DATA from Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) scored universities worldwide based on graduate employability – showing that the University of Cape Town (UCT) has the best employment outcome in South Africa.

Attending university is a big decision for many people, as it often requires a significant investment of time and money. However, while there are several reasons why individuals choose to pursue higher education, the main reason is to increase their chances of finding a well-paid job.

QS is a British company specialising in the analysis of higher education institutions around the world. It said that it appreciates that for many students, a successful career is a primary goal of their university education.

This is the primary motivation for the creation of the Employment Outcomes indicator.

“QS have designed the Employment Outcomes indicator to reflect the ability of institutions to ensure a high level of employability for their graduates while also nurturing future leaders who go on to make an impact in their respective fields,” it said.

Rankings

This year’s QS World University Rankings include almost 1,500 institutions worldwide. The rankings compare institutions on various criteria, from academic and employer reputation to employment outcomes.

According to QS, the employment outcomes indicator combines two metrics, widely known from their QS Graduate Employability Rankings:

Graduate Employment Rate; and

Alumni Impact

The employment outcome indicator ranks the institutions based on these metrics and gives the universities a score out of 100.

According to QS, seven South African institutions ranked in the top 1000, with the University of Cape Town (UCT) having the best employment outcome with a score of 92.8.

The University of Witwatersrand (WITS) is second, and the University of Pretoria is third, scoring 89.2 and 56, respectively.

Regarding world rankings, the QS World University Rankings 2023 showed UCT on top as the best university in South Africa, ranking 237. In contrast, the University of Johannesburg (UJ), WITS, and Stellenbosch University ranked 412, 428, and 454, respectively.

The table below shows the employment outcomes score of all seven South African universities evaluated in the top 1000.

QS World RankingUniversityEmployment outcome score237University of Cape Town92.8428University of Witwatersrand89.2591-600University of Pretoria56.0454Stellenbosch University53.8801-1000Rhodes University50.0801-1000University of Kwa-Zulu Natal43.9412University of Johannesburg38.9

Methodology

Regarding the evaluation metrics, the Graduate Employment Rate is defined as the percentage of graduates who go on to paid work within 15 months of finishing their degree, said QS.

“We consider any mode of employment (full-time or part-time), even if unknown. We do not consider graduates who are on voluntary or unpaid work, continuing further study, or unavailable for work due to military service, disability, travel, or caring needs,” it added.

The analytics company noted that they source its data from the respective universities and third-party providers, such as Higher Education South Africa (HESA), and calculate the scores based on the difference between each institution’s rate and the country’s average.

The alumni impact indicator shows which institutions are producing impactful graduates in all walks of life, from performing arts to finance, medicine, and politics, said QS.

“To produce this list, we use a combination of over 40 externally published lists, such as the ‘100 most influential Africans’ and our own in-house sourced information. We also look at where the alumnus went to school, which degree they completed and in which subject, and their age,” it added.

The indicators are balanced against student numbers to ensure that larger and smaller institutions are proportionately evaluated.

Business Tech

A sports day focused on reducing crime was hosted by Sports Against Crime South Africa (Sacsa) in conjunction with the Secure Rite Security and local neighbourhood watches at Gordon High School, Western Cape, last weekend.

According to Sacsa president Vincent Daniels, the event focused on learners and giving them something to do that will inevitably draw them away from taking part in crime or become a statistic.

Doreen Finger, a resident of Lourencia Park, says many youths of the area are drawn into crime and drugs.

This is why the organisers decided to host a mini-run and six of the learners from the area who attended did a loop of the athletics field. Afterwards the young athletes each received a certificate for completing the run.

“This is why we try and organise events such as these because we try to fight crime with sports,” he said. “We have to thank the school’s principal Lizette Visser who availed the school grounds for us.”

Daniels reiterated the importance of an event like this, especially because crime has become so prevalent in schools.

Distrikspos

STAFF REPORTER

THE Gauteng Department of Education has confirmed that a Grade 10 boy who allegedly assaulted a female classmate has been suspended.

A video of the assault at Nic Diederichs High School in Krugersdorp has gone viral on social media.

