WENDY MOTHATA|

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa says child support grants, fee-free basic education and school feeding schemes have been a lifeline for many indigent families in South Africa.

The president said these government initiatives have helped keep millions of South African children in school and thus less vulnerable to exploitation.

Ramaphosa delivered the keynote address at the 5th International Labour Organisation Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.

In his opening line, Ramaphosa said: “The rights of children are enshrined in our Bill of Rights. The Constitution places obligations on all, including the state, to advance the rights of children to a name and a nationality. It places an obligation on us to advance their rights to care, basic nutrition, shelter, health care and social services. The Constitution enshrines the right of children to be protected from ill-treatment, neglect, abuse or degradation.”

He said for many, the words ‘child labour’ conjure up images of young people working in sweatshops and informal factories.

“We have all seen the terrible and heartrending images of children, some as young as six, labouring in mines across the African continent. But there is also a hidden face that many do not get to see. It is the children in domestic servitude to families and relatives, prevented from attending school because they have to do household work,” said Ramaphosa.

“It is the children of labour tenants on farms fulfilling exploitative agreements with farm owners, where the entire family must work on the land in exchange for the right to live on it. It is the many, many children, male and female, who are bought and sold in the international sex trade, the worst of all forms of exploitation.”

The president said the country must attain universal access to social protection, with a specific focus on children and the most vulnerable.

“By providing a basic floor of support for families with children, we can reduce the need for children to be put to work, whether in the home or elsewhere,” said Ramaphosa.

Ramaphosa added that child labour co-exist with migration flows and socio-economic instability in developing economies.

“We know that child labour co-exists with migration flows and socio-economic instability in developing economies. In a climate where millions are prepared to brave the harshness of deserts and rough seas in search of a better life, the risk of children being exposed to exploitative labour practices is high,” he said.

“The reality is that our prospects for eliminating child labour and achieving decent work are limited unless we change the structure of the global economy and the institutions that support it.”

INSIDE EDUCATION

ISSUES with mental health and wellbeing can stifle aspiration and prevent children from achieving their full potential. So creating a positive culture of wellbeing in schools is an imperative, and tackling loneliness and encouraging pupils to share experiences is at the very heart of this.

With good reason, loneliness is the theme of this year’s mental health awareness week. It can strike at any age, and it is inextricably linked to poor mental health.

In our hyperconnected world of social media, messaging apps and online gaming, young people may feel that everyone else is out there making friends, and that makes their loneliness even harder to bear. Add two long years of pandemic disruption (with increased reliance on these technologies), and the result is that children’s sense of isolation has heightened, with devastating effect on their wellbeing. According to NHS Digital, one in six children aged six to 16 in England had a probable mental health condition in 2021, up from one in nine in 2017.

The importance of shared experience

Many children find it difficult to articulate feelings of loneliness, or prefer not to admit to them. Reducing stigma as a barrier is an important reason for schools to encourage conversations about wellbeing.

Regular wellbeing events encourage an open dialogue among pupils, and that can stretch beyond the school gate. Inviting neighbouring schools to take part is an effective way to share the message and to bring pupils together with other young people in their community.

But it can’t be left to standalone activities. Rather than addressing mental health as a separate item on the agenda, embedding discussions about loneliness, anxiety or isolation into the curriculum helps to normalise the theme.

For example, a PSHE lesson on e-safety can open up discussion about how social media can paradoxically make us feel less connected, creating an opportunity for young people to talk openly about their feelings. Likewise, an English lesson about a character in a play can allow a quieter child to talk about loneliness without worrying that they may be giving too much away about themselves.

Taking a lead

But just discussing the issues is not enough, and it’s unreasonable to expect all teachers to be experts in tackling their pupils’ mental health challenges. Nevertheless, more than 400,000 under-18s were referred for specialist mental health support last year alone, and only one-third accessed the help they needed. This leaves school staff picking up the slack.

Appointing a mental health lead to direct children and staff to the support groups or resources they need can help. A senior member of staff tasked with championing wellbeing provides not only a first point of contact for children and staff who need support, but also a bridge to the school’s decision-making body.

