Johnathan Paoli

In a community report back process on Monday, Secretary-General Fikile Mbulula raised attention to the corrupt status of Nsfas and called on the Minister of Higher Education and Technology Blade Nzimande to correct the status quo.

Mbalula was dressing the Hammanskraal community at the Mandela Stadium in Tshwane as part of the ANC’s Manifesto Review report back process. 

Mbalula said the ANC-led government has allocated money for the scheme and that minister Nzimande has to fix the mechanism of allocating these funds. 

The SG said that education in South Africa is fully subsidised, and that the ruling party has continued to reform the country’s social security net.

He said that it remains very easy for opposition parties to oppose, promise and mislead people about things that they can never deliver, and called on communities to solve crime and the related problems together. 

“The crime that is happening in our communities needs everyone’s intervention, including community members,” Mbalula said.

Mbalula’s public outburst is not the first where he called out and demanded action on the ANC’s top leaders in the government perceived not to be delivering on their mandate. 

In his address at the opening of the party’s Women’s League conference earlier this year, Mbalula warned Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan to “move fast or we will move you” in relation to challenges faced by Prasa, Eskom and Transnet.

Mbalula’s public stance could be seen as a reflection of an increasing decline in confidence for the ruling party, with ANC-alligned Sasco said to be losing support across the country’s universities.

This assertion comes in the wake of the EFF Student Command (EFFSC) winning the majority of seats on the Wits University students’ representative council (SRC), occupying eight seats out of the 13 contested.

While at the University of the Free State (UFS), the EFFSC claimed an overwhelming victory during the SRC election at the Bloemfontein campus.

The EFFSC won all eight seats in the SRC elections at the University of Pretoria, the first time that the EFFSC has secured a clean sweep victory at UP, making it the dominant student political organisation on campus.

However, all eight members were disqualified following an application by Afriforum which alleged that the students breached some electoral laws and accused the student organisation as a racist and a violent movement. 

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Staff Reporter

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Joined by the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Zizi Kodwa and MEC for Sports, Arts and Culture, UBab uMahlaba, the Premier of KZN Nomsa Dube-Ncube, Mashatile said sports has also been used as a vehicle to foster cohesion, peaceful coexistence and mutual solidarity in communities.

As part of the 2023 Heritage Month celebrations, the spotlight fell on South Africa’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, incorporating African, Asian, and European cultures and traditions.

Mashatile also launched the best indigenous games from all South African cultures, this festival being an example of the kind of initiatives that the Department of Arts and Culture prioritises towards its strategic objectives to preserve culture and heritage.
The indigenous games are taking place at Hoy Park, where we also have the Beautiful Things Craft Exhibition from the 24th – 29th of September.

“We are here to acknowledge and celebrate South Africa’s diverse heritage, which is being showcased and highlighted throughout September. Heritage Month holds immense cultural significance in South Africa, as it provides a platform for communities to celebrate and display their unique traditions, customs, and languages,” he said.

He said Heritage Month helps recognise the importance of cultural diversity in shaping national identity and fostering a sense of unity and belonging among all citizens. Indigenous languages were introduced in 2 400 schools to build social cohesion.

During this administration, sports have fostered cohesion, peaceful coexistence and mutual solidarity in our communities. 4 732 schools, hubs and clubs have been provided with equipment and attires, recording 332,053 people actively participating in sport and active recreation events arranged by the Department and provincial departments.

Despite the odds, several advances have been made regarding the inclusion and support of women in sports, the key to this being the support for their demands for equal pay for work of equal value.
Additionally, in addressing issues that affect women in our country, especially in the area of Gender Based Violence and Femicide, he added that the government has adopted a National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (NSP GBVF) and has strengthened the response of our criminal justice system to GBVF, improving the support provided to survivors through legislative reform, increasing the number of places of safety and a range of other mechanisms.

“I, therefore, call upon all South Africans to not only embrace our culture, heritage and indigenous knowledge but also to safeguard the interests of the kind of future that we aspire for – a future rooted in democracy, social cohesion, economic prosperity and enhanced unity in our diversity.”

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Staff Reporter

The top 10 teams from selected schools were invited to showcase, exhibit and present their winning robots at the SITA’s GovTech Conference 2023 at the ICC in Durban from 12 –13 September 2023.

Earlier this year, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) held a SITA Robotics Challenge 2023 for piloting schools at the University of Mpumalanga, where the winning teams were announced. Four learners and one teacher represented each team at the event.