The Gauteng Department of Education condemned the assault on the girl learner at the Krugersdorp school. 

‘‘The perpetrator was suspended on Wednesday, 1 February 2023, through correspondence that was served to his parents,’’ GDE spokesperson Steve Mabona said.

Mabona said a disciplinary hearing by the school’s Disciplinary Committee (DC) is scheduled for 12 February 2023.

“Our officials visited the school today to verify circumstances surrounding the incident. Our psycho-social support team has also been deployed to provide counselling and trauma support for the victim,’’ Mabona added.

Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane said that he strongly condemns any acts of misconduct by learners that dehumanises, demeans and potentially endangers other learners, and ultimately undermines the dignity of learning institutions.

He said learner ill-discipline will not be tolerated in Gauteng schools. 

The GDE appealed to parents in assisting to enforce discipline upon their children in and outside the school environment.

“We condemn, in the strongest sense, this despicable behaviour. No one can be allowed to assault anyone in our schools, and we especially condemn any form of gender-based violence in our schools. We are pleased that the perpetrator is suspended and will not be allowed back to our school before necessary rehabilitation,” said Chiloane.

Chiloane said the GDE will continue to monitor the situation and apply further interventions.

The school is not new to controversy.

In 2008, an 18-year-old Morne Harmse, known as the ‘Samurai Sword Killer’, attacked four people with a ‘‘samurai’’ sword.

Harmse took out a 60 centimeter katana sword and slit the throat of 16-year-old Jacques Pretorius who died on the scene.

He then, claiming that he was following Satan’s orders, slashed three other people, who were injured and survived the attack.

He was sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to all charges in April 2009, but he was released on parole in March 2020 with strict conditions.

INSIDE EDUCATION

The COVID-19 pandemic greatly affected the way that education is conceived and delivered worldwide. As institutions in South Africa adapt to the new learning environment and consider implications for students, faculty, and staff, technology plays a critical role in enabling successful outcomes both today and in the future.  

That’s why OneConnect and Anthology have partnered to support the South African education community and help more students and institutions achieve their goals. With a holistic approach to education technology that’s focused on delivering dynamic, data-informed experiences, OneConnect and Anthology are breaking down silos and connecting critical systems to open up a world of new possibilities for learning.  

Blending Data with Experiences 

A learner doesn’t exist inside one system alone, and neither does an institution. By bringing together data and insights across core solutions, the right technology can help educators develop a deeper understanding of students to deliver more personalised experiences tailored to meet the needs of each learner.

This also helps institutions drive operational efficiencies and meet objectives around critical areas like enrolment, retention, and engagement.  

And learners are hungry for more personalised experiences. According to a global survey recently fielded by Anthology, 66% of learners agree that their university views them as individuals with unique needs and preferences, but most learners express a desire for even greater personalisation.

For example, 70% would like to receive more reminders of deadlines and other key information, such as a notification about an outstanding bill or when to register for classes, as they would be more likely to complete the task on time or if prompted. And 71% would like to receive recommendations about which courses to take and when to do so during their academic career. 

More personalised experiences can also provide the support needed to keep students on track toward achieving their goals. Survey results indicate 40% of students strongly agree that they would like to receive more support from their university to be successful. Aligning that support to the areas in which students feel they need it is critical. More tailored financial aid and career-focused support top the list. 

Higher education leaders are nearly unanimous in their perspective on the potential impact that blending data and experiences could make. 94% globally agree that a holistic view of learner data pulled across multiple systems would benefit their team and help more students achieve their goals. The same percentage of higher education leaders are also actively looking for new opportunities to aggregate and analyse learner data to drive more insights. 

“By considering student feedback and investing in technology resources to deliver more personalisation across everything from course delivery options to career services, higher education leaders can position their university to provide an experience that meets the needs of today’s learners—and those of tomorrow,” said Jim Milton, Chairman and CEO, Anthology.  

“We believe that education technology solutions allow students in rural and remote areas access to the same quality of education as a child attending the best private school in the city. Furthermore, that student can interact with peers across the country and the continent; be exposed to new ideas and new opportunities, benefitting from the diversity and richness of their engagements. Our aim is to also help education institutions see that they can grow their businesses beyond brick and mortar and do so quickly – breaking down “walls” to reach students beyond their physical geography, through sophisticated solutions that make administration and teaching seamless,” said Rogers Sithole, MD of OneConnect Education. 