And if that dedicated person also oversees pastoral services, they can reinforce a culture of wellbeing across the curriculum and send out a clear message that wellbeing is everyone’s priority.

Pupil voice

And on the topic of decision-making bodies, it is important to accept that the culture shift required to improve wellbeing will need pupils’ buy-in. This ensures we avoid assumptions and don’t dictate what action we think is needed.

Many schools conduct wellbeing surveys, but simply asking pupils what support they need rarely gets to the crux of the matter. Instead, capture your school’s pupil voice by asking questions that enable you to take affirmative action. Asking “at what times during the school week do you feel stressed or lonely?” can direct specific initiatives such as mindfulness sessions or activities in breaktime. The pupils can then advise on what activities they would like.

Younger children respond well to questions like “what makes you a great friend?”. By discussing the results of these questions, children will start to recognise how their actions can build friendships and reduce loneliness for others.

We can alleviate the pain of loneliness for young people by changing the way wellbeing is supported and nurtured. It’ll take longer than a mental health awareness week, but what a truly positive legacy of the pandemic that could be.

SCHOOLSWEEK

THE Department of Basic Education has released the 2021 Early Childhood Development (ECD) Census results which comprise data on all ECD Programmes in order to get a better understanding of the early learning and development landscape in South Africa.

The ECD Census 2021, commissioned by the Department of Basic Education and funded by the LEGO Foundation is aimed at gathering reliable data and information in order to move towards a centralised information system to improve resource allocation and oversight management of ECD centres across the country.

Delivering the keynote address at the launch of the ECD Census results in Fourways, Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, said that the occasion to release the 2021 Census results is important to the Basic Education sector.

Motshekga emphasised that without reliable data on children accessing ECD services in their target age cohort, and the number of practitioners providing those services, the department’s planning and funding systems will likely fail to reach the poorest children most in need of public assistance.

“These results will further assist us to monitor trends in the ECD sector over time and contribute towards the development of the children at an early age so they can thrive as they grow older in the education system,” she said.

According to data collected starting in August 2021, 42 420 Early Learning Programmes (ELPs) were counted that collectively had 1 660 316 children enrolled.

The Minister said that some of the most outstanding findings included that on average, there are 6.2 ECD programmes per 1000 children between 0-5 years nationwide.

The province with the highest total number of ELPs is Gauteng at 25%, followed by KwaZulu-Natal at 19%, the Eastern Cape and Limpopo both at 13%.

“Six out ten ELPs are located in urban areas, which is an almost perfect match compared to the proportion of urban enumeration areas at 59% according to national census demarcations used by StatsSA,” she said.

In KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape, and Northern Cape, the majority of centres operate for less than eight hours per day, while centres in the Western Cape and Gauteng stay open for longer, averaging more than 10 hours.

Motshekga said that this is consistent with expectations and could be linked to employment patterns.

The data also revealed that at 55% of ELPs, two languages are commonly spoken among children.

While at 80%, English is one of the spoken languages. Meanwhile at the ELPs where English is not spoken, isiZulu at 29%, isiXhosa at 19% and Afrikaans at 19% are the most spoken languages.

Data further showed that 34% of children aged 3 – 5 are enrolled in a ELP, 62% in urban areas and 38% in rural areas.

“Virtually all (99%) ELPs incorporate at least one meal time into the daily programme, usually lunch (94%), breakfast (88%) or snacks between meals (81%). The great majority (81%) of ELPs have three or less classrooms for the children, and the average number of children per classroom is 17,” the data revealed.

Learning through Play

The findings with regards to Learning through Play have indicated that by and large, South African ECD practitioners believe that the initiative for learning through play lies primarily with the practitioners, not the children themselves.

“Relatively little time is allocated for free play, and materials and equipment that lend themselves to free play, such as fantasy toys and sand pits, are less common than other types of toys.”

The Census further shows that higher quintile ECD programmes dedicate more time to free play as part of the daily programme than lower quintile ECD programmes.

The Minister emphasised that government has to deliberately put in place policies and programmes intended to prioritize ECD as a critical component of overcoming the negative impact of poverty on young children especially in poor communities.

