmabatho
(while a student at Unibo), Carletonville, Fochville, Midrand, Centurion
and Johannesburg
. She is widely traveled and has visited all continents with the exception of the Antarctica.
As a young person Setati was an amateur tennis
player and dancer. She continued with ballroom
and Latin American dancing when she went to University and even participated in competitions. While she no longer dances professionally she occasionally takes on the floor to do some salsa
if there is a fluent male salsa dancer.
Setati is an avid reader and lists the following books as among her best: The Algebra of Infinite Justice
(Andurati Roy); The end of poverty
(Jeffrey D Sachs), Big men, little people: Encounters in Africa (Alec Russel); Outliers (Malcolm Gladwell
) and Infidel (Ayaan Hirsi Ali).
Mathematics education
In contemporary education, mathematics education is the practice of teaching and learning mathematics, along with the associated scholarly research....
Researcher
Researcher
A researcher is somebody who performs research, the search for knowledge or in general any systematic investigation to establish facts. Researchers can work in academic, industrial, government, or private institutions.-Examples of research institutions:...
, Academic, Vice
Vice
Vice is a practice or a behavior or habit considered immoral, depraved, or degrading in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a defect, an infirmity, or merely a bad habit. Synonyms for vice include fault, depravity, sin, iniquity, wickedness, and corruption...
Principal
Principal
- Education :*Principal , a head of a primary or secondary school*Principal , a chief executive of a university or college- Law :*Principal , a person who authorises an agent...
Research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
and Innovation
Innovation
Innovation is the creation of better or more effective products, processes, technologies, or ideas that are accepted by markets, governments, and society...
and previous Executive Dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
of College of Science Engineering and Technology of the University of South Africa
University of South Africa
The University of South Africa is a distance education university, with headquarters in Pretoria, South Africa. With approximately 300 000 enrolled students, it qualifies as one of the world's mega universities.-History:...
. In South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
she is well known for her outstanding work in mathematics development. In 2002 she became the first black female South African to obtain a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in Mathematics Education
Mathematics education
In contemporary education, mathematics education is the practice of teaching and learning mathematics, along with the associated scholarly research....
.
Early life
Rosina Mamokgethi Mmutlana was born in Eastwood, PretoriaPretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
to Frank Mmutlana and Wendy Mmutlana (née Thipe). Her mother started as a domestic worker
Domestic worker
A domestic worker is a man, woman or child who works within the employer's household. Domestic workers perform a variety of household services for an individual or a family, from providing care for children and elderly dependents to cleaning and household maintenance, known as housekeeping...
and factory
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
worker who went back to school after giving birth to all her three children to complete Form 3 (Grade 9) which allowed her to study for her Primary Teachers Certificate and practice as a teacher. Her father, Frank Mmutlana, was one of the first black radio announcers at the South African Broadcasting Corporation
South African Broadcasting Corporation
The South African Broadcasting Corporation is the state-owned broadcaster in South Africa and provides 18 radio stations as well as 3 television broadcasts to the general public.-Early years:Radio broadcasting began in South Africa in 1923...
(SABC). Her brother is Rufus Mmutlana and sister is Mmahati (Shosho) Mmutlana both of whom are graduates and successful in their own right.
Mmutlana started school in 1972 at Ikageleng Primary in Marapyane village where she stayed until 1973 while her mother was completing high school. In 1974 she moved to Ga-Rankuwa
Ga-Rankuwa
Ga-Rankuwa is a township located about 37 km north of Pretoria. Provincially it falls under Gauteng province but it used to be under North West Province, as it once fell under Bophuthatswana region ruled by Lucas Mangope under the apartheid regime....
to live with her family and continued with her primary schooling at Ikageng Primary in Ga-Rankuwa. Throughout her schooling she never spent more than two years in one school and this was as a result of her parents search for a better school for her. In this period she attended the following schools; Tsela-tshweu higher primary; Tswelelang Higher Primary; Thuto-Thebe Middle School; Odi High School and Hebron.
She completed her matric (Grade 12) in the rural village of Hebron at the College of Education which also used to teach high school classes. Mmutlana was in the last group of high school students at Hebron College of Education and completed her matric with University Exemption in 1983. Mmutlana's love for mathematics was encouraged by Mr Motiang who was her Standard 5 (Grade 7) mathematics teacher at Tswelelang higher Primary School. By the time she got to Standard 8 (Grade 10) at Odi high school she was scoring mathematics marks in the range 80%–100%.
