Johnathan Paoli

Saftu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said the union was completely disappointed by Damelin and its sister colleges, ICESA, Lyceum and Central Technical College, for the non-payment of salaries to their employees at different campuses across the country.

“This is a kick in the teeth of workers especially when considering that these employees need the money to meet their household spending obligation for the festive season,” Vavi said.

According to Vavi, the colleges have not paid their staff for November and December 2023 wages, that especially college lectures have been receiving late payments since after Covid-19, and that despite their efforts, the Damelin College management has been avoiding the union federation and failed to respond.

Last month SAFTU released a statement calling out Damelin’s abuse of workers by not paying them on time consistently for the rest of this year, allegedly unprofessionally handling their grievances and terminating some contracts without following due process.

“It is our contention that such money must not be used to lure prospective students to register for 2024, but to pay the employees who have already credited these institutions with their labour power,” Vavi said.

In addition, Vavi said that staff members were allegedly intimidated by the institution for attempting to address their grievances.

Saftu spokesperson Trevor Shaku said Damelin was not the only college affected under the group and that Damelin’s sister college, CTC, had closed its branches in Pretoria and Johannesburg and retrenched employees, without following due processes.

“Each time they raise complaints about the payments and other grievances, they are told they can leave the company if they are not satisfied. These are tantrums only selfish children can throw and this has led to a working culture where workers are not free to raise their dissatisfaction and grievances,” Shaku said.

Educor Holdings describes itself as a premier education group and is the owner of Damelin, City Varsity and Intec colleges, and also includes Lyceum colleges and Central Technical College.

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Johnathan Paoli

New LoveLife Trust has welcomed the decision by the South African Council for Educators (Sace) to indefinitely strike sex-offending educators off the roll for alleged sexual misconduct, including sexual harassment of learners and having sexual relations with their learners.

The New loveLife Trust, also known as “LoveLife”, is a non-profit youth organisation  established as a joint initiative of leading non-governmental organisations, private foundations and the South African government.

Earlier this week the Education Labour Relations Council revealed that 30 teachers have been fired since April for sexual misconduct and would soon be registered with the National Child Protection Register and barred from ever teaching children again.

LoveLife spokesperson and Gauteng provincial manager Thilivhali Livhadi said the decision to deal with sex offenders would significantly improve the lives of millions of learners who are forced to spend time in the midst of known sex offenders.

“The organisation further calls for strict adherence to the National Child Protection Register so that such sex pest educators should never be allowed near learners again,” Livhadi said on Wednesday.

Livhadi said learners were exposed to appalling crimes and behaviour such as sexual assault, sharing pornographic material, assault, unwelcome behaviour, poor performance, dishonesty and theft.

“LoveLife is alarmed by the high number of misconduct cases, showing that there needs to be stringent methods in hiring the right caliber of educators who would be fit for purpose and competent in ensuring that learners are safe and not sexually exploited or abused,” Livhadi said.

In addition, professional teachers’ body, the SA Council for Educators, has also struck 31 members from its register, with the council’s spokesperson Cindy Foca confirming that the council appointed independent arbitrators to preside over cases which involved cases of sexual assault at schools.

Foca said that once a perpetrator was found guilty, they would be reported to the department of social development and effectively barred from working with children again.

The National Child Protection Register is a register maintained by the Director General in terms of section 111 of the Children’s Act 38 of 2005, consisting of a part A and a part B.

Prospective employers offering services which allow for access to children must establish from the registrar whether or not the potential employee’s name was listed on part B of the register.

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Staff Reporter

University of Stellenbosch academic Professor Jonathan Jansen led the tributes to Professor Peliwe Lolwana, the Chairperson of the South African Qualifications Authority, who passed away at the weekend. 

“I am saddened to learn of the passing of Dr Peliwe Lolwana, a person who worked hard behind the scenes to imbue integrity in education policy work. South Africa owes her a debt of gratitude. Farewell dear friend. JJ,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. 

On Sunday in a statement, SAQA announced the sudden and unexpected passing of Lolwana.

“Prof Lolwana was a rare breed of esteemed academic and visionary policy maker. She was also endowed with extremely quick wit, which would often be displayed to the world on her boardroom outfit (her famous slogan t-shirts!) 