“We wish for our children to have space and more time to learn through play, to teach our children to make sense of the world around them at an early age, to develop their social and cognitive skills, to assist them to mature emotionally and gain the self-confidence required to engage in new experiences and environments through play,” she said.

Funding

In terms of funding, the census has found that 33% of ELPs receive a subsidy from the Department of Social Development.

More than two thirds (68%) of ELPs are registered as a non-profit organisation (NPO), and just under a third (31%) are part of a larger network or organisation comprising multiple ELPs, such as a regional ECD Forum.

“An extremely critical element of growth and development in young children is learning through play. This research has proved that our children do spend more time on free play outdoors, with 44% of respondents saying that children spend up to an hour on free play outside compared to 33% for free play as part of the daily programme,” Motshekga said.

According to the findings, the Minister said that only 61% have at least 10 children’s books to play with and only 56% have age-appropriate books for different age groups.

The Minister extended her gratitude to the LEGO Foundation as a key partner through the support they have given the department in funding this Census.

She said this is one example of how the private sector can play a role in the provision of better education for children.

“As Government, we are committed to working with and strengthening the Inter-Sectoral Forum, which coordinates the ECD sector. The Department of Basic Education is committed to working closely with other arms of the state, NGOs, civil society, private sector to ensure that all children, including those with disabilities, are provided with access to quality ECD,” she said.

SA NEWS

LINDA CHISHOLM and DAVID FIG

SOUTH Africa’s stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine isn’t that surprising in light of its treatment of the Cold War in the school history curriculum and textbooks. In these it’s reflected as having had a negative impact on Africa.

The Cold War (1945-1990) ranged the United States and its allies against their rival nuclear superpower, the Soviet Union. What textbooks contain is significant for being the officially approved representation of the nation’s history. This “official knowledge” usually embeds social controversies in ways that favour ruling groups.

We recently contributed a chapter to a book about how the Cold War is being handled in history textbooks and classrooms worldwide. We examined selected textbooks for Grade 12 (the final year of senior secondary school) for the officially sanctioned images of the Cold War.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has once again caused fissures between “the west” and the Soviet Union’s principal successor state, the Russian Federation. The potential nuclear stand-off between them could be termed a new Cold War.

South Africa’s image of its own history as represented in the school curriculum and textbooks suggests that it is unlikely to result in a stance aligned with the west.

Choosing textbooks

Textbooks follow curriculum prescriptions closely but are also mediated by textbook writers’ own readings and understandings. Since 1994, the South African curriculum has been revised four times, including the latest COVID-induced “trimming”. These changes have not substantively altered the section on the Cold War.

After each revision, publishers are invited to submit textbooks for consideration in a national catalogue. Using criteria provided by the Department of Basic Education, teams of evaluators screen textbooks for the catalogue. Based on schools’ choices, provinces make selections from the list of approved textbooks.

We selected two textbooks – Focus History and New Generation History – from those topping the list for most provinces in 2016. We compared these with prominent apartheid-era textbooks.

Textbook representations of the Cold War

Under apartheid, the history curriculum was divided into two sections, international and South African history. Until 1982, the curriculum for international history included France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Japan and the United States, while neglecting the rest of Africa and the global south. From 1982, China, India, Vietnam, Latin America and independent African countries were included.

The Cold War was part of the section on international history. A 2018 study on textbooks’ views of Russia specifically showed that a fear of Communism was embedded in apartheid textbooks.

The post-apartheid curriculum revised this approach. The Cold War frames a section that begins with “Independent Africa” and moves on to “Civil Society Protests” (in the US and the UK) from the 1950s to the 1990s; “Civil Resistance in South Africa in the 1970s and 1980s”; “The Coming of Democracy in South Africa” and “Coming to Terms with the Past”. The section closes with “The End of the Cold War” and “Globalisation to the Present”. It thus integrates African and South African history into world history, within which the Cold War is central.

The curriculum specifies that “blame for the Cold War” be taught and learnt through the presentation of different interpretations and differing points of view.