Learners want and expect technology to be more prevalent in their higher education experience and university leaders are keenly aware of opportunities to adjust course delivery and enhance technology. In fact, according to the same global survey, 60% believe their institution lacks some of the appropriate digital learning tools to help learners succeed. Perhaps more importantly, 17% of global leaders believe that the technology resources provided by their university do not match up with learner needs in a way that adequately supports their studies. But those same leaders clearly recognise a shifting landscape, with nearly 60% confident that more classes will be available online in the next five years. 

Institutions recognise the urgent need for new education technology as well as aligning their current tools to the changing landscape of digital learning. To that end, 45% of higher education leaders have maintained the same technology but significantly changed the way administrators, faculty, and students rely on digital resources, likely due to shifts associated with the pandemic.  

The good news is that universities are on the right track according to learners’ expectations of how technology is incorporated into their experience.

For example, 73% of students globally prefer to submit assignments in an online portal, and 70% indicate they often or always submit assignments this way. 70% of students also prefer to receive instructor feedback on assignments through an online platform, and 66% of students indicate they often or always receive feedback this way. As universities continue along the path to fully supporting learners, more investment in technology is necessary. University leaders are cognisant of this need, and more than half are considering additional investments. 

CNBCA

THE National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has introduced certain policy changes for the 2023 academic year to progressively address existing disparities between Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges and university beneficiaries’ bursary packages.

Announcing NSFAS 2023 funding eligibility and criteria during a media briefing held in Pretoria on Tuesday, NSFAS board chairperson, Ernest Khosa, said TVET college students studying occupational programmes can only be funded for the cost of tuition for the duration of the qualification.

“TVET college students,who are registered on an occupational qualification, may qualify for allowances only if in simulated training, and students registered on an occupational qualification, who have an employment contract, do not qualify for NSFAS allowances.

“TVET college graduates will be funded for a university undergraduate qualification regardless of the benefit that they would have derived from the application of the N+ rule at a TVET college level (on condition they did not exceed the TVET N+ rule),” Khosa explained.

“N” is the minimum number of years allocated to complete a qualification and the +1 refers to the extra year that a student may need to complete the qualification.

On academic eligibility, Khosa announced that as of 2023, first-time entering students must achieve a course credit pass rate of 50%, while continuing university students must achieve a progressive course credit pass rate of 55%, and returning university students must meet ongoing academic eligibility requirements in order to remain funded by NSFAS.

“The N+ rule for distance university students will be reviewed as of 2024, and academic progression criteria will increase from 55% to 60% over time. On allowances, our board directed the executive management to introduce processes that enable the entity to reduce the risk of abuse of its funds,” Khosa said.

Khosa said the payment of allowances will be made directly by NSFAS into the students’ NSFAS bank account and NSFAS funded students are required to complete the NSFAS direct payment on-boarding process to prepare for the payment of allowances into their account.

“Through direct payment, NSFAS beneficiaries will receive their allowances for food, personal care, transport etc., through a NSFAS bank account; and after being registered on the system, students will receive virtual and/or physical cards they will use to transact.

“Additionally, students will be able to make online transactions such as EFT, prepaid purchases, receive from and transfer money to other existing banks, just as with a normal bank account, and other benefits include access to value-added services, ATM cash withdrawals, as well as at retail stores,” Khosa explained.

To ensure that all NSFAS students are on board, Khosa said the scheme has assigned NSFAS teams to institutions, and its service partners will join them when visiting all institutions from February 2023 to assist with on-boarding and query handling.

“Currently, the focus of the NSFAS teams is to encourage university students to on-board the new system in the meantime, as we prepare for university implementation later in the year. I would like to request that the SRCs, together with the student unions responsible for both our TVET colleges and universities, work together with the teams to make this process seamless,” Khosa said.

SA NEWS

JONATHAN JANSEN

What happens when those responsible for managing universities cannot trust each other to act with integrity? In a nutshell, as I discuss in my new book, Corrupted: A study of chronic dysfunction in South African universities, dysfunction is the consequence.