Prof Lolwana was a retired and visiting Associate Professor at the Centre for Researching Education and Labour (REAL), University of Witwatersrand; Johannesburg, where she had previously served as the founding Director of the Centre for Researching Education and Labour at the University of Witwatersrand after transforming the previous Education and Policy Unit. 

Prior to that, she had been the founding CEO of the school education quality assurance body, Umalusi, leading its transformation from the South African Certification Body and then leading the organisation for 8 years. 

Previously, Prof Lolwana was a director at the Institute for the Development of Learnerships and Assessments (INDLELA), an organisation she transformed from the Central organisation for Trades testing (COTT). Her career was long and distinguished but certainly bears the indelible mark of transformation and thought leadership. 

“She was, even in retirement, one of the most formidable readers and thinkers in education today and her constant challenge and inspiration to SAQA was for us to think and critically reflect on how best to provide value to the public,” said SAQA in a statement.

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Prof Lolwana was the past recent chair of the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) and served on a number of Ministerial Initiative’s, bearing testimony for her deep ability to turn conceptual ideas into implementable projects as well as her strength in bringing together Government Departments; Private sector; NGOs, Universities and Communities in pursuit of shared goals. 

She served in many commissions tasked with the transformation of education in the country, e.g. National Policy Education Initiative (NEPI); National Commission for Higher Education (NCHE); National Committee on Further Education and Training (NCFET). 

She held a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, U.S.A. She was a two times Fulbright scholar, and her research has in different times been sponsored by Kellogs Foundation (in Salzburg, Austria); Rockefeller (in Bellagio, Italy); Ford Foundation in Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt and the Swiss Development Aid in Argentina and India. 

Nadia Starr, the SAQA CEO indicated that “the sudden passing of Prof Peliwe is devastating and will impact deeply on the organisation and sector. She inspired transformation and rebirth at SAQA and she was my mentor and guide in these first twelve months at the helm. 

“I relied on her wise counsel and sharp intellect as well as her absolute forthrightness, to steer this organisation and will miss her deeply. We will continue steadfastly on our path of review and reflection in her memory.” 

The SAQA board, past and present acknowledges the invaluable contribution that Prof Lolwana has made and sends their sincere condolences to Professor Lolwana’s family members, colleagues, and friends. 

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Staff Reporter

THE National Department of Sport, Arts and Culture in collaboration with the Limpopo Provincial Department of Sport, Arts and Culture hosted a Social Cohesion Community Dialogue on Active Citizenry, Healing, Nation Building and Reconciliation. 

The community dialogue took place at the Thulamela Library Auditorium, in Vhembe, Limpopo on 15 December 20024. 

This year’s dialogue was hosted under the theme, “Promoting active and responsible citizenry, reconciliation, and unity in a healing society.” 

The purpose of the dialogue was to discuss the role of society in promoting healing, reconciliation, and tolerance. 

This platform will also provide the community of Thulamela with the opportunity to highlight the challenges that are negatively impacting on the fostering of social cohesion and social justice. 

All community members of Thulamela, especially the youth, are invited to participate as active and responsible citizens. Most importantly, this dialogue also served as a build-up activity towards the national reconciliation day commemoration which took place on the 16th of December at the Thohoyandou Stadium, in Vhembe.

The panelists and audience engaged robustly in various ways in which individual community members can actively contribute towards the strengthening of unity and social cohesion in a healing nation.  

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Edwin Naidu

India’s Safeena Husain, Founder and Board Member of Educate Girls, was a worthy winner of the WISE Prize for Education – the first global award of its kind that honours an individual for an outstanding contribution to education.

Mumbai-based Husain, who spent time working in the healthcare sector in South Africa, was recognized for dedicating 16 years to building the non-profit organisation focused on empowering communities for girls’ education in some of India’s hardest to reach villages.

An excited Husain told Inside Education after her triumph that her programme to reach the most vulnerable, ensuring that girls’ lives are transformed through learning, can be replicated throughout the world. 

“We are happy to share our programmes with organisations wishing to use our model to change the lives of girls through education,” she said. 

A video of the work undertaken in villages throughout India showed how, through champions, they would seek girls who would be working in the field or carrying out household chores and speak to their families to explain the importance of education to help them secure a better life. 

Husain’s journey with WISE began with a WISE Award in 2014 that acknowledged Educate Girls for its positive social impact and ability to scale. Over the years, Educate Girls has mobilised more than 1.4 million girls for enrolment and supported over 1.9 million children in their learning in India.  