Nonetheless, there is a new narrative. In both the curriculum and textbooks, the “baddies” are no longer the feared Communists. Instead, the then-superpowers, the US and the Soviet Union, representing different ideologies, are both seen as responsible for the Cold War and for creating spheres of interest and conflict through proxy wars. They are presented as manipulating more vulnerable states through extensive military and financial aid, espionage, propaganda, rivalry over technology, space, sport and nuclear races.

The section on Independent Africa compares the former Belgian Congo as “a tool of the Cold War” with the African socialism of Tanzania. It closes with the way Africa became drawn into the Cold War, using Angola as an example. The Soviet Union, the US, Cuba, China and South Africa were all involved militarily in Angola. The section on the Cold War ends with the West seen as becoming dominant.

The Cold War was a binary conflict between two blocs, but also generated a more independent, neutral position led by the Non-Aligned Movement, a mostly Afro-Asian bloc. The leaders tried to assert themselves as independent of the superpowers. This isn’t dealt with in the curriculum, but is an important dimension.

Although the role of Africa and Africans is more prominent than in apartheid-era textbooks, the current books position Africans as both passive victims of the superpowers and as fighters for freedom, imbued with agency and initiative.

South Africa’s current perspective on the Russia-Ukraine conflict claims to be in line with this as well as its own history of negotiated transition.

The question is how anticipated curriculum revisions will update treatment of the Cold War and contemporary conflicts. Curriculum designers and the writers of textbooks may wish to retain an emphasis on multiple perspectives.

This would enable the small minority of school students who study history to examine all sides of the complexities of the new Cold War so that they can decide on ethical issues for themselves.

(David Fig Honorary Research Associate, University of Cape Town)

(Linda Chisholm Professor of Education, University of Johannesburg)

THE CONVERSATION

TECHNICAL and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Ghana has received its highest student enrollment since its establishment. 

TVET schools across the country collectively recorded 44,000 student enrollment, an almost 100 percent increase in previous admissions. 

Director-General of TVET, Mawusi Nudekor Awity, says the impressive statistics indicate that the Ghanaian populace is grasping the concept of the programme. 

“This means that parents and wards are now understanding the importance of TVET. The government is passionate about the programme knowing that TVET is the main contributor to national development. 

“If you want to reduce unemployment rate among the youth, it’s about giving them employable skills,” she said.  

Addressing the media after a stakeholder consultative meeting with the Ministry of Education, Mrs. Awity revealed that measures are being put in place to ensure all students who are yet to be enrolled onto the programme are duly admitted. 

“This would help us achieve 98% or 100% increment other than the usual 80%,” she said. 

According to Mrs. Awity, the government is keen on improving the programme as it is presently challenged with infrastructural and resource deficits. 

She acknowledged that the few TVET schools in the country lack adequate resources to ensure the smooth running of the programme. 

“The schools lack tutors, workshops, and many infrastructural deficits. However, the government is bent on expanding, retooling and modernizing these schools,” she said. 

Mrs. Nudekor Awity is hopeful her outfit would record significant figures when the deficits are fixed. 

Meanwhile, a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed for the construction of three TVET incubating centers and ten specialized schools. 

Mrs. Nudekor Awity says the incubators would facilitate in refining graduates from the TVET schools.  

“We have been able to get funding and we are going to put up 3 TVET incubating centres in the lower, middle and upper belts and ten specialized schools. 

“The sites for this project are being looked at and constructions will soon begin,” she said. 

SUPPLIED|

THE Higher Education, Science and Innovation Ministry has established entrepreneurship hubs at Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges to support students to move into self-employment after the completion of programmes.

Higher Education, Science and Innovation minister, Blade Nzimande, revealed this in Parliament on Thursday while delivering the department’s 2022 Budget Vote.

This forms a part of the government’s overall strategy to train young South Africans and develop skills in areas that are needed by the economy. The strategy stretches from basic education all the way to tertiary learning.

In basic education, a host of new subjects has been added to the school curriculum over the last five years to meet this strategy, with tech-led subjects like robotics and coding expected to be added in the coming year.

