Lerato Mbhiza

THE Department of Higher Education says that qualifications from the four Educor-owned colleges that were deregistered are still valid.

Last month, the Department announced that the deregistration of City Varsity (Pty) Ltd, Damelin (Pty) Ltd, Icesa City Campus (Pty) Ltd and Lyceum College (Pty) Ltd after Educor failed to provide the required audited financial results for 2021 and 2022.

The Department granted the four colleges a phase-out period for students already in the pipeline. 

The Department also has assured the students, alternative academic institutions and employers that qualifications issued or obtained during the period of registration and during the phase-out period, remain valid and recognised.

Thus, the four colleges still have an obligation to award the students their qualifications during the period of registration and during the phase-out period, the Department said.

The Department also stressed that qualifications issued previously or during the phase-out period remained valid. 

It said the four colleges were obligated to their students to award them their qualifications and conclude the rest of the academic year.

The Department emphasised its decision to cancel the registration statuses of these colleges which remained intact. 

Over 13,000 students were affected by the deregistration, the Department said.

The Educor Colleges had failed to fulfil the requirements for registration contemplated in Section 57(2)(b) of the (Higher Education) Act. 

They also failed to submit their annual financial statements and  tax clearance certificates for the 2021/2022 years. This is proof of their financial viability.

Nzimande said the four Educor brands are deemed as dysfunctional. They had been measured by the daily complaints and grievances received from students. Most of these remain unresolved.

“Educor (Pty) Ltd claims to have 50,000 [students] in the system. This information is incorrect since the 2022 annual reports indicate the breakdown of student enrolment as: City Varsity (540) students, Damelin (4,012), Icesa City Campus (145) and Lyceum College (8,399). This  totals to 13,096,” Nzimande said.

Nzimande further revealed that Educor lied about the number of students they have.

INSIDE POLITICS

Johnathan Paoli

THE Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has acknowledged the statement released by Curro Holdings regarding its recent social media post which conveyed a racially unbalanced narrative regarding the potential future careers of students currently enrolled at its schools.

The GDE spokesperson Steve Mabona released a statement on Wednesday morning and said while the department noted the statement, it was important to regard this incident within a background of the controversial history of Curro schools, which have become notorious for their racism and anti-Black violence.

“The GDE does not take such racial incidents lightly as they may be cultivating attitudes which reflect a society that has not fully dealt with racism, and this poses a threat not only to the education system and the model citizens it envisages to create, but also to a nation that still tirelessly works towards overcoming such attitudes,” Mabona said.

This follows the release of pictures of primary school pupils’ career day event which showed a black child posed as a cashier while white children posed as veterinarians, among other professions.

Curro apologised on Sunday, acknowledging the picture was initially posted by the company on social media but was deleted after a backlash and promised to investigate, as questions arose about whether the child chose to pose as a cashier or Curro officials made the decision.

The spokesperson said that there was an urgent need to investigate the constitutionality of Curro’s value system, and whether there is enough consicentisation of racial equality and human rights across all its institutions and personnel.

In addition, Mabona said that it was fundamental to verify whether there are indeed appropriate means of accountability for those who may refuse to embrace equality and non racialism at its institutions.

INSIDE EDUCATION

Staff Reporter

In a rapidly evolving and highly competitive job market, where skills and qualifications play a pivotal role in career progression, the issue of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is rightfully coming to the fore.

Many individuals across South Africa have worked diligently in various roles and industries, accumulating valuable knowledge and skills over many years. However, when they seek to climb the career ladder or transition to a new job, their hard-earned expertise often goes unrecognised due to their lack of relevant qualifications and without consideration of their real-life track record and achievements.

“Our country faces significant socio-economic challenges. Aspiring professionals, including those who have worked in entry-level and minimum-wage positions, find themselves at a crossroads. They possess practical skills, problem-solving abilities, customer service experience and industry-specific knowledge – all highly sought-after skills – but their lack of formal qualifications hinders their upward mobility. 

“In this way, the gap between practical experience and formal recognition creates almost insurmountable barriers for career advancement,” explains Siyavuya Makubalo, Marketing Manager at Oxbridge Academy, a brand of ADvTECH, South Africa’s leading private education provider.