Adopting a precision targeting method using Artificial Intelligence (AI), Educate Girls can target, in five years, the same number of out-of-school girls, which would otherwise require 45 years. Through a network of over 21,000 community-based champions in some of the most marginalised communities in the country, the organisation has been working to break the intergenerational cycle of inequality and exclusion.

Under Husain’s guidance, Educate Girls has evolved into a leading global force, harnessing innovative financing and AI technology to bridge the gender gap in education. This is mirrored in its global milestones: the delivery of the world’s first Development Impact Bond in education, and the organisation becoming Asia’s first The Audacious Project – which, housed at TED, is a collaborative funding initiative catalyzing social impact on a grand scale.

Commenting on the award, Husain said: “This is a collective win for all of us working toward girls’ education, right from the government and local communities to dedicated gender champions and our supporters. It is a testament to the array of initiatives that are actively addressing this global challenge, embracing grassroots innovations and technology-driven solutions that are tirelessly working to ensure that every girl, in every village, is in school and learning well.

“Girls’ education is the closest thing we have to a silver bullet to solve some of the world’s most complex problems. We must recognise that the right to education is a girl’s inherent right – a right that must always take center stage.”

Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation (QF), spoke at the opening of the 11th edition of the WISE Summit taking place from 28-29 November in Doha, Qatar, under the theme ‘Creative Fluency: Human Flourishing in the Age of AI’. 

The global summit convenes more than 2,000 education industry stakeholders, including influential thought leaders, young trailblazers, and key decision-makers to foster dialogue on the transformative power of Artificial Intelligence AI in the global education landscape. 

“I want to ensure WISE is a platform for new ideas that keep pace with the changes taking place in the world, and the obstacles that education faces in certain countries for reasons of which we are all too aware. There is no alternative but to innovate if we are to find solutions to intractable problems,” said Sheikha.

Among the highlights of the opening plenary was a heartfelt performance by 15-year-old Palestinian rapper Abdulrahman AlShanti – known as MC Abdul.

The official strategic partner of WISE 11, Education Above All (EAA), a global non-profit organisation established by Her Highness Sheikha Moza, dedicated to transforming lives through education, is at the forefront of the summit’s programme creating dialogue around inclusive education, innovative financing, and protecting education in crises.

Day one was spread across distinct thematic zones that included diverse sessions covering some of the core summit discussion topics: Classrooms of the Future; AI and Digital Sovereignty; and Building Ethical AI.

A series of thought-provoking panel discussions and policy roundtables explored topics such as strategies for educators to future-proof classrooms in the era of AI and navigating the impact of AI superpowers to build an inclusive global AI landscape, among others.

Young innovators and advocates led discussions on a range of topics including personalised learning for students with disabilities, and cultural perspectives of Arabic learners in classrooms at the Youth Studio.

A number of partner-led workshops provided students and teachers with hands-on learning and immersive experiences in the use of cutting-edge AI tools and systems across the education space, as part of WISE’s Learning Labs.

A special plenary honored the 2023 WISE Awards winners this year for their innovative projects addressing global educational challenges and driving positive societal impact. Jeffrey Sachs, University Professor and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development, Columbia University, addressed the economic impact of conflict on education in his keynote speech at the session.

Founded in 2009 by Qatar Foundation under the visionary leadership of its Chairperson, Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, WISE (World Innovation Summit for Education) has evolved into an international, multi-sectoral platform dedicated to fostering innovation and evidence-based approaches in education. WISE 11, the summit’s 11th edition, marks a significant milestone, emphasizing a new era of global educational transformation. Through its biennial summit, collaborative research, and several ongoing programs, WISE has become a global point of reference for new educational paradigms.

Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) is a non-profit organisation that supports Qatar on its journey to becoming a diversified and sustainable economy. QF strives to serve the people of Qatar and beyond by providing specialized programmes across its innovation-focused ecosystem of education, research and development, and community development.

QF was founded in 1995 by His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Father Amir, and Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, who shared the vision to provide Qatar with quality education. Today, QF’s world-class education system offers lifelong learning opportunities to community members as young as six months through to doctoral level, enabling graduates to thrive in a global environment and contribute to the nation’s development.

QF is also creating a multidisciplinary innovation hub in Qatar, where homegrown researchers are working to address local and global challenges. By promoting a culture of lifelong learning and fostering social engagement through programmes that embody Qatari culture, QF is committed to empowering the local community and contributing to a better world for all.