Some new subjects include:

Art and designAgricultural studiesAncilliary healthcareAquaponicsAviation studiesCivil technologyConsumer studies8. Digital technologyEarly childhood developmentElectrical technologyHospitality studiesMaritime sciencesMaintenance and upholsteryMechanical technologyPersonal careTechnical mathematicsTechnical sciencesWholesale and retail

In addition to this, the department is looking to introduce a new General Education Certificate (GEC), which is being piloted by select schools in 2022, with plans to roll out the certificate to all schools in the country by the 2024 school year.

The GEC is intended to give learners recognition of their accomplishments at the end of grade 9, to allow for them to move into vocational training. The Department of Basic Education has stressed that it is not a school-leaving certificate, but rather a certificate for further training.

Higher education minister Nzimande on Thursday (12 May) unpacked how the government’s vocational strategy will continue in the tertiary education sector.

Vocational training

In the current financial year, the minister said the department projected that the skills levy would increase to R20.6 billion from last year’s R18.9 billion.

Nzimande said the department had also taken the decision to prioritise the sector by re-allocating additional funds from the National Skills Fund.

“We have begun a process of crafting one country, one skills plan – a Master Skills Plan. This process will promote a more efficient and effective mechanism for our country-wide skills planning.

“As part of my service level agreement with the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs), they will incorporate government priorities – especially those that address the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality as captured in the National Development Plan – in their Sector Skills Plans.”

These would therefore develop their Annual Performance Plans (APPs) to address skills challenges in various sectors of the economy and country in general.

Both university and TVET college curricula are being reviewed and strengthened to be relevant to the skills required by local employers, communities and the economy.

The minister said SETAs would process qualifying trade test applications within 40 days of receipt for trade testing and develop credible Sector Skills Plans. SETAs would in this regard produce reports on the implementation of the Skills Strategy.

“To further ensure the rapid skilling and training of our youth, particularly those in rural and townships, we are going to focus our attention to their training in areas such as agriculture and information and communication technologies,” he said.

“Our SETAs will be supporting my Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) in the development of critical high-end skills in selected technology areas such as the bioeconomy, space science, technology energy, intellectual property management.”

During the 2022/23 financial year, the ministry will increase its work-based learning programmes from 78,317 to 107,000.

“We will also Increase our learners registered in skills development programmes from 43,885 in 2020/21 to 148,000 in 2022/23 and increase our learners entering artisanal programmes from 10,302 in 2020/21 to 22,000 in 2022/23.”

The ministry anticipates that 20,500 learners will pass the artisan trade test in 2022/23, a 5,000 increase from the last financial year.

Learners who complete learnerships will also increase from 24,136 in 2020/21 to 31,300 in this financial year, while learners who complete internships would stabilise at 5,200.

The SETAs combined placed 44,619 unemployed people into learnerships, of which over 34,710 were youths below 35. Over 25,550 of these were female.

In the previous financial year, SETAs placed 9,901 interns, of which 9,096 were young people below the age of 35 years old and 6,455 were females. The SETAs spent just over R883 million in this regard.

For TVET placement, SETAs placed about 8,539 learners, with 5,656 being females at a total cost of R393 million.

For university placement, SETAs placed 5,183 learners in workplaces at the value of R300 million.

THE 18-year-old Benjamin Richardson (TuksSport High School matriculant, TuksAthletics Academy graduate and now UP-Tuks student-athlete) seems to love nothing more than to medal at ASA National Championships. His tally for this season is three gold medals and a bronze. 

It should be no surprise. Over the last four years, the Tuks sprinter has improved his personal best time over 100 metres by nearly a second. In 2019, it was 10.87s. It is now 10.08s. It means he is faster than Akani Simbine was when he was 18. 

If he can run 0.03s faster, he will qualify for the 2022 World Senior Championships in the USA. He has qualified for the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships in Colombia.

His progression over 200 metres is equally impressive. In 2020, his personal best time was 21.01s. This season, he clocked a time of 20.67s. 

Still, Richardson is not one to rest on his laurels. One would have expected that he would have been chuffed to run 10.08s at the end of April in Gaborone. But the Tuks athlete has mixed feelings. He has finished second, and that is not on to him. 

“I guess it is a big deal, but it does not make me happy. I knew I could have done better. But I think I have got to accept what I have achieved. Hopefully, soon I will run a faster time.”