This is the situation playing out in some South African universities – sometimes with fatal results. In early January 2023, a protection officer who was guarding Fort Hare University vice-chancellor Professor Sakhela Buhlungu was shot dead in an apparent assassination attempt. The shooting has been linked to ongoing investigations into corruption at the university.

This appears to be just one example of how eroded trust has led to conflict among university managers that’s spilled into the public domain.

The principal conclusion I reach in my book is that chronic dysfunction in a sample of South African universities can be explained by two intertwined factors. One is institutional capacity. This is the expert ability to lead, manage and administer universities. The other is institutional integrity – the steering academic values that buffer universities against instability. Where both capacity and integrity are weak, dysfunction is inevitable.

Integrity matters

Individual integrity involves a person acting honestly and doing the right thing. It means consistency in the values that connect words and actions. An institution with integrity has been described as: an organisation that defines and acts within a strong code of ethical conduct and positive values.

It doesn’t tolerate deviance from the code by its employees or partners.

Universities with high levels of institutional integrity vigorously pursue their core mandate. This is rooted in a strong sense of academic values. It is the glue that holds functional universities together and focuses their operations. Those academic values also steady an institution in turbulent times.

It doesn’t tolerate deviance from the code by its employees or partners.

Universities with high levels of institutional integrity vigorously pursue their core mandate. This is rooted in a strong sense of academic values. It is the glue that holds functional universities together and focuses their operations. Those academic values also steady an institution in turbulent times.

Such values centre on high-quality teaching, higher learning and cutting-edge research. Together these values advance social and human development. They are prominent on management’s weekly meetings agendas, on senate’s term meetings and on council’s quarterly meetings. Everything revolves around the academic project.

The case of student protests

One of the most important functions of academic values is to hold the institution together in times of challenge. For instance, how does an institution react when the integrity of the academic degree is at risk because of a prolonged shutdown?

In 2015 and 2016, students embarked on historic protests at campuses across South Africa. They demanded free and decolonised higher education. The press for free higher education arose because degree studies were becoming more expensive. This excluded more and more people from university. The decolonisation movement at formerly white universities protested that the curriculum was too European, the professors too white, and the institutional culture too alienating.

In response to the disruptions, the better-resourced, formerly white universities quickly transitioned to emergency remote teaching to ensure that the academic year was not lost. This highlights the importance of academic values to those institutions.

By contrast, in 2021, after a dysfunctional university specialising in the health sciences was shut down by routine protests for months on end, the students received their degrees as if nothing had happened.

The academic project was seriously compromised. But there was little institutional concern about the integrity of the degrees.

It is quite possible to see a structure or an organisation and to misrecognise it as an institution of higher learning. It would be easy to be fooled by the symbolic functions – like graduation – and administrative routines – such as registration – of university life and mistake these for a university. As I have argued elsewhere, a university ceases to exist when the intellectual project no longer defines its identity, infuses its curriculum, energises its scholars, and inspires its students.

When integrity is undermined

The crisis of dysfunctional institutions commonly arises when universities make compromised decisions on everything from tenders for infrastructure to appointments of key personnel. Such decisions compound foundational weaknesses and increase the risk of systemic failure. This is how institutional dysfunction begins and is sustained: through the breaching of institutional integrity.

The institutional integrity of vulnerable institutions is weakened, for example, through the decisions it makes about personnel appointments and promotions. Critical skill sets are compromised by populating crucial positions in administration with friends and family members. In one instance, as I document in the book, a whistle-blower at a serially dysfunctional university gave the new administrator “a list of all the family members appointed by the vice-chancellor”. Action was promised. None was taken.

The integrity of the academy is undermined even more when people who would not enjoy such elevation at an established university are promoted to senior academic positions in the name of equity.

And the governance of an institution is placed at serious risk through the appointment to council of junior members who have never governed anything in their lives. A university council is the most senior body responsible for governance. It should consist of senior people from professional fields with the experience to govern a higher education institution.

Tackling the crisis

There is no shortcut to restoring the institutional integrity of a chronically dysfunctional university.

