By Johnathan Paoli

Higher Education and Training Minister Nobuhle Nkabane has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to repositioning Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges as a driving force for economic transformation, youth empowerment and the reindustrialisation of South Africa.

Nkabane officially opened the Mechanical Fitter and Fitter and Turner Workshops and Trade Test Centres at the South West Gauteng TVET College’s (SWGC) Molapo Campus in Soweto on Monday.

“South West Gauteng TVET College is a shining example of how technical and vocational training can be repositioned as a first choice for various careers of our young people. Today’s launch demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that institutions do not only train for qualifications, but train for jobs, for economic participation and for dignity,” the minister said.

The opening, held on the last day of Youth Month, celebrated both the legacy of the 1976 generation and the government’s ongoing efforts to equip today’s youth with practical skills that fuel economic growth.

Nkabane described the new facility as a beacon of hope and a model of excellence that supported skills development, youth employment and inclusive economic participation.

“An artisan is not a backup plan; an artisan is the backbone of a thriving 21st-century economy. TVET institutions are not just places of learning, but engines of socio-economic transformation,” Nkabane declared.

The new trade test centres and workshops are part of the department’s Centres of Specialisation Programme. The flagship initiative is aimed at increasing the quality and relevance of artisan development.

In 2024, the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Sector Education Training Authority invested over R19 million to refurbish and equip the facilities to global occupational standards.

“This project is a testament to what is possible when government, industry and education institutions work together. These partnerships ensure that our youth are not just trained for qualifications, but trained for jobs and for dignity,” Nkabane said.

The centre aims to directly contribute to the National Development Plan’s goal of producing 30,000 qualified artisans annually by 2030.

According to the South African TVET Student Association (SATVETSA), the country currently produces approximately 20,000 artisans per year, a figure that must grow rapidly to meet national industrial and infrastructure demands.

SATVETSA president Kgaogelo Chokoe said in her message of support that TVET colleges needed to evolve into “hubs of collaboration and innovation”, which responded to global and local industry trends.

“We must forge partnerships that enhance learning and create real pathways to employment and entrepreneurship,” she said.

The minister praised the college for its continued success in developing artisans.

Since 2020, the college has trained over 190 qualified artisans through a strategic partnership with Thuthukisa and Afrox, backed by Food and Beverages SETA.

In addition, more than 180 learners have successfully passed their trade tests via the Artisan Recognition of Prior Learning programme supported by a combined investment exceeding R17 million.

In 2025, the Local Government SETA awarded the college over R53 million to implement 19 occupational programmes in trades such as welding, bricklaying, electrical and business studies, including learner stipends.

Furthering international exposure and innovation, a Tripartite Memorandum of Agreement between the college, Energy and Water SETA and the Chinese Culture and International Education Exchange Centre will send nine apprentices and one facilitator to Energy Power College in China.

They will undergo specialised training in renewable energy technologies, including solar panels, lithium batteries and inverter manufacturing.

The workshops and trade test centres are expected to empower hundreds of young South Africans each year, offering not only certification but meaningful pathways to permanent employment and entrepreneurship.

Drawing parallels to the youth of 1976, who fought for access to education, the minister said that today’s young people deserved not only access, but opportunity, quality, and empowerment.

She reminded attendees that Soweto remained a powerful symbol of resistance, renewal and now technical transformation.

“You are not just the leaders of tomorrow; you are the builders of today. Let this centre produce artisans who will rebuild our economy, fix our infrastructure and innovate for a sustainable future,” she said.

Nkabane described the Molapo Campus as a national model for excellence in vocational education and industry aligned training.

“Let this be a legacy of empowerment, not only for the youth of Soweto, but for Gauteng and South Africa at large,” she said.

Video by Kgalalelo Setlhare Mogapi.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Lungile Ntimba

KwaZulu-Natal education MEC Sipho Hlomuka has encouraged learners, particularly those in Grade 12, to make the most of the winter school holidays by participating in academic support programmes.

“I urge our matriculants to take advantage of the winter programmes made available by the KZN department of education in the 12 districts across the province of KwaZulu-Natal” said Hlomuka.

“These programmes are tailored to help our Grade 12 learners consolidate their learning and boost their academic performance ahead of the final examinations.”

He praised both learners and educators for their hard work and determination during the first half of the 2025 academic year.