Asked what he has to do to gain that hundredth of a second, Richardson said – “I need to work on staying calm. As soon as I get out of the starting blocks and someone is ahead of me, I start to rush things and not think clearly. It is costing me.”

The one thing Richardson has going for him is never giving up. He proved it over the weekend during the USSA Championships in Cape Town. The Tuks athlete was certainly not the fastest out of the starting blocks. It took him 50 metres to draw level, but there was no stopping him once he did so. He so nearly got Tuks to win the 4x100m-relay with his fantastic acceleration. 

Richardson is also the South African Under-20 champion in the 100m and 200m events. During the recent South African Senior Track and Field Championships in Cape Town, he won a bronze medal in the 200 metres. The Tuks athlete credits his success to his coach Paul Gorries.

One can’t help but compare his running style to Usain Bolt’s. Richardson will be the first to admit there is still a lot of hard work to be done before he can be compared to the sprint legend. 

But from a physical perspective, he is on par with Bolt. The Jamaican is 1.95 metres tall and wears size 13 shoes. Richardson is not quite sure how tall he is. He guesses 1.91 metres. He wears a size 12 shoe. 

100 or 200 metres?

“At the moment, I like the 100 metres, but I think the 200 metres will suit me better in the long run.”

Tuks is the 2022 USSA Athletics Championships title winner, collecting 28 medals and two medals in the A and B section. North-West University finished second and UJ third on the final medal standings.

Tuks gold medal winners at the recent USSA Athletics Championships are:

Benjamin Richardson (100m)Bradley Olifant (200m)Jovan van Vuuren (long jump)Zeney van der Walt (400m)Chane Swart (800m and 1500m)Taylon Bieldt (100m-hurdles and 400m-hurdles)Women’s 4x400m-relay and mixed 4x400m-relay.

UP/TuksAthletics

ADRIANA BANKSTON|

THROUGH my own career transition from academic research into science policy, I have realized the importance of universities supporting the next generation of scientists. Over the years, I have written several articles on the needs of early-career scientists during training, professional development and career progression both within and outside academe. In this essay, I want to emphasize the need for the next generation to get involved in shaping the future of science, technology, engineering and mathematics through policy change.

Early-career scientists should have a say in shaping the policies that can help them in the short term as well as benefit the scientific system in the long term. I have always advocated for their voices to be heard and their contributions to be included in policy making, and I want to focus on that idea in this essay.

The future of our country is in the hands of the next generation. Therefore, the involvement of students, postdocs, policy fellows and early-career scholars in shaping education, training and the job market in ways that are equitable and create opportunities for all is imperative for developing a better future for our nation.

In order to empower the next generation to positively influence the future of STEM education and workforce development, several avenues exist. Due to the importance of changing policies in these spaces both by and for early-career scientists, a holistic approach to policy making that can benefit tomorrow’s innovators is necessary.

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the next generation of scientists and their future in STEM have been widely written about. Some of the negative impacts include reduced access to education and jobs that may have been available before the pandemic, as well as an increase in mental health issues and feelings of isolation among a large portion of this country’s early-career STEM professionals.

However, one could argue that the pandemic has also had a few positive outcomes on education and labor, including a shift to virtual learning, which can open avenues for collaboration that may not have existed before. This environment has likely also encouraged a number of employers to offer remote instead of in-person positions, or to shift toward a hybrid work model.

At the same time, given the dependence on technology for scientific education, training and jobs, the pandemic has probably only increased the digital divide. Young scientists from certain countries or particular regions of the world are still unable to take advantage of this technology due to lack of access to the internet, a working computer or other necessary resources that can facilitate their studies and work from home.

In short, due to the pandemic, STEM education and workforce structures have globally changed in a number of ways—both good and bad—that have very likely altered the landscape of this space permanently. In a practical sense, these changes may ultimately lead those of us working in the higher education industry to help broaden avenues for young people into the STEM workforce by shifting away from traditional pathways.

We can encourage K-12 students to enter higher education as a stepping-stone into the STEM workforce. We can also help enhance career and technical education for students in community colleges, supporting their upskilling so that they can enter the STEM workforce. Indeed, we need to broaden the skill sets of students at all levels as they enter the new normal for STEM training and work environment.

