By Johnathan Paoli

The Democratic Alliance Women’s Network (DAWN) in the Eastern Cape has joined the chorus of voices expressing outrage at the prevalence of child pregnancies and statutory rape.

A total of 94 girls between the ages of 10 and 14 gave birth at public health facilities in the province since April last year. And on New Year’s Day, there were 14 teenage birth in the Eastern Cape.

DAWN provincial chairperson Nomvano Zibonda criticised cultural practices like damages payments, where families accept financial compensation for pregnancies involving minors.

“The alarming prevalence of normalised rape culture in our province demands immediate attention and collective action. Parents and communities must join forces to protect our young girls, reporting suspicious activities and supporting victims,” Zibonda said.

Many are calling on the government to ramp up awareness campaigns for girls and parents.

“We demand prompt reporting of rape cases and zero tolerance for non-compliance. Parents who fail to report abuse must face the full force of the law,” she said.

Zibinda demanded that the government enforced harsher penalties for perpetrators, ensure timely justice and safeguarding measures to prevent child abuse.

On New Year’s Day, a 12-year-old girl gave birth at Frontier Hospital in Komani. The alleged father, a 17-year-old, is expected to face legal consequences when he turns 18.

Eastern Cape social development MEC Bukiwe Fanta has condemned the exploitation of minors and called for justice.

And the African National Congress in the province has similarly called for intervention in the crisis.

ANC provincial spokesperson Gift Ngqondi said the matter of teenage pregnancy was complex and multifaceted. It needed to be addressed by society at large and required a comprehensive intervention.

“We are calling for conversations regarding teen pregnancies and sexual education as they are important if we want to turn the tide and save our children, especially the girl children, as they tend to carry the consequences should they fall pregnant,” Ngqondi said.

Inside Education reached out to the Basic Education Department concerning its policy for preventing and dealing with teenage pregnancy.

Spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said the issue has become a major challenge for both national development and the basic education system.

“It affects the lives of thousands of young people, often limiting their personal growth, their pursuit of rewarding careers and their ambitions, with an incalculable impact on South Africa’s socio-economic landscape,” Mhlanga said.

He said the policy provided guidance on the reduction of unintended pregnancies, management of their pre- and post-natal consequences, limitation of associated stigma and discrimination against affected learners and, importantly, the retention and re-enrolment of affected learners in school.

Mhlanga said the goal was to reduce the incidence of learner pregnancy through the provision of quality comprehensive sex education and access to adolescent and youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services.

“It seeks to promote the constitutional right of learners to basic education by ensuring they are not excluded from school as a result of pregnancy and childbirth, and to provide a supportive environment for them to continue and complete their basic education,” he said.

The department is planning on mitigating the impact of pregnancy on the affected learners through the provision of a systemic, sustainable, structured safe and empowering environment.

Mhlanga said this would be achieved through the retention of learners in schools as well as providing school support and flexibility.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Johnathan Paoli

The eagerly awaited 2024 rankings of the top boys’ sports schools were recently unveiled, igniting passionate discussions across South Africa’s school sports community.

For nearly two decades, these rankings have celebrated the country’s leading institutions in athletic performance, sparking both pride and debate among sports enthusiasts.

The rankings, curated by SA School Sport (SASS), assess schools’ performance across six sports: rugby, cricket, soccer, hockey, basketball and water polo.

Westville Boys High School in KwaZulu-Natal achieved top place, followed by Durban High School in second, and Paul Roos Gymnasium in Stellenbosch at third.

The top 10 schools further included Wynberg Boys’ High School, Rondebosch Boys’ High School, King Edward VII, Grey College, St Stithians, Maritzburg College and Kearsney College.

SASS said the methodology prioritised consistency across these disciplines, providing a holistic view of sports excellence rather than highlighting singular achievements.

The rankings are built on a comprehensive evaluation of performance metrics such as strength of opposition, match outcomes and victory or defeat margins.

To reflect the varying popularity and competitive landscapes of these sports, a weighting system was applied.

Rugby was double-weighted due to its widespread popularity and dominance in boys’ school sports.

Cricket, hockey and soccer were weighted at one and a half, recognising their significant participation rates and importance.

Basketball and water polo retained original values as their participation varies among schools.

The rankings exclusively focused on these six sports, omitting others such as athletics, tennis and rowing due to the lack of consistent national performance data.

As a result, schools excelling in these disciplines may not feature prominently, highlighting the rankings’ focus on breadth over specialisation.

SASS said the rankings aimed to honour schools that demonstrated sustained excellence across all evaluated sports.

While some institutions achieved remarkable success in specific sports, the methodology rewarded those with a balanced, multi-sport approach.

This evaluation provides a guide for parents, students and sports enthusiasts seeking schools that prioritise comprehensive sport development.

SASS said that while some schools would celebrate their top placements, others may question the methodology or highlight overlooked achievements.

After 18 years of publishing these rankings, SASS said it welcomed this spirited engagement as a testament to the passion for school sports in South Africa.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Dineo Bendile

The Gauteng Department of eGovernment wants to help young South Africans claim their share of the digital economy through the rollout of a training programme that will provide functional Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills.  