Recognising that many learners may travel during the holidays, Hlomuka encouraged them to remain focused and continue prioritising their studies, regardless of their location.

“Those that are away from their schools are encouraged to wear their school uniforms and attend winter classes closer to their holiday destinations,” he added.

The MEC assured the public that winter school classes were accessible and supported by experienced educators in strategic locations throughout the province.

Hlomuka said that these initiatives formed part of the province’s broader commitment to improving learner outcomes and ensuring that no child was left behind.

He wished all learners and educators a safe, restful and productive holiday season, urging parents and guardians to support their children’s learning journeys during this crucial time.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Shannon D. M. Moore and Jennifer Watt

The sexual assault trial of five former World Juniors hockey players has spotlighted issues around sexual assault and consent.

Sexual assault, intimate partner violence and other forms of gender-based violence aren’t inevitable. Kindergarten to Grade 12 public schools have an ethical obligation to enact sexuality education that is responsive to current contexts, respects human diversity, empowers young people and is rooted in human rights.

We argue for harnessing popular media to advance sexuality education. Children and youth learn about a great deal about gender, relationships, sexuality and consent from popular media.

Although there is strong theoretical rationale for using popular media to confront sexual assault, many teachers identify and experience barriers to putting this into practice in their classrooms.

Let’s (not) talk about sex?

Many factors shape the reality that comprehensive sex education remains wholly absent or inadequate in schools.

Talking about sex in society and in schools is often taboo. Discussions of healthy relationships and consent are often highly controlled, minimized or relegated to a sexual education curriculum that is not universally taught. This is due to parental opt-outs/ins in many provinces.

Some opponents of sexual education curriculum say parents should have full authority over the subject. Others exploit misunderstandings of age appropriateness and the presumed innocence of children and youth. Among the public at large, there is a lack of knowledge (or belief) about the high rates of sexual assault and other forms of gender-based violence experienced by youth within and beyond schools

Not surprisingly, neglecting comprehensive sexuality education has many adverse consequences. Students learn that eliminating sexual violence is not a societal priority. Those who have experienced assault and other forms of violence learn that they are not important, as their stories are often silenced, ignored or distrusted.

As a result, rape culture and gender-based violence remains unchallenged in schools, while it is normalized, legitimized and endorsed in popular media.

Meet your child’s other teacher

In the absence or confines of comprehensive sex education in schools, youth identify popular media as their main source of information about sex and relationships.

As professor of criminal justice, Nickie D. Phillips, writes, popular media is one of the “primary sites through which rape culture [is] understood, negotiated and contested.”

What youth watch, play, listen to or create on social media has a significant role in teaching dominant understandings that normalize sexual violence, misogyny and the patriarchy.

Critical media scholars Michael Hoechsmann and Stuart Poyntz emphasize that popular media “plays a central role in the socialization, acculturation and intellectual formation of young people. It is a … force to be reckoned with, and we ignore it at our peril.”

As teacher educators and educational researchers, the teachers we have worked with across grades and subject areas recognize how popular media is always and already present in classrooms, and many embrace the opportunities it affords for necessary conversations that are relevant to students.

Challenges with using popular media

The teacher participants in our study revealed that classroom culture wars have had a chilling impact on their practice, making them feel more wary about tackling particular topics.

We found that despite research-informed rationale for using popular media to ground sexuality education, teachers encounter several barriers and complications in doing so.

Teachers’ discomfort was exacerbated when school leaders did not support their efforts to advance these lessons, even though they were anchored to the provincial curriculum. Teacher participants also spoke of a lack of professional development or preparation to talk about healthy relationships and consent in teacher education contexts.

Finally, they also raised concerns about teaching with and through violent, sexually suggestive or explicit popular media in classrooms. This is the case even though young people are learning about sex through limitless access to digital pornography and R-rated popular media outside of classrooms.

Influencing healthy relationships

There is limited research about how popular media content could be used to teach about sexual violence prevention. Through our ongoing research, we have identified several starting points for using popular media content to ground conversations about healthy relationships, boundaries and consent.

1. Start with media constructions of gender: As popular media contributes to societal expectations of gender, students should begin by interrogating how masculinities and femininities are constructed and mobilized in popular media.

This can include examining how male, female and non-binary characters are constructed and presented to audiences, their position within the broader storyline and their level of dialogue and how varied intersections of identity impact these depictions.