It requires the appointment of smaller, professional councils without political interference. It demands competent leaders who are not beholden to political parties or factions. These leaders must hold strong convictions about the importance of academic values in the gradual rebuilding of a university.

This is an edited excerpt from the book, Corrupted: A study of chronic dysfunction in South African universities (Wits University Press, 2023).

THE CONVERSATION

THE MEC for Education in Kwa-Zulu Natal, Mbali Frazer, has hailed the 2022 matric top achievers from uThukela for flying the district’s flag high.

She was speaking during the 2022 Matric Excellence Awards ceremony hosted by the Okhahlamba Local Municipality, in Bergville.

Speakers at the event reflected on the journey of educators, learners and all stakeholders who played a role in improving the results for the 2022 academic year. 

“The outcome of 2022 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination was also as a result of the great support our learners received from their educators and parents,” said Frazer.

Frazer also expressed her concerns with some schools which have been continuously underperforming in the NSC examinations.

She told a packed hall that necessary interventions will be implemented in these schools to help them to improve their pass rate. 

“These will include providing academic support and resources for relevant learning areas. We will also be strengthening accountability in the affected schools because we want those responsible to know that poor performance will never be tolerated,” said Frazer. 

Frazer further encouraged all the learners who obtained their matric certificates to further their studies. She cautioned them about distractions saying when they get to institutions of higher learning, they must always remember the reason why they went there in the first place.  

The event concluded with awards being handed to former learners for their oustanding performance in various catergories.

 The event tool place at the Okhahlamba Sports Complex. 

INSIDE EDUCATION 

THE 2022 Sportsman of the Year nominee for the University of Johannesburg (UJ) Sports Awards, Tshwanelo Aabobe, aspires to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France.

Having experienced a difficult year of injuries and contracting COVID-19 that took him out for two months, Aabobe remains resolute in competing at the highest level.

In 2022, he won the 2022 Central Gauteng Championships in the long jump and took gold and silver medals at the 2022 University Sport South Africa (USSA) championships in high and long jumps.

He came short in the CAA Senior African Athletics Championships in Mauritius, finishing in 4th position in the men’s high jump when he represented Botswana.

Aabobe started his athletics journey in 2007. He competed for the first time in the 2009 Confederation of School Sport Association of Southern Africa Championship (COSSASA) games Under17 championships, finishing 4th place.

The COSSASA games are part of the schools programme for the Southern African Development Communities (SADC) in countries like Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mauritius, Angola, and Zambia. They include the Under 13, 15 and 17 girls and boys who participate in different sporting codes.

He grew up in various parts of Botswana, spending most of his life in Tlokweng, a village on the outskirts of the capital city Gaborone. He was part of Jwaneng Athletics from 2010 to 2014 before joining the University of Botswana Athletics in 2015 and later the UJ Athletics in 2019.

“It means a lot to be part of UJ Athletics. We are a very huge and tight family here. The support we have for each other keeps us extra motivated to work even harder,” says Aabobe.

He is a student at UJ, enrolled in Advanced Diploma in Transport Management, and a triple, high and long jumper. Winning a bronze medal at the 2011 African Junior Championships is, he says, his career highlight.

Currently, Aabobe is planning ahead; “My aspirations are to be included in the 2023 World Championships squad and qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games.”

Yiba.co.za

TODAY, the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, or NCSES—part of the U.S. National Science Foundation—released Diversity and STEM: Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities 2023, the federal government’s latest and most complete analysis of diversity trends in STEM employment and education.

“Diversity is America’s unique advantage in science and technology,” said NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan. “Our global leadership depends upon diversity, leveraging different backgrounds, experiences, and points of view to bring unique insights to problem solving and discovery. The Diversity and STEM report provides objective, reliable data on where our nation has made progress towards access and equity in STEM education and careers, as well as where we must do more.”

The new report shows more women, as well as Black, Hispanic, American Indian, and Alaska Native people collectively, worked in STEM jobs over the past decade, diversifying that workforce, and are earning more degrees in science and engineering fields at all levels compared to previous years.