The department has announced that the project, first mooted in 2023, will officially be launched in 2025 following a successful pilot in Sebokeng in the Vaal.

The training programme will see scores of Gauteng youth equipped with technical skills to repair digital communication tools such as cellphones, laptops and tablets.

The announcement was made by Gauteng e-Government MEC Bonginkosi Dhlamini, who has called for young residents of the province to prepare themselves to sign up for the programme once the official invitation for registration is made.

Dhlamini spoke during the eGovernment department’s Youth ICT Tech Expo in Alexandra in December, where he stressed the importance of South Africans having a piece of the digital economy pie.

“South Africans must occupy this space because ICT is the new gold,” Dhlamini said. “Most importantly, when we give you these opportunities, you must grab them with both hands,” he said.

Since its establishment in 2015, the Department of e-Government has embarked on a number of initiatives to improve the efficiency of provincial government services. This includes the provision of free wi-fi at various public sites across the province.

Alexandra, Johannesburg’s oldest township, is the latest area to benefit from the installation of free wi-fi at schools, clinics and community halls. Dhlamini and his e-Government team visited Alexandra to communicate the department’s various initiatives and how they would benefit residents of the area.

The MEC told Alexandra youths gathered at the Alexsan Kopano Resource Centre about the ICT training programme and urged them to seize the opportunity.

The cellphone repairs sector has been identified as an ideal opportunity for job creation, due to its generally low barrier to entry as well as the potential to make good profits.

Dhlamini said participants of the pilot training programme in Sebokeng earned between R15,000 to R20,000 a month from their cellphone repair businesses.

The Gauteng government says the project will stimulate the growth of local economies by creating an opportunity for young people, many of whom are unemployed, to become economically active.

“In the ICT industry, there are a lot of jobs and money to make. We want to train young people to fix iPads, cellphones and laptops,” Dhlamini said. “And you don’t need a matric to be trained to fix a phone.”

The MEC lamented that the cellphone repair industry was dominated by foreign nationals, who saw an opportunity in South Africa and had set up numerous shops across the country.

“It is wrong that the cellphone repair industry is in the hands of Pakistani nationals. It is wrong,” he said.

“We are not going to chase them away. We just want to train South Africans so they can set up and run their own businesses”.

Dhlamini cautioned South Africans against providing inconsistent, poor-quality services once they qualified to start their repair businesses.

He emphasised that a strong work ethic was the only way local youths could penetrate the market and have staying power against an already established network of foreign-owned businesses.

Negotiations are at an advanced stage between the department and local malls and shopping centres in the province, which are being lobbied to house newly graduated repair technicians once they start their businesses.

On completion of the programme, graduates will be allocated shipping containers that they will use to set up shop. These containers will be placed securely at malls and shopping centres to benefit from maximum foot traffic.

In addition to this, 20 people who show exceptional ability and interest in the field will receive specialised training as ICT engineers in China and India.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Heidi Matisonn

Whenever school holidays loom, many parents find themselves caught in an emotional tug-of-war: on the one hand, relief at bidding farewell to homework battles, bedtime struggles, and the lamenting of lost lunchboxes; on the other, terror at the daunting prospect of a barrage of “whys” and “buts” from their relentless interrogators.

To avoid logic-defying arguments and endless debates, it is often not long before they find themselves playing the ultimate parental trump card: “because I said so”.

As a parent, I can relate. But I’m also a moral philosopher with almost two decades of teaching experience. In philosophy classes, students who question ideas – and sometimes, in doing so, challenge authority – are praised. Why isn’t the same true for children? Is a child who questions their parents “being cheeky”? Or are they flexing the mental muscles that are necessary for their intellectual growth and ability to navigate the world?

The job of a moral philosopher is to grapple with ideas about right and wrong, good and bad, seeking to answer the ultimate question: “how ought we to live?” While we use a range of strategies to tackle these fundamental ethical questions, one of the most important tools at our disposal is critical thinking.

Critical thinking is the ability to analyse and evaluate information and arguments in a clear, rational and objective manner. When we are confronted with information, critical thinking requires us to consider why this person is saying that. What could be their motive? Is there a different possible explanation?

I’m not suggesting that the goal is to raise argumentative children. Rather, as philosopher, strategic thinker and author Peter Facione explains, it is to nurture inquisitive minds that can interpret, analyse, evaluate and infer from information. In other words, parents should raise their children to be curious, critical thinkers who question everything, even if this means they question us in the process.

How can parents teach critical thinking at home? Here are my five top tips:

1. Ask open-ended questions and encourage children to do the same.

2. Provide children with opportunities to make decisions and solve problems rather than doing it for them.

3. Discuss the reasoning behind rules and decisions you make for them.

4. Encourage children to consider alternative perspectives rather than just their own.

5. Model critical thinking by thinking aloud when approaching problems.

Thinking about our thinking

Critical thinking requires metacognition: thinking about our thinking.

Reflecting on our own views gives us a chance to recognise that they too should be scrutinised and evaluated. If we choose to be vegan, for example, is it because we care about reducing harm to animals, the environment, or both; or because it’s fashionable to be vegan? Once we’ve worked out our reasons for something, we can then evaluate whether these are “good” reasons or not.