Policy changes are also required to support the STEM education and workforce landscape of the future, and we must find or build avenues for these changes to be brought to light. One such avenue is through publishing scholarly work on policies related to this topic.

Recently, the Journal of Science Policy & Governance, for which I am CEO and managing publisher, produced a special issue in partnership with Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Honor Society. The special issue invited students, postdocs, policy fellows, early-career researchers and young professionals from around the world to submit op-eds, policy analyses and other articles that addressed topics at the intersection of science and policy and which were focused specifically on education and the labor market. We wanted to hear from them about what’s needed to create bold, innovative, timely and equitable policies for re-envisioning STEM education and workforce development for the post–COVID-19 era.

The articles they wrote focused on issues such as civic science, graduate education reform, inclusion of individuals with disabilities in STEM education and careers, and empowerment of STEM workers in the workforce. I invite you to read the special issue to learn what the next generation envisions in terms of problems and solutions to important policy questions that can redesign the landscape of STEM education and workforce development in the future.

I hope this is the start of a discussion in which the next generation of scientists are actively engaged in conversations that shape their own future in STEM, and that we continue to follow and engage with their innovative ideas for effective, long-term policy change in these spaces. And to bring this back full circle, I also hope that universities where many young scientists study and work will continue to encourage the next generation to develop and share such ideas for the betterment of our society as a whole.

Adriana Bankston is a principal legislative analyst at the University of California Office of Federal Governmental Relations.

NOMBULELO SHANGE|

IF black men have faced the worst of fates, then black women have also placed their lives and bodies on the line. Black women have stood by black men, marched with them, nurtured, and guided them, only to be rejected and oppressed by them. Even while mired in racial-patriarchal oppression, black women still find ways to thrive. One of the places where we see this tragedy play itself out in the most vulgar of ways is within higher education in South Africa. 

The irony of this is that universities are supposedly spaces for knowledge production, acceptance, and collective engagement. The unspeakably painful irony of this is that universities have been spaces in which black men have made important strides in advancing democracy. Black men were, for example, leaders in the South African Students’ Organisation, which was rooted in Black Consciousness ideology.

Today discourses on decoloniality often echo statements by luminaries such as Steve Biko. So it hurts that those black men have not learnt to value the contributions and leadership of black women at every step of the blood-stained march to freedom, even in the hallowed halls of universities.

At every turn black women in higher education have to navigate tremendous obstacles in order to make it to senior positions. Many move to other industries, hoping to find acceptance. Others reluctantly give up such ambitions and find meaning in junior roles. 

Black female leaders facing challenges 

It is worth thinking of this when remembering how, in 2014, Professor Nthabiseng Ogude was pushed out of office after only serving two years of her five-year contract as vice-chancellor of Tshwane University of Technology. She was portrayed as being aloof, not engaging with unions and not being close to students. 

The University of Cape Town’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng, has also been met with misogynistic attacks that included having her qualifications questioned. Few lauded her professorship, and fewer commented on the patriarchal obstacles she would have had to overcome to progress in the manner she has. Despite the questioning of her qualifications, Prof Phakeng has managed to cement UCT’s top ranking among universities on the continent. 

More recently, the University of South Africa’s first black woman leader, Professor Puleng LenkaBula, has been placed at the fore of the hit list of sexists at universities in this society that too often loves to see black women in pain. Just a little over a year ago, we celebrated her appointment as the first black female vice-chancellor. Her resilience led her to smash the patriarchy that has left black women out for almost 150 years.

A little over a year later, there are calls for her to step down, based on issues that are not unique to her or her leadership. Amidst challenges arising from Unisa’s and higher education’s apartheid legacy of systemic exclusion, are problems related to NSFAS and student funding. 

I agree that we have to hold our leaders to high standards and those who promise to bring much-needed transformation should be held to even higher standards. But it is bizarre to me that people think a 150-year complex history of structural injustice and exclusion can be changed almost overnight now that a black woman is in leadership. These same unrealistic expectations are seldom placed on black men, at least not as quickly. 

