Many of Wits University’s top learners come from important feeder schools, which produce quality students that easily adjust to the academic demands at Wits.

In celebration of the class of 2023, the Wits’ Schools Liaison Office (SLO) hosted over 49 feeder school principals and teachers from Gauteng at the annual Principals’ Function. The SLO visit a vast number of schools each year and advise learners about admission requirements, career opportunities, degree courses offered at Wits, fees and funding, student life on campus and the University’s core function.

Educators from Gauteng’s feeder schools were congratulated on the excellent work they do in nurturing learners through their 12 years of schooling, preparing learners for post-secondary education and supporting learners in securing a spot at a leading global institution like Wits.

“We at Wits pride ourselves as a place of intellectual debate, free expression, diversity of views and ideology. In partnership with your schools, we look forward to the next 100 years of mutual collaboration and contributing to leading this country and continent. Our goal at Wits is to weave in academic excellence in naturing the young minds, contributing to dialogue and discourse and becoming a beacon of what this country strives to be,” said Wits Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, who welcomed representatives at the event.

Wits received a record number of first-year applications for the 2023 academic year. Majority of those applications were from feeder schools. The relationship with schools is an important one in ensuring the success of learners, the University said.

Three schools were singled out and received certificates for being the top feeder schools in their respective sectors.

Greenside High School, Al Aqsa School and St Matthews Private Secondary School all walked away as Wits University’s 2022 top-feeder schools.

“Our learners, parents and community appreciate the relationship we have with Wits, the support we receive from the University is fantastic,” said Al Aqsa School’s principal Hamida Moosa. She further acknowledged the relationship with Wits, adding that the two have a long history and a shared vision.

Principal Craig Strauss received the award on behalf of Greenside High School and praised the work done by the SLO.

“The school visits and time spent with our learners help to broader our learners’ minds, exposing them to different opportunities and broaden their horizons on what is available at University.”

The principals were also captivated by guest speaker Professor Benjamin Rosman, School of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics who delivered an insightful talk titled Generating the Future: The Power of ChatGPT. Rosman took a deep dive into the advantages and disadvantages that the artificial intelligence model presents.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools have been developing for many years, but the release of ChatGPT, a powerful natural language chatbot, in November 2022 has created a global stir.

INSIDE EDUCATION

CHARLES MOLELE

“I am not here to fill anyone’s shoes. I am bringing my own shoes,” says newly appointed vice chancellor of the University of Johannesburg Professor Letlhokwa Mpedi in response to a question about walking into the big shoes left by his predecessor Tshilidzi Marwala.

Speaking exclusively to Inside Education from his West Wing office in Kingsway, Auckland Park, Mpedi makes it clear his will be a different leadership style from that of his predecessor, who elevated the university into one of the most respected on the African continent.

“There is only one Professor Tshilidzi Marwala…and the factory is closed. There’s only one Professor Mpedi and I can only excel at being myself than somebody else. He is a scientist. I am a lawyer”.

Mpedi spoke to Inside Education shortly after his inauguration as the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Johannesburg at a ceremony held on Friday, 10 March 2023. Mpedi, who was wearing a grey Nehru suit when he welcomed us at his West Wing office, UJ, spoke for 40 minutes before rushing to a graduation ceremony.

He replaces Marwala, who stepped down last year to take on a new appointment as rector of the United Nations University in Tokyo, Japan, and becomes the third vice-chancellor since the opening of the institution 18 years ago.

He expressed delight and deep honour in accepting the position of vice-chancellor succeeding Marwala and his predecessor, Professor Ihron Rensburg, who have both played significant roles in building a strong university.

Commenting on his appointment, Mpedi had nothing but praises for his predecessors, saying Professor Marwala and his predecessor, Professor Ihron Rensburg have built a strong University, with UJ now ranked second in South Africa and on the African continent.

UJ was previously ranked at position three by the QS World University Rankings.