Upon receipt of a certificate of completion, students can articulate a qualification in their preferred field, with the RPL certificate serving as confirmation of their skills and knowledge. Its purpose is to bridge the gap between practical expertise and formal qualifications, allowing people to advance their qualifications and careers. 

“This serves as a beacon of hope for those seeking career progression, who want to improve their prospects but were not able to do so before,” says Makubalo.

She says the RPL process provides a structured framework for assessing and validating an individual’s prior learning. 

“It is an acknowledgement of the skills and knowledge you’ve collected through work and life experience, transferring them to a current training course’s requirements to gain entry to the specific training course you want to study.”

Upon receipt of a certificate of completion, students can articulate into a qualification in their preferred field, with the RPL certificate serving as confirmation of their skills and knowledge.

“Recognition of Prior Learning is a much-needed transformative process that acknowledges an individual’s existing expertise, regardless of whether it was gained through formal education, work experience, or self-directed learning. It provides a pathway for individuals to have their skills and knowledge assessed, validated and formally recognised.

“In addition to the formal recognition, students also gain confidence in their abilities. They recognise that their practical know-how matters and can be a stepping stone to greater opportunities. Armed with validated skills, individuals can apply for promotions, switch industries, study further or explore lateral moves.”

New app will tell SA potato farmers exactly when, where and how much to water

Staff Reporter

With unpredictable electricity, rainfall and municipal water supply, South African farmers may need faith like potatoes to manage crop irrigation. 

But, scientific suggestions from their smartphones to prevent under or over-watering would also help.

University of Pretoria researchers say that data from satellite imagery and local weather stations have been “calibrated” for the first time in South Africa to inform irrigation strategies on potato farms in the western Free State. The data will be available as an app showing simple indicators of how much irrigation is needed on a particular day.

Once the technology is fully available to potato growers, it will be fairly easy to adapt it to other crops like maize and onions and for other farming regions. 

“Farmers will be benefiting directly, and also the researchers and agronomists supporting the growers,” says Alex Mukiibi, a PhD candidate at UP’s Department of Plant and Soil Sciences.

While using remote sensing (satellite images) and weather data for more precise irrigation is not new, says Mukiibi, the technology had not been properly adapted for local soil conditions, local potato varieties and local weather patterns until now. 

He explains that remote sensing data must be validated for any unique set of conditions, meaning that it must be checked against true measurements taken on the ground, so that farmers can trust it.

For the scientifically-minded, Mukiibi describes the technical details of this work in the journal Remote Sensing, alongside his supervisor at UP, Prof Martin Steyn, and Prof Angelinus Franke of the University of the Free State.

But for the rest of the country’s potato lovers, this advance means farmers will save on power and water costs, improving sustainability and ensuring that we can enjoy our chips and mash reasonably.

“If we go out for dinner, the team has to eat chips; they cannot choose any other starch,” jokes Steyn. 

“I’ve been working in crop irrigation management and on potatoes for my whole life,” says Steyn. Potatoes are a drought-sensitive crop, and they are expensive to grow, so the risk is very high. We see the negative effects of water, pumping, and load shedding costs on farmers.”

Steyn says that in the 1970s and 1980s, only about 50% of potato growers irrigated their crops, whereas now it is closer to 85%.

However, most farmers are still not using the many tools and technologies already available to enable “smart farming” because they are expensive, difficult for non-experts to use, or unavailable in a single app.

Recognising this gap, researchers like Steyn, Mukiibi, and others are working with the industry to deliver remote sensing-based crop water-use data to farmers’ smart devices simply and quickly.

Potatoes SA funded this first “ground truthing” calibration step. Mukiibi and his technical assistants, Nozi Radebe and Stéfan Steenekamp, collected soil and crop data directly on the ground at specific farms in the western Free State. 

Enter the 2023 SADC Secondary Schools Essay Competition

All secondary/high school-going students from all 16 Southern African Development Community (SADC) Member States were invited to take part in a competition for South African Development Community (SADC) learners.

The topic for the 2024 SADC Secondary School Essay competition is; “How can Human and Financial Capital drive Industrial Development in the SADC Region?”

The topic is derived from the theme of the 43rd Ordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government held in Luanda, Republic of Angola, on 17th August 2023, which is; “Human and Financial Capital: The Key Drivers for Sustainable Industrialisation in the SADC Region”. 