SITA’s GovTech Conference is an annual event and a platform for the public and private sectors to come together and share experiences, solutions, and ideas that can showcase the power of technology to promote better planning, improved service delivery, sustainable development, grow inclusive economies and ensure an immediate recognisable impact on the lives of citizens.
The following inventions were notable:
• Wesbank Secondary School from the Western Cape designed a robot to assist those with hearing impairments;
• Shree Bharat Sharda Mandir (SBSM) from Gauteng designed a RoboStop, which is a solar-powered intelligent traffic light prototype;
• Realogile Secondary School from Gauteng presented an automated tap sensor to reduce water wastage in the school environment;
• Sibukosetfu Secondary School from Mpumalanga designed a robot that pumps water underground using a windmill and transfers moisture to a reservoir for easy access;
• Douglas Combined School from the Northern Cape showcased a prototype of an air-purifying robot that is meant to tackle global warming by cleansing and purifying air;
• Bredasdorp High School from the Western Cape demonstrated how their robot’s timer and sensor assist the elderly in taking their medication on time;
• Ntulabakayise High School, in KwaZulu-Natal, presented a robot tractor which targets to refill and fix potholes to reduce road accidents;
• Nkgopoleng High School, from Free State, designed Robot Nicole, which detects metal objects to reduce criminal activities in schools;
• Cosmo City Secondary School, from Gauteng, showcased a Smart Automated School with a turnstile gate and biometric gate link to the South African School Administration Management System (SA-SAMS) to identify absent learners and teachers as well as to minimise the number of intruders in the school; and,
• Ozias Davhana Secondary School from Limpopo designed a community assistant robot to assist the elderly and people with disabilities. The robot has built-in sensors to detect surroundings and avoid collisions.
Learners expressed gratitude to the DBE and SITA for the opportunity to showcase their projects to ICT trailblazers and potential investors, stating that the Conference remains a valuable platform to engage with ICT gurus and experience the latest technological advances.

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Staff Reporter

THE DBE and the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) organised a two-day Sports Indaba to engage representatives of teacher unions, sports federations, international bodies and governments on the future of the School Sports Programme in South Africa.

The Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Zizi Kodwa, officially addressed the Indaba at Birchwood Hotel and OR Tambo Conference Centre on 14 September 2023. The DBE and the DSAC have identified the school sports programme as one of the critical levers to unleash sporting talents amongst learners at various phases of the schooling system.

The Indaba was intended to unify the school sports sector and to develop a national programme for South Africa, benchmarked against the world’s most influential school sports programmes.

The Indaba further acknowledged the Government’s focus on grassroots sports development through early identification and nurturing of sporting talent in education.
Briefing the Indaba on the strides made by the DBE and the DSAC in terms of implementing the school sports programme, Sifiso Ngobese, Director for Sport and Enrichment in Education, said that the two departments have produced a draft implementation protocol, which focuses on 22 areas of cooperation.

Physical Education is one of the vital areas of school sports currently offered as part of Life Orientation/Life Skills, a compulsory curriculum offering.

Capacity-building programmes are also organised to support teachers and subject specialists with gaps identified in research reports. Although the two departments have successfully conducted sporting activities in schools ranging from Autumn to Summer Games, more is needed to promote mass participation in school sports.

The Indaba deliberated structured capacity-building programmes for teachers and the need to support teachers in implementing Physical Education.

In his address, Kodwa reminded the Indaba that in November 2011, sports luminaries, activists, leaders, and administrators gathered at Gallagher Estate to chart a new way to transform South African sport.

“For South Africa to realise the dream of a non-racial, non-sexist, equal, and democratic society, we needed the agency to design and implement a system predicated on a philosophy of, among other dimensions outlined in the Transformation Charter: the provision of sports infrastructure and facilities; breaking barriers to access; increasing participation; and promoting representation and equity. Over a decade has passed since 2011, and we gather here to take stock of the road travelled since adopting the National School Sports Programme”.

Kodwa added, “According to the EPG 2018 report, the School Sports competition system indicates three streams from which talent is identified and competition is staged: a Government-run school sport system; a model where former Model C schools and private schools compete and where most athletes are identified; and then there is a system which the Federations use to stage the tournaments and select national athletes.

He said this system currently needs to be integrated and has challenges. The athletes competing in the Government-run school sports system are from 23,000 public schools, most of which are previously disadvantaged with poor or no sports facilities and no proper coaching support. The second group are athletes from the former Model-C schools, including private schools, which are adequately resourced with world-class sports facilities and proper coaching support.