Discussions of gender based violence must begin with intersectional discussions of gender, as these constructions contribute to the issue (for example, the hypersexualization and subordination of females, the exoticization and dehumanization of racialized women or the portrayal of males as powerful, aggressive and preoccupied with sex).

2. Begin with unfamiliar content: Students can initially become defensive when they are asked to critically engage with media content that deeply connect with their identity and give them a sense of joy.

While the goal is to move to the interrogation of students’ own media diets, it can positively generate student participation when educators begin analytical and critical discussions about media with unfamiliar, or at least not cherished, material (like popular songs, video or social media).

This means students learn how to analyze content before connecting this analysis with themes related to gender-based violence, like: how popular media normalizes sexual violence against women and promotes unhealthy representations of romance and relationships; how popular media contributes to victim blaming or siding with perpetrators and promotes “himpathy” for males who commit sexual assault.

3. Offer a feminist lens: As teacher educators, we recognize that there is no single method or approach that tends to every aspect of sexual assault and other forms of gender-based violence. Yet, we also know that educators seek resources to engage more meaningfully with students.

Cards to foster conversation

We constructed a deck of educational playing cards that educators can use to foster conversations about media portrayals of gender, healthy relationships and consent (or lack thereof).

These cards employ a feminist lens, based on Sarah Ahmed’s Living a Feminist Life. We advocate for teachers to have time in professional learning spaces to try out the cards with other educators before they facilitate complex conversations related to gender-based violence with students.

If as a society we want to see fewer instances of gender-based violence, teachers need provincial curriculum documents that align with the research on comprehensive sex education. They also need school leaders who will support their work and model consent in the broader school culture, and more professional development and preparation in teacher education.

Shannon D.M. Moore is an assistant professor of social studies education, Department of Curriculum Teaching and Learning, Faculty of Education, University of Manitoba and Jennifer Watt is Associate Professor of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, University of Manitoba.

The Conversation

By Sumaya Laher

Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to “intelligent machines and algorithms that can reason and adapt based on sets of rules and environments which mimic human intelligence”. This field is evolving rapidly and the education sector, for one, is abuzz with discussion on AI use for writing.

This matters not just for academics, but for anyone relying on trustworthy information, from journalists and policymakers to educators and the public. Ensuring transparency in how AI is used protects the credibility of all published knowledge.

In education and research, AI can generate text, improve writing style, and even analyse data. It saves time and resources by allowing quick summarising of work, language editing and reference checking. It also holds potential for enhancing scholarly work and even inspiring new ideas.

Equally AI is able to generate entire pieces of work. Sometimes it’s difficult to distinguish original work written by an individual and work generated by AI.

This is a serious concern in the academic world – for universities, researchers, lecturers and students. Some uses of AI are seen as acceptable and others are not (or not yet).

As editor and editorial board member of several journals, and in my capacity as a researcher and professor of psychology, I have grappled with what counts as acceptable use of AI in academic writing. I looked to various published guidelines:

the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), a UK nonprofit organisation which provides expert guidance, education and training in academic publishing

Sage Publishing, a US academic publishing company

the American Psychological Association, an organisation representing psychology academics, professionals and students

the Academy of Science of South Africa, through its South African Journal of Science platform.

The guidelines are unanimous that AI tools cannot be listed as co-authors or take responsibility for the content. Authors remain fully responsible for verifying the accuracy, ethical use and integrity of all AI-influenced content. Routine assistance does not need citation, but any substantive AI-generated content must be clearly referenced.

Let’s unpack this a bit more.

Assisted versus generated content

In understanding AI use in academic writing, it’s important to distinguish between AI-assisted content and AI-generated content.

AI-assisted content refers to work that is predominantly written by an individual but has been improved with the aid of AI tools. For example, an author might use AI to assist with grammar checks, enhance sentence clarity, or provide style suggestions. The author remains in control, and the AI merely acts as a tool to polish the final product.

This kind of assistance is generally accepted by most publishers as well as the Committee on Publication Ethics, without the need for formal disclosure. That’s as long as the work remains original and the integrity of the research is upheld.

AI-generated content is produced by the AI itself. This could mean that the AI tool generates significant portions of text, or even entire sections, based on detailed instructions (prompts) provided by the author.