“I’m delighted and deeply honoured to be taking up the role of vice-chancellor of this great university. Prof Marwala and his predecessor, Prof Ihron Rensburg, have built a strong university, and I see many opportunities to take the institution’s ambitious strategy forward. I am particularly looking forward to working with staff and students to build a truly inspirational and transformative institution where all are included and supported to thrive,” said Mpedi.

Outlining his vision, Mpedi said UJ remains committed to innovation, Pan-Africanism and the Fourth industrial revolution (4IR) university, which has become part of the university’s DNA.

“The commitment to innovation, Pan-Africanism and the emergence as a fourth industrial revolution (4IR) university has become part of our DNA. This will continue to remain our focus and ethos going forward. However, we cannot ignore the context of the world around us. Steep rises in inequality, growing divisions, pandemics, climate change and leadership crises are but a few descriptors of our current era.”

He said under his leadership, this will continue to remain the university’s focus.

“Under my leadership, we will also focus on social security laws in dealing with challenges such as unemployment, and other social ills in South Africa, using 4IR technologies. We will also intensify our 3D printing project in collaboration with the Department of Science and Innovation to continue to leverage the technology of the 4IR and find sustainable solutions that benefit local communities, including the provision of housing,” said Mpedi.

Mpedi also hailed the university’s project in Gwakwani, Limpopo. Gwakwani, a small village in northern Limpopo, had no running water, electricity, cell phone reception or internet access. But since the university started introducing smart Internet of Things (IoT) systems there, a lot has since changed in the remote village.

“We are also proud of our colleagues in the School of Electronic and Engineering Department for setting up basically the first smart village in South Africa using solar technology; today the village has among others, mobile connectivity and this has impacted on the lives of ordinary people in Gwakwani,” said Mpedi.  

Mpedi said another top priority for him is to establish a medical school “like no other in South Africa”.

“What we want to do at the university is to combine medicine and technology. We are waiting for the green light and are hoping that we will have the first cohort of students in 2025,” Mpedi said.

“As UJ, we are ready to launch a medical school. If the national departments of health and education can support and trust us, we would bring a medical school like no other in South Africa; we would combine medicine and technology and be leaders in that regard. If we get the go-ahead today, we are prepared to even put in our own limited resources.” 

Mpedi is also working towards bringing down the dropout rate at UJ, and raising the rate of completion in record time.

“That’s one of my biggest priorities; to achieve a lower dropout rate from 32%, and most importantly, to a single digit. It would be amazing if I achieved that at the end of my term,” said Mpedi.

“My other top priority in the next 100 days is to oversee the development of the UJ Island at the Vaal River; we are going to turn it into an academic project, training courses, conference centre and have a food garden project.”

Mpedi said he also wants the university to offer more online courses by the end of the year; some of them free of charge.

“We have about four online courses at the moment. But by the end of the year, we should have at least ten of these online courses.”

Mpedi’s focus will also involve turning UJ into a reseacrh-intesnive institution. In the past few years, UJ has seen a surge in its accredited academic research output. The University, which has set a goal to increase its accredited research output, has now achieved this and is ranked among South Africa’s Top 2 universities.

“We want to build a research intensive institution. Research is important to teaching and learning. Research contributes to new body of knowledge and is a pillar to community engagement,” said Mpedia, who is a National Research Foundation (NRF) rated scholar and is placed in the B category at level B3 (researcher who enjoys considerable international recognition by peers).

Turning to student issues, Mpedi said he would like to raise more money to cover student fees and their registration costs, particularly the missing middle group.

“We have the SRC Trust Fund to help students to register and raise funds for the missing middle. I have also contributed R50 000 to the fund. We also appreciate the role played by the Motsepe Foundation for contributing R30 million. Are we where we need to be? No,” said Mpedi. 

Mpedi holds an Advanced Management and Leadership qualification from the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford (2022), as well as in ‘Leading in Artificial Intelligence: Exploring Technology and Policy Programme, from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Executive Education (July 2022).