“As part of the Indaba, we must review and assess the School Sport Programme to map a way forward on policy directives to determine the role and responsibilities of various stakeholders to lay the foundation for reviewing the National Sport and Recreation Plan,” he said.

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Staff Reporter

Several facets of parenthood were captured through research investigating delicate matters of motherhood, mainly the impact of both present and absent biological mothers on young mothers in Africa.

Thobelani Majola, who has earned the highest postgraduate degree (PhD) from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, examined socio-cultural views about motherhood and the maternal presence or absence among young African mothers.

‘This study looked at how having biological mothers who are both present and absent affects young mothers’ experiences and perspectives of parenthood,’ she said.

Through her research, Majola has discovered that factors such as death, marriage, female labour migration, and education are identified as the root causes of mother absence. Adding to this are high unemployment rates in South Africa that have led some women to settle for informal employment, especially those from poor socio-economic backgrounds, to provide financial support for their children.

Despite minor setbacks due to lack of participation from a few young mothers because of discomfort, Majola expressed gratitude to her participants for completing the study, saying, ‘It truly does seem like a dream come true to have finally achieved a PhD.’

She is proud of herself for persevering and being resilient despite facing numerous challenges; she also praises her supervisor, Professor Pranitha Maharaj, for her support. Noting the sacrifice of completing doctoral studies, Maharaj said, ‘I commend Thobelani for her diligence, dedication and strong work ethic.’

Majola recounts her PhD journey as a solo trip, which would, however only have been successful with the support of her family and friends. She also acknowledged her self-motivation during the process as it was challenging for their family to understand the long journey.

She offered words of encouragement to her peers: ‘You will never be granted an opportunity that is beyond your capabilities. You will succeed if you push through the toughest days. Always establish a strategy for your study with goals and take each day as it comes.’

Majola is currently seeking employment in a public institution or university where she can contribute to the lives of diverse individuals.

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Inside Education Reporter

Equipping South Africans with skills, assets, and opportunities to participate in industries of the future is a critical imperative of the ‘Just Transition Framework’ that seeks to decarbonise the country’s energy mix, according to Minister of Higher Education, Science Innovation Dr Blade Nzimande.

A just energy transition (JET) to a low-carbon economy in South Africa is expected to lose about 300,000 jobs. Still, the creation of approximately 815,000 new jobs by 2050, said the Minister.

Speaking at the Tokyo GX Week Ministerial Plenary Session on Monday (25 September), Nzimande said in response to the need to decarbonise its energy mix, South Africa has established several national strategies to expand renewable energy and deviate from a fossil fuel-dominated economy.

Through the ‘Just Transition Framework’, the South African government will oversee and facilitate a Just Transition to a low-emissions and climate-resilient economy focusing on financing renewable energy and technological advancements.

Nzimande said equipping South Africans with skills, assets, and opportunities to participate in future industries, with particular attention on impacted groups, people experiencing poverty, women, people with disabilities and the youth, was a must.

He added that implementing transformative national economic and social policies that consider how benefits and burdens will be distributed (this includes clear indication of where jobs are gained, where jobs are lost, and the quality and longevity of future employment).

Increasing provincial and local capacity (both resources and skills) to promote local economic development and ensuring corporate responsibility to support a green and inclusive economy were also part of the priorities.

“The jobs expected to be lost will be in the high-emissions industries of coal and petroleum, but there is expected to be a net gain in mining-related employment as demand for energy minerals and metals rise, which will be needed to produce cleaner energy sources,” he said.

The carbon intensity of the South African economy remains high, which presents opportunities for decarbonisation.

Fossil fuels comprise approximately 92% of South Africa’s energy mix, with the majority consisting of coal, increasing the carbon intensity of locally made goods. For example, the carbon intensity of steel production amounted to 2,295.1 kgCO2/tonne product in 2016, exceeding the world average of 1,900 kgCO2/tonne.

Through the ‘Just Transition Framework’, the South African government will oversee and facilitate a Just Transition to a low-emissions and climate-resilient economy focusing on financing renewable energy and technological advancements.

“Therefore, we need to scale our collaboration, investment and innovation to transform our commitments into actionable interventions, ultimately contributing to establishing an equitable and just net zero carbon emission scenario by 2050.”

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Lerato Mbhiza

Gauteng Education Department MEC Matome Chiloane has officially launched Khanya-Lesedi Sports School of Specialisation on Thursday at Ratanda, Heidelberg – the 27th School to be launched by the Department.