This raises ethical concerns, especially regarding originality, accuracy and authorship. Generative AI draws its content from various sources such as web scraping, public datasets, code repositories and user-generated content – basically any content that it is able to access. You can never be sure about the authenticity of the work. AI “hallucinations” are common. Generative AI might be plagiarising someone else’s work or infringing on copyright and you won’t know.

Thus, for AI-generated content, authors are required to make clear and explicit disclosures. In many cases, this type of content may face restrictions. Publishers may even reject it outright, as outlined in the Committee on Publication Ethics guidelines.

What’s allowed and what’s not

Based on my readings of the guidelines, I offer some practical tips for using AI in academic writing. These are fairly simple and could be applicable across disciplines.

The guidelines all say AI tools can be used for routine tasks like improving grammar, revising sentence structure, or assisting with literature searches. These applications do not require specific acknowledgement.

Across the guidelines reviewed, AI generated content is not allowed unless there are clear reasons why this was necessary for the research and the content is clearly marked and referenced as such. Thus, depending on how AI is used, it must be referenced in the manuscript. This could be in the literature review, or in the methods or results section.

Sage and the Committee on Publication Ethics emphasise that authors must disclose when AI-generated content is used by citing this appropriately. There are different conventions for citing AI use but all seem to agree that the name of the generative tool used, the date accessed and the prompt used should be cited. This level of transparency is necessary to uphold the credibility of academic work.

Other aspects linked to AI assistance like correcting code, generating tables or figures, reducing word count or checking on analyses cannot be referenced directly in the body of the manuscript. In line with current best practice recommendations, this should be indicated at the end of the manuscript.

Authors are responsible for checking the accuracy of any AI content, whether AI assisted or AI generated, ensuring it’s free from bias, plagiarism, and potential copyright infringements.

The final word (for now)

AI tools can undoubtedly enhance the academic writing process, but their use must be approached with transparency, caution, and respect for ethical standards.

Authors must remain vigilant in maintaining academic integrity, particularly when AI is involved. Authors should verify the accuracy and appropriateness of AI-generated content, ensuring that it doesn’t compromise the originality or validity of their work.

There have been excellent suggestions as to when the declaration of AI should be mandatory, optional and unnecessary. If unsure, the best advice would be to include the use of any form of AI (assisted or generated) in the acknowledgement.

It is very likely that these recommendations will be revised in due course as AI continues to evolve. But it is equally important that we start somewhere. AI tools are here to stay. Let’s deal with it constructively and collaboratively.

Sumaya Laher is a Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand.

The Conversation

By Johnathan Paoli

Higher Education and Training Minister Nobuhle Nkabane has announced the launch of a R5 million Youth Enterprise Fund, as part of the government’s efforts to reaffirm the importance of empowering young people through education, skills and opportunities.

Nkabane made the announcement during her address at a Youth Month commemoration at Mopani TVET College’s Sir Val Duncan Campus.

The event, under the theme “Skills for the Changing World: Empowering Youth for Meaningful Economic Participation”, drew over 1500 attendees.

“Today, almost four out of 10 young people in this country are classified as not in education, employment or training. This is not just a statistic, it’s a national emergency. Each youth represents untapped potential, a future that hangs in the balance, a dream deferred,” Nkabane said.

The fund, established in partnership with the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) and the Mopani District Municipality, will support young entrepreneurs in starting and growing businesses in the district.

Describing the initiative as “more than an investment in the economy”, the minister said it was an investment “in youth agency, dignity and innovation”.

Higher education director-general Nkosinathi Sishi reaffirmed the department’s commitment to building a responsive post-school education and training system.

“We are strengthening our labour market intelligence systems to identify 350 occupations in high demand,” he said.

Sishi emphasised the department’s alignment with the green economy, including renewable energy and hydrogen technologies.

“We must work with our institutions to align curricula with future skills needs,” he urged.

Sishi noted the importance of accessible career guidance, revealing plans for an online system to help students understand qualifications, pathways and job prospects.

South African Technical Vocational and Training Student Association president Kgaogelo Chokoe welcomed the fund, calling it “an investment in dreams, aspirations, and the boundless potential of young people”.

She urged young people to become creators of technology, not just consumers.

“South Africa needs skilled professionals in multiple sectors. Not everyone needs to go to university, and that is okay,” she stated.