The theme seeks to address two of the most critical enablers in supporting regional industrialisation: adequate human resources in terms of numbers and technical capacity within the context of climate change and the fourth Industrial Revolution and adequate financial resources to ensure more sustainable funding mechanisms.

The essay must contain a maximum of 1000 words and a minimum of 900 words in English, and a maximum of 1200 words and a minimum of 1100 words in French and Portuguese. Essays that do not comply with the permissible number of words will not be considered.

A complete word count must be provided at the end of the essay. Learners must provide references for their work where necessary; however, references do not contribute to the entry’s word count. The preferred format of citation is APA. To facilitate simple sequencing, each answer must be accompanied by the question at the top. Learners are cautioned against using the bullet point format for their work.

The deadline for submission of entries to the Department of Basic Education is 19 April 2024.  

ALL entries must be typed and submitted electronically in Microsoft Word and hard copies. Entrants should sign and initial each page of the hard copy document to ensure that it has not been altered.

All essays entering the competition should be in one of the SADC working languages, i.e., English, Portuguese, or French. All submissions must contain full names, contact details, the name of the school, and the province.

Marking Guidelines:

The questions below are meant to guide entrants when responding to the question above. In answering the question above, secondary school learners should ensure that they address the questions listed below in their essays;

What is human and financial capital, and why is it important for industrial development? (20 points)

SADC continues undertaking its activities and initiatives, especially those encouraging industrialisation. How does access to financial resources impact the growth of industries in the SADC region? (20 points)

Pillar III on Social and Human Capital Development in the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) 2020-2030 is essential to industrialisation and regional integration and ensures human-centred, inclusive, and sustainable socio-economic development. Give examples of how the SADC region can invest in human resources to foster industrial growth. (20 points) 

Social and human capital development is crucial for SADC to fulfil its goals of regional integration, economic growth, and citizen well-being. Discuss the role of human capital in promoting industrial development. (20 points)

Discuss any ideas or approaches to enhance the region’s industrial development without overreliance on International Cooperation Partners (ICPs) and donors’ contributions. (20 points).

 INSIDE EDUCATION 

Inside Education

Distance learning students affected by the deregistration of Educor Colleges will receive support from Oxbridge Academy, the distance learning division of JSE-listed ADvTECH.

This follows the pledge of support by The Independent Institute of Education, ADvTECH’s higher education division.

Siyavuya Makubalo, Marketing Manager of Oxbridge Academy, says ADvTECH’s support for distance learners will be a welcome relief to affected students and will ensure that no student is left behind.

“We are committed to helping students continue their distance studies successfully and without interruption,” she says.

As a distance learning college, students can continue with their studies without delay, and would only need to submit their statements of results.

Makubalo says Oxbridge Academy has initiated a centralised process to ensure students are quickly and correctly advised. 

“We enrol students throughout the year, so affected students can continue their studies without delay, and without having to wait for the second semester.”

Affected students who would like to enquire about their options of transferring to Oxbridge Academy can email info@oxbridgeacademy.edu.za or WhatsApp 066 376 376 for assistance.

Oxbridge Academy will assist students with queries regarding similar qualifications and the process for applying for academic credits.

Support for students will be assessed at an individual level, given the variables at play. In general, the process ahead will be as follows:

Oxbridge Academy offers various courses from matric to National Qualifications and National N Diplomas. Through its dedicated and experienced student advisors, Oxbridge Academy will guide students through the necessary steps to ensure they are fully informed. 

Students need to send through their statement of results, which will allow Oxbridge Academy to conduct an academic credit mapping exercise for each student. This will entail assessing the overlap between modules the student has passed on the scholarly record.

Fee credits will be granted for module credits, i.e. the total programme fee will be reduced by the cost of the module/s. Students will only pay for their modules or qualifications with Oxbridge Academy.

“Our focus as Oxbridge Academy is to support former Educor students in successfully obtaining their qualifications without interrupting their study period,” says Makubalo.

INSIDE EDUCATION

Inside Education Reporter

During the recent three-day Lekgotla deliberations, Minister Angie Motshekga called the gathering the “village where robust discussions brainstorm the education sector factors impacting the holistic development, teaching and learning of the African child”.

The opening session, a Plenary, featured four presentations that set the scene for the proceedings.