He completed his B Juris degree in 1996 and LLB degree in 1998 at Vista University. He holds an LLM in Labour Law from the Rand Afrikaans University (now UJ) and an LLD in Mercantile Law from UJ. He publishes labour law and social security.

Mpedi holds a B3 rating (Internationally Acclaimed Researcher), issued by the National Research Foundation. He is a recipient of several awards, including the Continental Award for Education and Training: Academic, and the South African and Southern African Development Community Regional Awards for Education & Training: Academic.

INSIDE EDUCATION

MPHO Phalatse will face John Steenhuisen in the final round of a closely fought race to lead the Democratic Alliance at the weekend. Lungile Phenyane, who hails from Tshwane, crashed out of the three-way race after she apparently received the least support from party structures who were surprised by her nomination to lead the party.

Phalatse and Steenhuisen will now go head-to-head for the position of DA Leader at the Federal Congress. 

The party will hold its federal congress at the Gallagher Estate in Midrand this weekend to elect a new leadership and make resolutions to help charter a way forward for the 2024 General Elections.

This is expected to be the party’s biggest congress yet, with more than 2 000 delegates expected to attend. 

Ahead of the federal congress, Phalatse has claimed in various interviews that she has a strategy for growth to win the upcoming national elections for the DA.

Phalatse also believes that Steenhuisen has not been able to grow the party, especially among black South Africans.

In her campaign documents, Phalatse writes: “As the second largest political party and the official opposition, the DA is the only party that can legitimately call itself a government in waiting. We must therefore do everything possible to ready ourselves for governance in 2024, which is only a few months away. We must demonstrate in both word and deed that the DA activist is the central pillar of our strength as a party. We must build our structures, including our performance management, recruitment and selection processes, to build a strong DA that can save South Africans.”

Phalatse, who considers herself a liberal democrat, adds that the federal congress this weekend affords the DA an opportune moment to “stop our country from this trajectory of total collapse.”

“It gives us an opportunity to steer our country into a new path – a path of progress and development for our nation. We have an obligation to urgently emancipate the people of South Africa from the shackles of despair and political disillusionment, which are a result of almost 30 years of the ANC’s politics of greed and plunder. Yet, I believe there is still hope for South Africa. We need a new leadership that can re-kindle the flame of hope and brighten the future for our children and their children.”

Jaco Engelbrecht, a former councillor for the DA in the City of Johannesburg and a former advisor in the Office of the Executive Mayor, wrote this week that Phalatse was well-positioned to grow the DA ahead of next year’s general elections.

“She did not come to a decision as a result of some failed coalition negotiations to retain the City of Johannesburg, as her detractors would make us believe. She does not decide things on a whim. She thinks deeply before making a decision. She asks for advice and opinions. She consults with specialists and those she trusts,” said Engelbrecht.

“She observed the governance of areas like the Western Cape and understood there is a correlation between good policies and good governance. She was not dropped into the party with a parachute. She joined the party of her own volition, became a councillor, later a member of the mayoral committee, and rose to become a mayor and, most of all, a skilled and respected politician.”

Phalatse was elected the first female black mayor of Johannesburg in November 2021.

A medical doctor with significant experience in the health sector, she was drawn to politics while working in Johannesburg.

She holds a doctorate in medicine from the Sefako Makgatho Health Services University.

INSIDE POLITICS

STAFF WRITER

SOFTWARE developer training academy WeThinkCode and Ekurhuleni West TVET College (EWC) will pilot a coding skills programme for youth with no prior experience.

This, after the organisations entered into a public-private partnership aimed at creating a pipeline of in-demand technical skills.

In a statement, WeThinkCode says the initial phase of the training programme will see two cohorts of 50 students learning the academy’s curriculum at the EWC campus.

The academy further sees the collaboration with EWC as an opportunity to close the gap between unemployed youth and market demand for skilled software developers.

“This pilot programme represents a pivotal opportunity to produce digital skills at scale,” says Ruvimbo Gwatirisa, WeThinkCode campus director: Cape Town, and lead of the TVET expansion.