Chokoe called for further investment in campus safety, innovation hubs and sustainability.

South African Public Colleges Organisation president Tebogo Kekana praised TVET colleges as “cool” and practical paths to success.

He noted the expansion of accredited trade test centres and supported international exchange programmes.

“Together, we are transforming education. Together, we are transforming young lives,” Kekana declared.

NYDA Limpopo head Moscow Maepa urged the youth to take charge of their future.

“You are the power behind the future we are building. Your potential is not only seen, it is needed,” he said.

Ba-Phalaborwa Local Municipality mayor Merriam Malatji celebrated the event’s local impact.

“Mopani TVET College offers a gateway to high-demand skills in engineering, hospitality, business and ICT. These are not just courses, they are stepping stones to meaningful careers,” she said.

Malatji thanked Nkabane for choosing Ba-Phalaborwa to host the national event and called on youth to seize the moment.

“You are our hope, our innovators, our change-makers. Embrace education, entrepreneurship, or training with purpose,” she said.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Akani Nkuna

Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube has urged young leaders in the Representative Council of Learners (RCL) to step up and help champion issues in their communities, saying they have a huge responsibility to help uproot social ills beyond the confines of school walls.

“You are not just leaders in your schools, but you are leaders who reside in communities. Whether you serve in the junior council, the RCL or lead projects in your areas, you are already showing that young people are not waiting to lead, they are not leaders of tomorrow, but they lead exactly where they are today,” said Gwarube.

“Our communities face big challenges, climate change, poverty, hunger, drug abuse, gangsterism, unemployment and you may be saying I am just a child what can I possibly do? There are things that you too can do, because I see young people across South Africa rising to the challenge.”

Gwarube was addressing recently elected members of the RCL at the Johannesburg City Council in Braamfontein, marking the end of a three-day annual National Learner Leadership Summit. The young leaders participated in discussions focused on key challenges facing the learners, with guidance from senior government officials, educators and policymakers.

The minister highlighted instances where ordinary young people were making positive changes in their communities using formal and informal channels. She said this went a long way in fostering a culture of youth engagement and participation in building communities.

“[Young people] are tutoring their peers, they are cleaning their riverbanks, they are planting food gardens, organising events, creating awareness around GBV. Young people are moving and are shaking and they are saying we are here and not just an afterthought.”

Gwarube encouraged the leaders to be steadfast in championing action against discrimination and gender-based violence in schools, warning against complicit behaviour which enabled schools to be environments where others were victimised.

“See something, say something. Be the reason someone feels safe at school. Say no to people who are keen to bully others. As learner leaders you help shape the culture of the schools, you have the power to shape the learning environment in your schools,” she added.

In light of the decline of young people casting their votes, Gwarube invited the leaders to participate in the democratic processes of the country to shape a better future.

The minister pointed out that politics affected every aspect of their lives and, therefore, it was wise that they participated.

“I am talking about the politics of casting your vote and being active citizens who are really engaged in the work of saying we are going to shape the country that we want to live in. I want to encourage you to say that continue having that spirit of active citizenry,” she said.

“Because it is only when young people are taking true accountability for the country that we have, that we will start to see things change.”

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Alicia Mmashakana

Police have apprehended five suspects in connection with the kidnapping on Grade 11 learner Kamogelo Baukudi, 19, earlier this month.

Bukudi was abducted on 5 June 2025 while on his way home from school along Verneeniging Drive in Bloemfontein.

His disappearance sparked a province-wide search, with a special task team led by Mangaung police commissioner Major General Arthur Peter Adams, working around the clock to track him down.

He was located and rescued in Wepener in the early hours of Friday morning.

“The safe recovery of young Kamogelo is a moment of great relief for the family, the community and all of us. I commend our members for their unwavering efforts, who worked tirelessly following up every lead under serious public scrutiny. We will ensure that justice is served,” said Free State provincial commissioner Lieutenant General Baile Motswenyane.

Also on Friday morning, the police raided a house in Kanana Location, Wepener, and arrested three suspects. Two more were arrested nearby while allegedly transporting Bukudi. The suspects are aged between 20 and 29.

The bust comes just weeks after a 42-year-old police sergeant was arrested and charged with kidnapping and extortion, making it six arrests in total.