Sophia Ndemutila Ashipala, Head of Education Division: African Union (AU), spoke about Building Resilient Education Systems for Increased Access to Inclusive, Lifelong, Quality, and Relevant Learning in Africa for the 21st Century, unpacking the African Union theme launched during the AU Summit. 

The African Union has designated 2024 as The Year of Education in Africa under the theme Educate an African Fit for the 21st Century: Building Resilient Education Systems for increased access to inclusive, lifelong, quality, and relevant learning in Africa.

This theme was unpacked with the Lekgotla theme for a holistic continental and global approach to the Education Sector and South Africa’s unique challenges.

Prof Heila-Lotz Sisitka, Director: Environmental Learning Research Centre, Rhodes University, South Africa presented on the Mainstreaming Education for Sustainable Development into Education (towards ESD 2030). 

She summarised the mainstreaming of ESD in ten points. These are: Empathy and Care; Visionary leadership, good policy and strategy; a Systems approach to mainstreaming all parts of the whole; Intersectoral and inter-agency collaboration and shared ownership; Working collaboratively; Maximising existing programmes, partnerships and resources; Training and co-learning support at all levels; Inclusivity; Sharing of knowledge; and Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting to Learn together (MERL).

Sizwe Nxasana, Chairperson: NECT Council, spoke about Education for Economic Reconstruction and Recovery: Approach, Process and Content. He highlighted Language, Mathematics and the role of technology in his presentation and reflected on education achievements during the past few years including the NSNP, the shift of ECD, the Three Stream Curriculum Model and Coding and Robotics, “but the journey is far from complete whilst inequality persists,” he said, adding that, Language plays a crucial role in developing crucial content and skills.

Prof Martin Gustafsson, Researcher at the DBE, spoke about Recent South African Trends and what they mean for the future. “Skills for the 21st Century are not only about Mathematics and Science, but this is inevitably an important part.

“The Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA) states that the relevance of secondary education remains a concern as it relates to employability, technical and vocational training and articulation with tertiary education.

“Mathematics and Science at this level are critical to developing a well-equipped human capital capable of competing in an increasingly Science and Technology-driven world, as well as the foundation for knowledge-based economies”.

Prof Gustafsson presented SA trends on participation in mathematics, science, practical subjects, urban versus rural data, and gender participation and performance. “We need this reliable data for planning purposes and redirect knowledge and skills for a changing world,” he said.

Day two started with a short presentation on Values in Education compiled by Professor John Volmink, Former Chair of the Umalusi Council. This was followed by four presentations on Digital Transformation in Education. 

The second session for the day started with a discussion on Artificial Intelligence followed by two input presentations on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Learning. 

The third session for the morning featured two presentations on Skilling the Education Workforce and improving teacher quality. Session 3 also included three presentations on the sub-theme: Utilizing Digital learning to contribute to Teacher Development. A panel discussion on Entrepreneurship Education followed this.

The DBE also launched the Spotlight Report on Basic Education Completion and Foundational Learning, providing evidence-based insights and analysis of foundational learning in South Africa, during the Lekgotla.

The report calls for urgent action to increase access for all children and boost primary pupils’ reading, writing and mathematics skills.

This is one of four country reports produced in partnership with UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report, the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) and the African Union as part of the Spotlight report series on African foundational learning.

The Report offers a diagnosis of the current state of South Africa’s foundational education, focusing on the curriculum and presenting concrete actions to improve basic skills, teacher support mechanisms and learning assessments.

INSIDE EDUCATION

Staff Reporter

With unpredictable electricity, rainfall and municipal water supply, South African farmers may need faith like potatoes to manage crop irrigation. 

But, scientific suggestions from their smartphones to prevent under or over-watering would also help.

University of Pretoria researchers say that data from satellite imagery and local weather stations have been “calibrated” for the first time in South Africa to inform irrigation strategies on potato farms in the western Free State. The data will be available as an app showing simple indicators of how much irrigation is needed on a particular day.

Once the technology is fully available to potato growers, it will be fairly easy to adapt it to other crops like maize and onions and for other farming regions. 

“Farmers will be benefiting directly, and also the researchers and agronomists supporting the growers,” says Alex Mukiibi, a PhD candidate at UP’s Department of Plant and Soil Sciences.