Higher education
She achieved a BScBSC
BSC is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to:Science and technology* Bachelor of Science , an undergraduate degree* Base Station Controller, part of a mobile phone network; see: Base Station subsystem...
in Pure Mathematics
Pure mathematics
Broadly speaking, pure mathematics is mathematics which studies entirely abstract concepts. From the eighteenth century onwards, this was a recognized category of mathematical activity, sometimes characterized as speculative mathematics, and at variance with the trend towards meeting the needs of...
at the University of North-West, and a MSc
MSC
- Computers:* Mario Strikers Charged* Microsoft Common Console Document, file for the Microsoft Management Console* Microelectronics Support Centre* Microsoft Corporation* MIDI Show Control* Message Sequence Chart...
in Mathematics Education
Mathematics education
In contemporary education, mathematics education is the practice of teaching and learning mathematics, along with the associated scholarly research....
at the University of the Witwatersrand
University of the Witwatersrand
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg is a South African university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University...
followed by a Phd
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in Mathematics Education
Mathematics education
In contemporary education, mathematics education is the practice of teaching and learning mathematics, along with the associated scholarly research....
at the same institution.
Positions held
- Executive Dean of College of Science Engineering and Technology of University of South AfricaUniversity of South AfricaThe University of South Africa is a distance education university, with headquarters in Pretoria, South Africa. With approximately 300 000 enrolled students, it qualifies as one of the world's mega universities.-History:...
- Honorary Professor of University of the WitwatersrandUniversity of the WitwatersrandThe University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg is a South African university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University...
- Professor extraordinaire of Tshwane University of TechnologyTshwane University of TechnologyTshwane University of Technology is a higher education institution in South Africa that came into being through a merger of three technikons — Technikon Northern Gauteng, Technikon North-West and Technikon Pretoria....
- Deputy Chairperson of National Committee for the International Mathematics Union
- Trustee of FirstRand Limited Foundation
- Trustee of Telkom SA Foundation
- Board Member of South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, International Council for ScienceInternational Council for ScienceThe International Council for Science , formerly the International Council of Scientific Unions, was founded in 1931 as an international non-governmental organization devoted to international co-operation in the advancement of science...
Board - Managing Director of Pythagoras
Personal life
Mamokgethi Setati was married to Richard Setati for 19 years (1988–2007) and they had one son Tsholofelo who was born in 1990. Since the divorceDivorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
in 2007 Kgethi has been living with Tsholo her son who is currently a University student.
Besides growing up in Marapyane and Ga-Rankuwa
Ga-Rankuwa
Ga-Rankuwa is a township located about 37 km north of Pretoria. Provincially it falls under Gauteng province but it used to be under North West Province, as it once fell under Bophuthatswana region ruled by Lucas Mangope under the apartheid regime....
, Setati has also lived in Mmabatho
Mmabatho
Mmabatho is the former capital of the North-West Province of South Africa. In the apartheid era, it was the capital of the former "Bantustan" of Bophuthatswana. Following the end of apartheid in 1994, Bophuthatswana was integrated into the newly established North-West Province and Mmabatho was...
(while a student at Unibo), Carletonville, Fochville, Midrand, Centurion
Centurion, Gauteng
Centurion is an area with 279,430 inhabitants in Gauteng Province of South Africa, located between Pretoria and Midrand . Formerly an independent municipality, with its own town council, it is now part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality...
and Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
. She is widely traveled and has visited all continents with the exception of the Antarctica.
As a young person Setati was an amateur tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player and dancer. She continued with ballroom
Ballroom
A ballroom is a large room inside a building, the designated purpose of which is holding formal dances called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions contain one or more ballrooms...
and Latin American dancing when she went to University and even participated in competitions. While she no longer dances professionally she occasionally takes on the floor to do some salsa
Salsa (dance)
Salsa is a syncretic dance form with origins in Cuba as the meeting point of Spanish and African cultures.Salsa is normally a partner dance, although there are recognized solo forms such as solo dancing "suelta" and "Rueda de Casino" where multiple couples exchange partners in a circle...
if there is a fluent male salsa dancer.
Setati is an avid reader and lists the following books as among her best: The Algebra of Infinite Justice
The Algebra of Infinite Justice
The Algebra of Infinite Justice is a collection of essays written by Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy. The book discusses several perspectives of global and local concerns, among them one being the abuse of Nuclear bomb showoffs....
(Andurati Roy); The end of poverty
The End of Poverty
The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time is a 2005 book by American economist Jeffrey Sachs. It was a New York Times bestseller....
(Jeffrey D Sachs), Big men, little people: Encounters in Africa (Alec Russel); Outliers (Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell, CM is a Canadian journalist, bestselling author, and speaker. He is currently based in New York City and has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996...
) and Infidel (Ayaan Hirsi Ali).