However, those groups—as well as people with disabilities—broadly remain underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics when compared to their overall distribution in the U.S. population, reflecting the larger equity challenges our nation faces.

In addition to bringing a wide range of ideas, creativity and skills to bear on innovation and discovery, equal access to the STEM workforce is important because those jobs are associated with higher wages and lower unemployment rates—regardless of sex, race, ethnicity or disability status.

Formerly called Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering, the Diversity and STEM report is the first in this series to look beyond careers that require a bachelor’s degree, an educational milestone that reflects only half of the STEM workforce.

“A highlight of this year’s edition of Diversity and STEM is the use of a broader definition of ‘STEM work’, providing a better understanding of STEM representation by different demographic groups,” said NCSES Director Emilda B. Rivers. “For the first time, we count in STEM statistics all groups whose work requires a high level of technical knowledge, regardless of their degree.”

The report suggests women and Hispanics in particular have made significant progress over the past decade, both in terms of increased representation in the STEM workforce and in their participation in higher education. However, those broad patterns are not universal across all STEM occupations and fields of study.

For example, women make up much smaller proportions of the college-educated workforce in the computer and mathematical sciences, biological sciences, physical sciences and engineering compared to the social sciences. Separately, underrepresented minorities make up a third of the workforce in STEM jobs that typically do not require a college degree for entry. However, those jobs tend to have the lowest salaries and highest unemployment in STEM.

About 3% of the STEM workforce are people with disabilities. Although the number of STEM workers with at least one disability increased since 2011, their representation in the STEM workforce has remained unchanged from a decade ago.

NSF first started publishing data on underrepresented groups in STEM in 1977. In 1980, Congress mandated this report be produced every two years, and the report began incorporating people with disabilities in 1994. Today, the STEM workforce includes 12.3 million women (35% of the STEM workforce), 8.3 million members of underrepresented minority groups (24%), and 1 million people with disabilities (3%).

Among the report’s findings:

Women earned half of science and engineering bachelor’s degrees (50%) and associates degrees (49%). Women represented about one-third of the STEM workforce (35%), and their wages were consistently lower than men’s.

Women, as well as Hispanic and Black students, continued to pursue advanced degrees in science and engineering fields in increasing numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Collectively, Hispanic, Black, American Indian, and Alaska Native people made up 31% of the U.S. population, but 24% of the STEM workforce in 2021. They were more likely to work in STEM occupations that require technical skills or certification than in those that require a bachelor’s degree or higher education.

Hispanic, Black, American Indian, and Alaska Native STEM workers have lower median earnings than white or Asian STEM workers. Hispanic students have made significant advances in earning associate’s degrees in science and engineering fields.

The total number of those degrees awarded to Hispanic students tripled between 2011 and 2020, bringing their share of associate’s degrees awarded in science and engineering fields to 32%. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of Hispanics in STEM are in jobs that do not require a four-year degree, making up nearly one-fourth of those workers (24%).

Unemployment rates in 2021 for STEM workers who were Black (6.6%) and Hispanic (5.7%) were higher than for white (2.9%) and Asian (2.3%) workers.

Bachelor’s degrees in science and engineering fields earned by American Indian and Alaska Native students declined between 2011 and 2020, both in number and as a proportion of all degrees awarded.

– Among workers with at least one disability, 21% worked in STEM occupations in 2021, and 3% of the STEM workforce were people with disabilities.

– Among science and engineering doctorate recipients in 2021, 11% reported having at least one disability.

PHYSICAL inactivity is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. It’s also associated with chronic illness and disability. Recent research estimates that the world could see close to half a billion new cases of major chronic diseases by 2030 if people don’t get more active. Regular physical activity helps to prevent and manage many chronic diseases. Popular ways to be physically active include walking, cycling, and playing sports.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that children and adolescents (5-17 years old) get an average of at least 60 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity. This should incorporate vigorous aerobic activities, as well as those that strengthen muscle and bone, at least three days a week.

It’s also recommended that children spend no more than two hours a day on recreational screen time. These recommendations aim to improve children’s physical and mental health, as well as cognitive outcomes.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, physical activity among children and adolescents was already below the recommended levels. In 2016, 81% of adolescents around the world aged 11-17 were considered physically inactive. Girls were less active than boys.