The suspects face kidnapping and extortion charges and are set to appear in court alongside the arrested police officer on Monday.

Investigations are ongoing.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Johnathan Paoli

The Eastern Cape government is racing against time to restore learning and teaching in hundreds of schools ravaged by the devastating floods which left widespread destruction across the province, claiming 101 lives and displacing thousands.

According to education MEC Fundile Gade, over 480 schools were initially flagged for assessment after the disaster.

After a comprehensive infrastructure audit, 235 schools were confirmed to have been damaged, 71 of which required major reconstruction.

“These 71 schools will put serious pressure on an already overstretched education infrastructure budget. We are dealing with a backlog of R72 billion for school infrastructure, and our annual budget allocation is only R1.9 billion. Without this disaster, we were already facing a crisis,” Gade said.

The hardest-hit district is OR Tambo, where the highest number of fatalities occurred and where the majority of schools sustained severe flood damage.

Gade confirmed that his department was working closely with the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) department to reprioritise budgets and prepare a comprehensive response plan.

However, given the scale of the destruction, additional funding from the national government was being sought.

“Education is a constitutional right, and we are committed to ensuring the school calendar continues. We aim to resume full academic activity in all affected schools by the start of the third term in July. But to do that, we must stabilise learning environments, deliver learning materials, and replace uniforms,” Gade said.

He noted that the department has already begun distributing Learner and Teacher Support Materials (LTSM) to affected pupils.

“We’ve set aside R1.079 million for infrastructure-related responses, including school repairs and replacements for learners’ essential materials,” he said.

The floods have also taken a deep emotional toll on learners, educators and communities.

At least 38 of the 101 confirmed fatalities were children, with 32 identified as learners.

Some schools were directly affected by the loss of multiple teachers or learners.

In one tragic incident, an accident unrelated to the floods claimed the lives of four teachers and injured several others from flood-affected schools, further complicating academic recovery.

“Education is not just about walls, it’s a theatre of knowledge. So, we are also prioritising psychosocial support to ensure learners and teachers can cope with the trauma. We’ve mobilised counselors and community-based psychosocial services to assist learners returning to class,” Gade said.

Schools that were unable to participate in the June exam cycle due to the floods were granted extensions.

Learners from these schools wrote postponed exams on Monday, ensuring continuity in assessment and progression.

While emergency shelters were activated to accommodate over 4700 displaced individuals across the province, including many learners, concerns have been raised about long-term solutions.

The human settlements department is currently in the process of securing land for Temporary Residential Units (TRUs), with over R461 million required.

However, the province currently has only R120 million, and is relying on national government intervention.

“Families are expected to remain in temporary shelters for at least 30 days. We are working with traditional leaders and municipalities to finalise land release for permanent resettlement, especially near essential services like schools,” CoGTA MEC Zolile Williams said.

There were also concerns from community members regarding the safety of returning to flood-damaged homes.

The provincial government clarified that no official directive had been issued for families to return to structurally compromised houses, urging residents to remain in shelters until proper assessments and relocations could be arranged.

Of the R5.1 billion needed to repair all damaged infrastructure across the province, R3.2 billion is required by provincial sector departments, including education, while municipalities need R1.8 billion.

Th education department is using the disaster as an opportunity to accelerate long-delayed rationalisation efforts aiming at merging small, under-resourced schools into more sustainable learning institutions.

“We must use this moment not just to rebuild, but to reimagine the future of education in the Eastern Cape,” Gade concluded.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Levy Masiteng 

Orbit College’s promotion to the Betway Premiership is not just a victory for football, but a victory for higher education transformation and the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector, according to Higher Education and Training Minister Nobuhle Nkabane.

In a thrilling match, the Orbit College Football Club secured a historic promotion to the Betway Premiership following a 1-0 victory over Cape Town City FC at Olympia Stadium in Rustenburg.

The winning goal was scored by Letsie Koapeng in the 47th minute, sending the Mswenko Boys into jubilation.

“As a public TVET college, Orbit College’s success highlights the immense potential and holistic development within the Post-School Education and Training (PSET) system,” the ministry said in a statement.

It also highlighted the importance of initiatives like the College Sport Arts and Culture South Africa (CoSACSA) games, which provided a vital platform for students to showcase their diverse talents and grow personally and professionally. 