“TVETs have a national footprint, and together with our coding curriculum, we can deliver thousands of digital skills into our economy and help to lower our youth unemployment rate more rapidly than WeThinkCode could on its own.”

Manie Stoltz, business unit: partnerships manager at EWC, adds: “Through this partnership, WeThinkCode and EWC are not only empowering young minds to become skilled coders, but also enabling them to unlock their full potential and create a brighter future for themselves and their communities. Investment in educationis a vital step towards building a better world.”

Launched in 2015, WeThinkCode seeks to eliminate the digital skills shortage by developing 100 000 coders in Africa over the next 10 years.

To date, over 700 young people have graduated and maintain a 91% post-graduation employment rate, says the organisation.

Says WeThinkCode CEO Nyari Samushonga: “In our seven years of operating, we have demonstrated that some of the best coding skills come from areas not normally associated with tech talent.

“We are incredibly excited about partnering with EWC to bring this opportunity to more young people and further secure local tech skills pipelines.”

Samushonga states partnerships are the answer to creating the pool and pipeline of digital talent.

Resultantly, the pilot programme has also brought on board other collaborative partners, namely the Gauteng City Region Academy (GCRA), Standard Bank Tutuwa Community Foundation and Michael & Susan Dell Foundation.

Percy Moleke, CEO of GCRA, notes: “The GCRA is proud to partnerwith WeThinkCode and EWC for the delivery of this exciting pilot programme.

“It will see close collaboration between GCRA, a post-education and training institution and a civil society organisation in the form of an NPO. The programme aims to take best in breed course content and curriculum delivery to youth in the province.

“The purpose of the pilot is to test the programme’s scalability. If it’s successful, the partnerswill have a model which could significantly improve the reach of this wonderful ICT programme.

“We look forward to future phases of this programme and replicating the model in other sectors.”

Ona Meyer, programme manager for jobs and livelihoods at the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, adds: “The partnership between WeThinkCode and EWC is a case study of a new partnership model that will allow youth enrolled in TVETs to access a high-quality, industry-relevant curriculum and pathway support into jobs in the ICT sector in South Africa.

“Partnerships like these have the potential to stretch across multiple TVET campuses and incorporate a variety of high-quality private training providers to improve employment outcomes for many young South Africans.”

Gwatirisa concludes that beyond the envisaged skills pipeline outcome, the pilot programme provides an opportunity to collect and analyse data that can be used to innovate around policies aimed at creating a robust IT education framework.

ITWEB

PHUTI MOSOMANE

MINISTER of Basic Education Angie Motshekga has confirmed that four educators out of 191 reported cases of sexual misconduct were successfully struck off the roll. 

Motshekga revealed this in an answer to a written parliamentary question by the Democratic Alliance (DA).

The number of cases of sexual misconduct reported to the SA Council of Educators (SACE) last year, has risen quite dramatically from 92 in 2019/20 to 169 in 2020/21 and 191 in 2021/22. 

This could potentially mean that for the 199 school days last year, a single case of sexual misconduct a day took place at a particular school.

The 2022 crime statistics indicates a total of 294 rapes reported to have occurred on the premises of educational institutions – schools, universities, college, and day care facilities.

SACE said it instituted 23 disciplinary proceedings in 2022 alone, this is 12% of the reported cases of sexual misconduct.

About 19 educators were found guilty of sexual misconduct, only four were struck off the roll indefinitely.

SACE indicated that some cases were closed due to lack of evidence to substantiate the allegations, deliberate unavailability of complainants to assist with the investigation/disciplinary proceedings, and witnesses refusing to cooperate with the Council.

“The complainants’ reluctance to cooperate with SACE in investigating and disciplining their alleged abusers indicates a perceived bias against the victims of abuse. SACE must take responsibility for this perception and ensure that disciplinary hearings are environments where alleged victims and witnesses feel safe, are protected from further trauma, and where evidence and testimony from both parties are examined in an objective and sensitive manner,” DA MP Desiree van der Walt said. 