The pandemic has made matters worse. Physical inactivity in children and adolescents has become a global public health priority. It is now included in global action plans.

For example, using 2016 as baseline, the WHO through its Global Action Plan on Physical Activity targeted a 15 percentage point reduction in prevalence of physical inactivity among adolescents by 2030. This call to action also implored other international organisations and governments to help track progress in physical activity promotion among children and adolescents.

In response to this global physical inactivity crisis, the international call to action, and the need to systematically collect comparable data, the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance recently published a major study, the first to provide a comprehensive assessment of physical activity among children and adolescents. Published in October 2022, the study included data that were collected before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We were among the 682 experts who assessed 10 common physical activity indicators for children and adolescents around the world.

Our study shows physical activity among children and adolescents has not gotten better. About one-third of children and adolescents globally were sufficiently physically active while a little over one-third met the recreational screen time recommendation for better health and well being. These findings indicate that a significant proportion of children and adolescent who do not meet recommended physical activity guidelines are at an increased risk of negative outcomes as well as developing related chronic diseases at a much earlier age.

COVID effect

Most of the experts involved in our study agree that the childhood physical inactivity crisis is an ongoing public health challenge and the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have made it worse. When surveyed, more than 90% of the experts reported that COVID-19 had a negative impact on children’s sedentary behaviours, organised sport and physical activity. Our findings are supported by numerous studies.

Lockdowns imposed at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic led to school shutdowns and closures of public parks, which hampered children’s levels of physical activity. Research suggests that children’s moderate-to-vigorous physical activity decreased by 17 minutes per day during the pandemic. That represents a reduction of almost one-third of the recommended daily activity. Another global study representing 187 countries showed a collective 27.3% decrease in the daily step counts of individuals after 30 days of COVID-19 related restrictions.

Our study

Four African countries participated in our study –Botswana, Ethiopia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

The grading ranged from as high as A+ (large majority, 94%-100% of children and adolescents achieving recommended levels) to as low as F (less than 20% achieving recommended levels).

Children and adolescents from the four African countries were marginally more physically active than children from the rest of the world. They received C- (47%–53% of them met recommendations) for overall physical activity compared to the D (27%–33% met recommendations) for the rest of the world. More children and adolescents from the African countries used active transport (B-; 60%–66%), were less sedentary (C-; 40%–46%) and were more physically fit (C+; 54%–59%), compared to the rest of the world (C-, D+ and C-) respectively.

An important success story from this global comparison of grades is that despite the lack of infrastructure, average grades for individual behaviours were generally better for the African countries. This could be reflecting necessity, rather than choice. For example, children might be forced to walk to school because there’s no affordable transport. Nonetheless it shows that it is still possible to promote healthy lifestyles even when resources are limited.

Factors such as having supportive family and friends, safer communities, positive school environments and adequate resources are often associated with better participation in physical activity. Average grades for these sources of influence were generally lower for the four African countries than those of the rest of the world. These findings demonstrate the challenges related to community safety, a general lack of infrastructure, and funding to support healthy behaviours for children and adolescents in African countries.

Overall, there wasn’t enough data to accurately grade all the indicators for the African countries. Botswana was the only country for which we were able to assign grades for each of the 10 common indicators. The other three countries had at least one incomplete grade each. Lack of representative data is a common and often recurring problem in many low- and middle-income countries. It also means that our findings must be interpreted with caution. For example, we can’t say with certainty that these findings are representative of all the children and adolescents from these four countries or the region as a whole.

Way forward

In many parts of Africa, the prevalence of infectious and other diseases justifiably demands attention and resources. These needs can out compete the messages about physical inactivity, whose negative impact may be silent but still detrimental to population health.

We need to persistently advocate for policies and practices, anchored in the African context, and promote equitable opportunities for children to engage in physical activity. These can include active school recesses and extracurricular programmes. Countries need to ensure access to safe, free public spaces, green spaces, playgrounds and sporting facilities. Finally, researchers and public health practitioners must track the progress towards meeting the WHO’s targets.

THE CONVERSATION