Khanya Lesedi, is a distinguished public school with a rich history of academic excellence, sports achievements, artistic endeavors, and social development. 

Established in January 1898, the school has consistently excelled in sports disciplines such as soccer, netball, and athletics, and it has proudly represented the Sedibeng cluster at the District, Provincial, National, and even International levels.

Chiloane said It is encouraging that students have the privilege of interacting with sports icons and legends who offer coaching clinics and guidance based on their respective sports.

“Community involvement is encouraged, allowing residents to access school facilities. This collaboration also holds the promise of revitalising the township economy, drawing spectators, and boosting local businesses as outside communities come to witness sporting events at the school,” said Chiloane.

The school is home to many of South Africa’s iconic athletes such as Emma Manana, who excelled in events like 800m, 1500m, and cross country for five consecutive years from 1990 to 1995, and John Tshabalala, an exceptional athlete in 5000m and cross country for a similar duration.

Given this remarkable track record, Khanya Lesedi has earned its status as a Sports School of Specialisation, providing students with opportunities to nurture their talents alongside academic pursuits.

The school features a real racing track through which learners can run various lengths of races, hurdles and marathons. Accessible at the school is also a tennis court, volleyball court, soccer pitch, basketball court, and various equipment that can be used for javelin, discus and long jump, among other athletic sports.

Chiloane said the school offers a specialised curriculum that extends beyond physical activities, incorporating scientific innovation in physical health.

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Johnathan Paoli

THE Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Science and Innovation kicked off with chairperson Nompendulo Mkhatshwa, announcing the absence of officials from both the Department of Higher Education as well as NSFAS, saying that she had received three forms of communication requesting postponement in order to brief the committee on a more comprehensive plan in mid-October.

The committee was expected to hear submission on a turn-around strategy or plan to resolve the problems related to the new direct-payment system; delays in resolving student appeals and accreditation of student accommodation; plans to improve the information and communication technology (ICT) systems and plans to achieve day-zero of outstanding appeals and query resolution matters.

In addition, the committee was expected to hear from the service providers contracted by NSFAS, namely Tenet Technology, eZaga, Noracco Corporation and Coinvest Africa on their background and profile, contract with NSFAS, disbursement of allowances to students, challenges experienced and plans in place to address them.

DA MP Karabo Lerato Khakhau, expressed her concern over NSFAS’ and the department’s failure to appear before the committee, and said this undermined the important role of the committee and an illustration that the deliberations of this committee were not taken seriously.

“We are not a spaza shop, we as a committee do not run things happy go lucky, without the members taking their work seriously. This letter for me indicates that NSFAS does not know how to fix the mess they are in,” Khakhau said.

EFF MP Naledi Chirwa criticised the absence of the NSFAS representatives and the Minister as merely the recent step in a long line of disrespect both have shown to the committee, to parliament and to South African youth that are so dependent upon the deliberations and decisions undertaken on these platforms.

Following a committee meeting held earlier this month, the committee gave NSFAS a two-week deadline to present a plan for how it will resolve the issues raised in the meeting.

Earlier this month, NSFAS briefed the committee on its disbursement of allowances to students, the roll-out of its new direct-payment system, and its query system.

The student financial scheme has been facing criticism for its ongoing inadequacies, nonpayment and allegations of corruption.

Last month, NSFAS announced that its CEO, Andile Nongogo, had taken “a leave of absence” while the board investigated allegations against him related to his conduct in awarding bids at NSFAS.

According to the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), NSFAS hired businesses without banking license registrations to handle direct payment to students, and these businesses charged much higher rates than commercial banks.

Last month, NSFAS acting CEO Masile Ramorwesi said that the fund had received 2.1-million applications from first-time and recurring applicants. Of these 24% were rejected; 2.4% withdrawn; 62% accepted; and 11.6% pending, largely due to missing information from students, third parties, or institutions.

The acting CEO said 45 927 students were disqualified for submitting falsified or fraudulent documents and confirmed that after NSFAS re-evaluated the applications, 14 703 applications were reinstated, while 31 224 remained disqualified.

Ramorwesi had previously said that NSFAS plans to resolve all internal appeals by 30 September and resolve appeals that are dependent on the student or institution by 30 October.

Following today, both NSFAS as well as the Department of Higher Education will have another opportunity scheduled to appear before the committee to present updates as well as the comprehensive plan that is seeking to engage the crisis underway.

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