Inside Education was a media partner at WISE 2023.

 Edwin Naidu

THE Department of Basic Education (DBE) is currently preparing for an accelerated mass registration drive for Early Childhood Development (ECD) programmes, which will be launched early in 2024. 

The project will be rolled out in all education districts across South Africa. Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga, accompanied by DBE ECD officials, as well as officials from the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE), visited ten ECD centres to share information on the full-scale institutionalisation of ECD in the country. 

During the visits, Minister Motshekga addressed various stakeholders, including ECD managers; practitioners; NGOs; and Forums representing ECD centres operating in the Johannesburg Central, Johannesburg North, Johannesburg South, Tshwane East and Tshwane West Districts. 

The registration of ECD centres is the first step to increasing quality programme delivery and enabling children to receive the stimulation and care required to thrive in school.

This move to formalise the ECDs comes after a 2021 ECD Census revealed that there were still many ECD programmes that were operating without being formally registered. 

Furthermore, the 2022 General Household Survey indicated that there are currently 1.3 million children aged 3 – 5 who are not accessing ECD programmes. 

Increasing access and ensuring that the newly established ECD programmes are registered, is therefore a key priority for the DBE.

The oversight visits to ECD programmes are conducted through the DBE’s Chief Directorate for Foundations for Early Learning, under the leadership of Ms Kulula Manona. 

Manona informed ECD stakeholders that the strengthening of ECD is necessary to address the learning deficits encountered by learners as they move into the formal schooling system.

 “Our main objective is to accelerate the registration of all the ECD centres so that they operate procedurally and constitutionally. Through a series of engagement meetings conducted in the province, we managed to exchange critical views around the effective implementation of the National Curriculum Framework for Children from Birth to Four (NCF). 

“ECD stakeholders are willing to work with the government in elevating the standard of early learning in the country. The valuable inputs and insight shared during these visits will inform our decision-making process as far as ECD administration is concerned”.

During the engagements, ECD stakeholders indicated the need for uniformity in programme delivery across all nine provinces. 

The ECD stakeholders alerted the Minister that programmes require qualified teachers, proper infrastructure, access to the ECD subsidy and proper funding to provide nutritious meals at the programmes. 

Inclusive education was also highlighted as a critical aspect that needs to be enhanced and supported. They urged the Basic Education Sector to prioritise inclusive education since there are rising figures of learners with special needs enrolled in ECD centres. 

Additional training and support for ECD practitioners in supporting children with disabilities has been highlighted as a critical need.

As quoted in the ECD Census 2021, Motshekga said: “We as the DBE have always been a firm believer in the fact that building the future starts with strengthening early learning and development”. 

Motshekga indicated that the visit will pave the way for the mass ECD registration drive as it highlights success stories and shortcomings around ECD institutionalisation.

“We have decided to give ECD managers sufficient time to ensure that they comply with the Constitution. As a result, the unregistered ECD centres will be given three years to sort out all administrative issues as the government will not allow the operation of unregistered ECD centres in communities once the three years have lapsed. 

“ECD migrated to the Basic Education Sector to lay a solid foundation for early learning so that our children can be school ready at the appropriate age”. 

In her response to issues raised during the visit, Motshekga said the DBE will engage various education stakeholders, including the Departments of Home Affairs, Health and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs to deal with existing obstacles hindering the operation of ECD programmes in various communities.

INSIDE EDUCATION

Johnathan Paoli with Videographer Tlholohelo Mosala and pictures by Eddie Mtsweni

THE Inside Education Foundation, in conjunction with stakeholders hosted the annual 100 SA Shining Stars Awards ceremony at the Gautrain Hotel in Sandton on Wednesday in recognition and celebration of South African youth committed to service in various fields of interest.

Drawn from inspiring and inspirational youth from around the country, the award sought to recognise the pivotal role these finalists play in their respective fields and in their communities.

Now in its 5th year, the Shining Stars initiative celebrated young ambassadors from all corners of the country to demonstrate that talent, energy, drive, passion and ambition among the country’s youth was alive despite the country’s bad socio-economic conditions and the despondency caused by high youth unemployment and many other challenges.

The categories included sports and recreation, arts and culture, philanthropy, business, transport and logistics, youth development and activism.