A lot of the violence directed at Prof LenkaBula is coming from breathless black men who hurl innumerable slurs about her “menopause” and insults about the “slay queen” who they say must be removed from power. Yet, we know these strategies well. History is full of notes on men discrediting women by claiming they are irrational, fragile, emotional and incapable of making decisions because we are “so burdened by our menstrual cycle or menopause”.

History is also full of injustices faced by beautiful and powerful women who are necklaced alive. Note this as we observe that the enduring resilience of Prof LenkaBula led to more hypersexualised vitriol, further illustrating how normal the sexual objectification of women is, even at our highest citadels of education, even from men who are her subordinates. 

Black men must account for their actions pushing women further to the margins

If it is hurtful that black men are prominent in these attacks. It is calamitous that black men use trade union structures to pull black women down. Their new kind of black-on-black violence is frightening, where black men take out their angst on black women in the workplace and other social spaces.

Even amidst all these attacks, Prof LenkaBula and her stalwart colleagues at Unisa have kept the academic ship sailing. She has captained the institution to winning the Excellence for Research Impact award at the 2022 Zairi International Awards hosted in Dubai. This makes me think it matters to honour this good woman leader’s achievements, here in her home.

But in the moments when we acknowledge the successes and excellence of black women, we should interrogate and rethink our societies. We must question why black women have to be so strong in the first place.

In particular, and sadly, black men must account for the ways their actions push us further to the margins so that we have to have superhuman strength to survive and succeed. This feels treacherous when one would think black men would show solidarity and support for black women, with whom they share a history of fighting against unjust systems. They must reflect on why they take a page out of their own oppression to marginalise and inflict trauma on black women. They must find and uproot the self-hate that leads them to refuse to recognise the excellence of black women. They must deworm themselves of the things that make them treat black women with such hate and disdain. 

I still dream that we can see all womanist leaders, such as Profs Ogude, LenkaBula and Phakeng, as the important symbols and changemakers they are. Perhaps then, they and all of us, will be met with more honesty and grace than we are giving them. 

Opinion article by Nombulelo Shange, Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the University of the Free State and Chairperson of the University of the Free State Women’s Forum.

UFS NEWS 

A GRADE 10 learner from Thaba-Jabula Secondary School in Soweto was stabbed to death by a Grade 9 boy during break time. The learner later passed away in hospital.

It is alleged that the attacker was defending his brother when he stabbed the youngster.

Gauteng Education MEC, Panyaza Lesufi said that a fight broke out among the boys at Thaba-Jabula Secondary School in Pimville on Thursday.

“On Thursday, 12 May 2022, a Grade 10 boy learner of Thaba-Jabula Secondary School in Pimville was stabbed by a Grade 9 boy learner during break time and later passed away in hospital,” he said.

Lesufi said he was disheartened by the incident that occurred at Thaba-Jabula school.

“According to information at our disposal, the incident took place on school premises during break time. It is alleged that the Grade 9 learner was defending his younger brother from being bullied by the deceased Grade 10 learner,” Lesufi said.

“He then reportedly stabbed the learner four times during the fight and fled the scene.”

The MEC said the learner died while receiving medical attention.

 “The injured learner was rushed to a nearby medical facility by an educator and unfortunately succumbed to his injuries at about 17:00 PM while receiving medical attention,” Lesufi said.

Police have arrested the Grade 9 boy.

The Gauteng Department of Education dispatched its Psycho-Social Unit and a social worker on Friday to provide necessary counselling and support to learners and educators at the school.

“Sadly, this process could not go ahead as some parents stormed the school demanding the release of learners. Subsequently, school has been dismissed for the day because some learners began to fight among themselves,” Lesufi said.

The MEC condemned the violent behavior that took place at Thaba-Jabula Secondary School and encouraged learners to report incidents of bullying.

“We strongly condemn the violent behavior that took place at Thaba-Jabula Secondary School and we always encourage learners to report incidents of bullying so that disciplinary action is taken against perpetrators, revenge cannot be a solution. This is to appeal with parents to allow schooling to resume on Monday, so that the necessary support is provided to the school community. We wish to extend our deepest condolences to the family of the deceased learner.” said Lesufi.

INSIDE EDUCATION