Van der Walt said SACE must take appropriate steps to better categorise cases to ensure effective oversight of processes and procedures.

Without a thorough analysis of data, no institution can critically access its effectiveness.

“The Council must ensure that victims of sexual abuse are protected when reporting these crimes and that guilty abusers suffer the consequences for their heinous actions,” Desiree said.

INSIDE EDUCATION 

THE Varsity Cup returns on Monday, 27 March 2023, when archrivals in Free State rugby, the University of the Free State (UFS) and Central University of Technology (CUT) face off in the battle for points at Shimla Park, on the Bloemfontein Campus at 19:00.  

The derby fields some of the most illustrious stars, slugging it out for silverware and bragging rights in a rivalry that seems to intensify with each new encounter. Adding further spice to the derby is their last encounter in 2022 when the FNB UFS Shimlas won, but the FNB CUT Ixias who currently sit in fourth position on the log had previously won the last three encounters.

Shimlas occupy fifth position and will be looking to leapfrog their rivals with a win on the day. 

Undefeated on their home ground the Shimlas will seek to maintain their impressive home form and take advantage of playing to the home crowd. “The boys have been working hard since September last year.

They will give it their all to make the play offs and go a few steps further than last year. The team spirit and brotherhood is really strong among the players. They love it when Shimla Park is packed and they will entertain their supporters,” said Andre Tredoux, head coach of FNB UFS Shimlas.

Tredoux has eyes only for the prize, “We need to win this game to get into the top 4 positions, before our last round robin game. All six teams can still reach the play offs, so we are focused on what we need to do and not so much on the other teams, if our processes are good, we have a good chance.” He says synergy was a focal point during last season and nothing has changed.

“I expect the boys to play with the same spirit, effort and intensity as last season.” 

“We were a new coaching staff last season, so the players had to go through a process of adjustment. This season we are trying to adapt our game, play smarter rugby, and to keep things fresh. We had thirteen players finish off at the end of last season of which nine got contracts to play professional rugby (eight of those players graduated). The rest graduated or had injuries,” he said.

SUPPLIED: UFS

EDWIN NAIDU

FOUR-YEAR-OLD Langalam Viki drowned in a pit latrine toilet in Vaalbank in Eastern Cape early in March. The tragedy highlighted the failure of the Department of Basic Education to get rid of pit latrine toilets, despite adopting the minimum uniform norms and standards for public school infrastructure, which banned them at schools in 2013.

The norms and standards created a legal responsibility for the department and provincial departments to eradicate pit latrines at schools. However, 3,398 schools countrywide still have pit latrine toilets. Over the past decade, there have been many horror stories like that of Viki.

This is one tragedy, too many.

On Sunday, the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, pledged to tackle the problem within two years. While the Minister’s commitment is welcomed, one wonders how the department, which has failed to tackle this problem over the past decade, will address it in two years.

Basic Education has made a dent in the outstanding number, fixing a paltry 117 toilets.

Credit for raising awareness of this problem must go to civil society organisations, like Equal Education and Amnesty International, both of which have consistently raised the issue, highlighting the tardiness of the department in swiftly eradicating pit latrine toilets.

In a year, South Africans will go to the polls. Politicians are mindful of the mood of the people.

One can easily label the Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen as opportunistic in visiting the dead child’s parents. But Nelson Mandela did not own the trademark on compassion.

Sadly, the leaders left behind have not adopted his caring nature.

Yet, one cannot disagree with his saying that schools should be safe spaces for our children, not gravesites. Steenhuisen argues that Human Rights Day could not be commemorated until every child had access to safe and dignified sanitation at school. The parents of little Viki would agree.

“The drowning of our children in pit toilets goes far beyond a human rights violation; it is a horror that no South African should ever be forced to contemplate,” Steenhuisen lamented.

While Motshegka told the media that it would eradicate pit latrines by 2025, the DA went further, proposing a two-point plan to eliminate pit toilets at schools across the country.