While using remote sensing (satellite images) and weather data for more precise irrigation is not new, says Mukiibi, the technology had not been properly adapted for local soil conditions, local potato varieties and local weather patterns until now. 

He explains that remote sensing data must be validated for any unique set of conditions, meaning that it must be checked against true measurements taken on the ground, so that farmers can trust it.

For the scientifically-minded, Mukiibi describes the technical details of this work in the journal Remote Sensing, alongside his supervisor at UP, Prof Martin Steyn, and Prof Angelinus Franke of the University of the Free State.

But for the rest of the country’s potato lovers, this advance means farmers will save on power and water costs, improving sustainability and ensuring that we can enjoy our chips and mash reasonably.

“If we go out for dinner, the team has to eat chips; they cannot choose any other starch,” jokes Steyn. 

“I’ve been working in crop irrigation management and on potatoes for my whole life,” says Steyn. Potatoes are a drought-sensitive crop, and they are expensive to grow, so the risk is very high. We see the negative effects of water, pumping, and load shedding costs on farmers.”

Steyn says that in the 1970s and 1980s, only about 50% of potato growers irrigated their crops, whereas now it is closer to 85%.

However, most farmers are still not using the many tools and technologies already available to enable “smart farming” because they are expensive, difficult for non-experts to use, or unavailable in a single app.

Recognising this gap, researchers like Steyn, Mukiibi, and others are working with the industry to deliver remote sensing-based crop water-use data to farmers’ smart devices simply and quickly.

Potatoes SA funded this first “ground truthing” calibration step. Mukiibi and his technical assistants, Nozi Radebe and Stéfan Steenekamp, collected soil and crop data directly on the ground at specific farms in the western Free State. 

INSIDE EDUCATION

Sports Correspondent

Four softball representatives from the University of Fort Hare played starring roles in the USSA national women’s team’s fortunes at the senior National Provincial Championships (NPCs), where they placed third last week.

Assistant coach Nolwazi Mabindisa, strength and conditioning mentor Silindile Mdleleni and players Zizipho Lingela and Sinenjongo Yolwa did their university proud as the team swung and pitched their way into the semifinals in Polokwane.

The University Sports South Africa team then saw off Limpopo in the playoff for third and fourth to claim bronze.

The week proved especially memorable for Mabindisa, who served as team manager last year. While she has won a championship silver as a player, it is the first medal she has brought home as a coach.

Third base shortstop Lingela made her third appearance for the national side but was sadly unable to play every game after suffering an injury midway through the competition.

Yolwa, meanwhile, started as a catcher in the semifinal in only her second outing for the students.

The USSA outfit arrived in Limpopo on Sunday last week and spent three days training for the championship, which kicked off on Wednesday.

They won three of their six round-robin matches to reach the playoff stage. One of these victories was an 11-1 thrashing of Western Province, a powerhouse of South African softball.

Ironically, the women from the Western Cape defeated KwaZulu-Natal in the group stages before the latter went on to oust the USSA team in their semi.

Since the national team trounced the team that defeated the eventual silver medallists, Mabindisa believed her charges had a real chance of reaching the final.

“We lost 3-10 to KZN. It was a very painful loss,” she said. “I suppose nerves kicked in.”

Gauteng eventually won the women’s division, making it two championship victories.

While disappointed that the USSA side could not go all the way, Mabindisa was pleased with their performance given they had gone toe-to-toe with some of the best provincial teams in the land.

Save for a few changes, the same squad will take on Africa’s best universities in the CUCSA (Confederation of Universities and Colleges Sports Association) Games in Pretoria later this year.

From what she had seen in Polokwane, they would be a strong contender for the title.

Mabindisa said that the four UFH representatives’ involvement at the national student level was a sign that softball at the university was on the upswing.

Fort Hare also had five representatives on the provincial side who did battle with the NPCs.

She said having so many coaches and players competing at this level would only strengthen UFH softball.

“To get these types of accolades, it shows we are doing something right.”

Because the championships were held earlier this year, local leagues will now only start in August – an unfortunate scenario for Fort Hare students not playing at the national and provincial levels.

However, Mabindisa is planning to arrange a series of intervarsity games and friendlies to keep her players fresh.

INSIDE EDUCATION