Inside Education Foundation Chairperson Matuma Letsoalo said that it was a pleasure to present the awards and that compiling the finalists was an inspiring exercise.

Letsoalo said it was gratifying to see that many on the list were involved in connecting the youth to educational and economic opportunity, but that giving the youth a stake in the economy remained a daunting task.

“Our youth, particularly those being celebrated today, recognise that their competition and many solutions to the unemployment crisis are global in nature,” Letsoalo said.

The Afrobarometer survey released in August this year stated that 54% of those between the ages of 18 and 34 are not employed, with some of the biggest challenges including a lack of skills and experience as well as the systemic stagnation of sectors from mining to manufacturing.

Letsoalo said that the young contestants celebrated at the event were the best placed to lead the debate on the kind of policies needed in order to navigate the challenging economic and political landscape faced by all members of society.

He said that in light of the need for involvement by the youth in the political arena of the country, he hoped that all the finalists were registered to vote, and intended to utilise the elections next year to determine who, in their view, was best placed to respond to their needs and those of society in general.

The Chairperson expressed his gratitude at the effort, selflessness and dedication of the finalists and said that they were the beacons of the country’s democracy.

This year’s cohort, in a long line proceeding from previous events of this nature, offered an encouraging way forward to illustrate the manner in which the country and its future was in safe hands, said Letsoalo.

And the finalists brought their talents to bear, most times at the cost of their own time and energy, in order to improve their communities and the lives of the less fortunate.

“They offer us a guide to the path that our country must follow over the next thirty years to be a successful and prosperous democracy,” Letsoalo said.

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INSIDE EDUCATION

Lerato Mbhiza

THE Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) says its online system will reopen on Monday to allow for parents and guardians to submit late applications to find space for the Grade 1 and 8 pupils in the province’s public schools in 2024.

Spokesperson Steve Mabona said on Sunday applications will open at 8am but will only apply to schools with available space for new pupils.

“Parents must apply at one school which would automatically place them and the documents must be submitted to schools when we reopen on January 17.”

For the parents who are unable to use the system, Mabona said they can visit the district offices and head offices for assistance from the second week of January as staff members were on festive season leave at the moment.

The department said applications are set to close on the 31st of January 2024.

MEC for Education, Matome Chiloane, said the department received 306 000 applications for the 2024 academic year. 

To date, 273 186 pupils with complete applications have been placed in schools.

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Lerato Mbhiza

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a R1-billion investment from the National Skills Fund called the Presidential PhD Initiative for Science and Technology PhD students. 

“The first phase aims to expose our country’s brightest young minds to cutting-edge thinking and research by negotiating opportunities at world-leading universities and research centres,” said Ramaphosa during the inaugural Presidential Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Plenary in Pretoria. 

The initiative will build critical skills in artificial intelligence research, advanced biotechnology, fuel cell development, battery storage, and next-generation mining, he said. 

Ramaphosa called on the private sector and international partners to assist in growing the investment for the Presidential PhD Initiative fund to R5-billion by 2030 saying science, technology and innovation are essential for economies to thrive. 

“According to the 2022 Global Innovation Index published by the World Intellectual Property Organisation, South Africa ranked 61st out of the 132 economies featured for innovation capabilities. Our country performs above the upper-middle-income group average in three areas, namely market sophistication, knowledge and technology outputs, and creative outputs.”  

South Africa has made significant strides in higher education, with the number of students graduating from public universities increasing from about 60,000 in 1994 to about 230,000 by 2018, he said.

“The share of graduates in science, engineering and technology fields has been increasing compared to graduates in the humanities.

“In 2021, gross expenditure on R&D in South Africa was 0.6% of GDP, far below our target of 1.5%. By comparison, in 2022, the US spent 2.6% and South Korea spent 5% of their respective GDPs on research and development.”

Despite the demands on the economy, Ramaphosa said the situation needs attention while he pointed out that the jobs fund was investing in science and technology activities that directly contribute to sustainable job creation and small business development. 

“Earlier this month, the Technology Innovation Agency issued a call for proposals from grassroots innovators looking for funding and technical assistance on developing new products or processes.” 

Scientific innovation was harnessed during the floods in KwaZulu-Natal and other parts of the country in 2022 and given the reality of climate change, Ramaphosa said, this kind of scientific collaboration will become increasingly important because “it is clear that we are certainly progressing but not at the pace we should be”.  

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