Nkabane said that these games served as a crucial steppingstone for talented students to be identified by scouts and potentially transition into professional leagues within South Africa and internationally.

“By investing in and nurturing these talents, the department contributes to students’ individual success and enrichment of the broader South African sporting landscape,” she said.

The minister commended the players, coaching team, college leadership and the broader Orbit College community for their discipline, teamwork and resilience throughout the season.

Echoing this sentiment, the team’s coach, Pogiso Makhoye, attributed their success to discipline, dedication and determination. 

Makhoye noted that their promotion to the Betway Premier Soccer League was a momentous achievement, especially considering they started this journey 15 years ago. 

“The promotion highlights the culmination of effort, strategic planning and a strong team identity. It was difficult and when we played Durban City FC, I thought we would not make it, but with the grace of God, here we are,” he said.

“Truly speaking, we deserve to be here. We took Durban City FC toe-to-toe to the last day and we knew this was our moment. We would also like to thank the people of Bokone Bophirima for rallied behind us.” 

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Johnathan Paoli

Parliament’s portfolio committees on basic education and police have welcomed the recent signing of a Collaborative Implementation Protocol on School Safety as a significant move in addressing the growing crisis of school violence in South Africa.

Basic Education Portfolio Committee chairperson Joy Maimela described the initiative as a “bold step” in responding to the worsening safety situation in education environments.

“The murder of Lethabo Mokonyane… underscores the trend of violent crime in and around school premises that requires a concerted effort by all stakeholders to bring an end to this worrying trend. School environments should be safe spaces for teaching and learning and nothing else,” she said.

Mokonyane was stabbed to death outside Lesedi Secondary School in Lethabong informal settlement in Tshewane on 17 June.

The agreement is aimed at intensifying security measures in schools, particularly in hotspot provinces where violence, drug abuse and sexual crimes have become increasingly prevalent.

The initial implementation will be in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape, which have been identified through crime data analysis as the most affected by school-based violence.

This targeted, data-driven approach is intended to create safer school zones by linking schools to nearby police stations, boosting patrols and increasing police visibility in areas where crime levels are highest.

Police Portfolio Committee chairperson Ian Cameron said that effective enforcement at a local level was key to the initiative’s success.

“The approach to target hotspots has the potential of stemming the tide of crime in schools. But it is up to station-level management to implement the protocols effectively to ensure success,” he said.

According to the fourth-quarter crime statistics released earlier this year, South Africa recorded six murders and 80 rapes in school settings, a stark reminder of the dangers learners and educators face.

The protocol also includes a renewed commitment to thoroughly vetting school staff against the National Register for Sex Offenders and the National Child Protection Register, a safeguard which has existed on paper but, according to Maimela, was too often “neglected”.

“This has long been a requirement to obtain a position in schools to safeguard vulnerable groups. It is important that such safeguards are adhered to without fail,” Maimela noted.

Substance abuse was highlighted as another urgent area of concern.

Cameron noted that the issue must be addressed with a “society-wide approach” and called on municipalities to enforce existing bylaws that restricted the operation of liquor outlets near school premises.

“Municipalities must also play their role in enforcing municipal bylaws that prohibit the establishment of liquor-selling premises near schools,” he stressed.

The two portfolio committees have committed to providing ongoing oversight to ensure the effective implementation of the protocols and to hold accountable those responsible for their enforcement.

Reacting to the development, the SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) cautiously welcomed the renewed commitment to school safety, but reminded the public that such protocols were not new.

A similar agreement between the Basic Education Department and the South African Police Service was signed in 2011 and implemented in schools from 2015.

“While we acknowledge this renewed commitment, we wish to emphasise that such a partnership is not new. The 2011 protocol established collaborative frameworks across all nine provinces and ensured every school was linked to a local police station,” Sadtu spokesperson Nomusa Cembi said.

The union, whose “I Am a School Fan” campaign also champions safe school environments, called for the current protocols to result in tangible action rather than policy rhetoric.

“We hope the signing of this protocol will not only reaffirm previous efforts but lead to more effective and consistent implementation,” Cembi stated.

While Sadtu supports the focus on hotspot provinces, it urges equal attention to schools in other provinces, noting that violence may go unreported in more rural or under-resourced areas where police presence is limited.

The protocol was signed by basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube and Police Minister Senzo Mchunu.

INSIDE EDUCATION