In two years, Motshekga, one of the longest-serving education ministers in Africa, is unlikely to remain in her job. Who will be held accountable should the Department of Basic Education not deliver on its promise? It is not an option one would like to contemplate.

Therefore, one hopes that the DBE will pull out all the stops to eradicate at least half the pit latrines by the time democracy celebrates its 30th year in 2024. While the grieving parents of Langalam Viki mourn their little girl whose promising life was snuffed out, Motshekga must act with urgency.

Failure is not an option.

INSIDE EDUCATION

BASIC Education Minister Angie Motshekga has congratulated provinces on their improved academic performance during 2022 in the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination during her first meeting with district directors and senior DBE and Provincial Education Department (PED) officials earlier this month.

The Minister expressed gratitude to all district directors for their resilience during this challenging period as the first line of defence.

“Along with our circuit managers, you remain the heartbeat of the sector. We must now shift our focus towards quality. To this end, I am pleased to announce that the National Assessments and Public Examinations analysis is moving away from league tables towards the inclusive basket. As we celebrate the anniversary of the function migration, there is a lot to do with ECD, our new baby in the house. We have embarked on many projects to ensure better and more effective resourcing of early childhood education,” she said.

These include the ECD Census, which is helping the Department establish more robust planning systems, and the Thrive by Five Index, which is assisting the Department in strategically targeting its support.

“We are also driving the process of redrafting the Children’s Second Amendment Bill to make registration and access to funding more easily accessible to all ECD programmes. Guided by our anticipated Integrated ECD Service Delivery Model and Framework, based on the Five Pillars of Early Learning to bring all stakeholders on board, we need to prioritise access and quality,” the Minister said.

“We must continue with the Learning Recovery Plan and pay attention to Home Languages, emphasising languages in the Foundation Phase. The National School Nutrition Programme, which has successfully offered meals and created jobs for the local communities, should be expanded to fight malnutrition and stunting.”

“I am confident that this will be another great year for education, and I wish you all the best in
today’s deliberations and the year ahead,” the Minister concluded.

INSIDE EDUCATION

EDWIN NAIDU

MINISTER of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande, opened a computer lab at
Moloke Primary School in Sekhukhune last Friday, 24 connecting learners and young people studying
to the Internet.

The computer lab consists of two connected 12-meter upcycled storage containers, with computers powered by solar energy, to bridge the digital divide for learners in disadvantaged communities.

Limpopo MEC of Education, Mavhungu-Lerule Ramakhanya, and the Fetakgomo Tubatse Mayor, Eddie Edwin Maila, joined Nzimande in handing over the computer lab to the community of Sekhukhune.

This off-grid media lab project is initiated and funded through the department of science and Innovation’s Renewable and Sustainable Energy Research Hub and Spokes Programme.

Apart from assisting in teaching and learning, the National Youth Development Agency also used the lab to train 30 young people in business development. This demonstrates that government departments and entities can work closely to deliver services to the nation.

The media lab project is the culmination of a long-standing investment by the Department of Science and Innovation in the development and application of scientific knowledge domains.

“These media labs are also meant to advance publicly funded Intellectual property to enable technology localisation, job creation and service delivery to our people,” he said.

Through this project, Stellenbosch University will train interns from the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges.

The University has already recruited and trained one TVET College Graduate on solar PV and monitoring of the media labs.

This project will enable interns to secure Diplomas as part of their internship training for 18 months before they can get their qualification from the TVET college.

“What is also important is that our interns will get their qualification equipped with the scarce skills in the renewable energy sector where most people in rural areas do not normally participate,” the Minister said.

With the media laboratory at Moloke school, Sekhukhune TVET College is also involved.

This partnership will unlock the training of TVET college graduates in the scarce skills area of renewable
energy.

The media lab is off-grid, which was done to relieve the school from the pressure of buying
electricity to power the computers.

INSIDE EDUCATION