Critical thinking also means evaluating other people’s reasons. This requires us to be open to others’ points of view – including our children’s – rather than being blinded by our own biases. At the same time, to be a critical thinker is to take seriously the fact that everyone “has an agenda” (which may not be explicit) and we should therefore not take everything at face value. We can teach our children to be critical thinkers by getting them to consider the quality of the evidence presented for a position.

Put simply, parents and caregivers can promote critical thinking in children by encouraging them to ask questions, challenge assumptions and explore alternative perspectives. Critical thinking requires us not to passively accept everything we read, hear and see but rather to question, evaluate and make judgments.

Here’s what that might look like in practice.

A practical example

Let’s say your child asks why she needs to eat vegetables.

You could respond by saying “That’s a good question. What do you think? Why do you suppose we eat vegetables?” This encourages the child to start thinking about the issue herself.

She replies: “Because you said I have to.”

To get her to think about whether there are reasons beyond parental authority that may be important, you might want to ask: “Is that the only reason? Let’s think about it some more. Do you know anyone else who thinks we should eat vegetables?”

Then, to encourage her to explore alternatives, you could ask: “What do you think would happen if we never ate any vegetables? What if we only ate sweets instead?”

It might also be useful to do some research with your child, to introduce the idea of seeking evidence and reliable information. You could suggest that the two of you look up some facts about what vegetables do for our bodies.

Finally, you could pose the original question back to your child, giving her a chance to synthesise what she’s learnt and form her own conclusion.

Throughout the process, you are guiding your child to question, think about, and arrive at a reasoned understanding, rather than simply accepting a statement at face value.

Other resources

Does this sound daunting? Relax – it’s not all up to you.

Many schools incorporate critical thinking skills across their curricula. Some excellent programmes have been implemented in schools around the world. One example is Philosophy for Children (P4C), developed by educator and philosopher Matthew Lipman in the 1970s. This approach uses structured discussions about open-ended questions and can be used to develop critical thinking skills in children as young as six.

I also like the work of Critical Thinking Consortium (TC2), a Canadian organisation which provides resources and professional development to help educators embed critical thinking in their teaching. Project Zero is another good resource. This research group at the Harvard Graduate School of Education has developed several thinking routines and frameworks, such as “visible thinking” and “artful thinking”.

You could also advocate for your child’s school to introduce critical thinking skills into their curricula. Schools could partner with university philosophy departments to offer classes for low or no cost as a community engagement or social responsibility initiative.

Ultimately, whether children are exposed to these skills at home or at school, the key is to create an environment where questioning, reasoning, and exploring ideas are encouraged and valued. The goal is to make critical thinking a natural part of the way we interact with our children so that it becomes a natural part of the way they interact with the world.

Matisonn is a Senior Lecturer in Bioethics, The EthicsLab, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town.

Inside Education

By Johnathan Paoli

The National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa (Naptosa) has raised alarms over the Western Cape education department’s (WCED) decision to cut teacher posts, warning of devastating consequences for schools, particularly in impoverished and crime-affected areas.

Speaking to Inside Education, Naptosa executive director Basil Manuel expressed grave concerns about the cuts, emphasising their impact on already struggling schools.

“By reducing the number of posts in the basket you’re actually increasing the class sizes, and with an increase in class sizes, the obvious impact is on the quality of learning and teaching, but it is your poorest schools that bear the brunt of this,” Manuel said.

The WCED cited a R3 billion budget reduction from the national government, announced in August last year, as the reason for the cuts.

As a result, more than 2400 teacher positions have been eliminated, affecting schools in communities such as Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha.

Manuel stressed that poorer schools would bear the brunt of these changes, as wealthier institutions might have the resources to hire additional teachers to offset the losses.

Naptosa has been actively engaging with various stakeholders, including the Finance Minister, the Ministry of Education and the provincial education department, to address the issue.

The organisation also sought legal recourse, through the Legal Resource Centre, securing a partial victory when 500 teachers identified as eligible for permanent posts were retained.

However, Manuel pointed out that despite this progress, the overall reduction in teacher positions remained unchanged.

“This is an ongoing story. While the Western Cape has implemented these retrenchments, other provinces, having observed the fallout here, have managed to avoid similar measures. It’s unclear how they managed to save posts, but it underscores the need for increased investment in education nationwide,” Manuel said.

He said the education department’s decision comes at a time when the province was experiencing population growth, driven by natural increases and migration, and that the reduction in posts meant schools would struggle to accommodate the growing number of learners, particularly in underprivileged areas.

“The ministerial spokesperson claims class sizes won’t be affected, but that’s simply untrue,” Manuel asserted.

He highlighted ongoing efforts to engage with the National Treasury and the Minister of Finance to secure additional funding for education.

Naptosa is also in discussions with the Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube, who has expressed support for preserving teaching posts.

“We meet her on Tuesday and hopefully we’ll hear a bit more about what she has managed to do,” he said.

Manuel said that as the academic year approached, the teacher job cuts underscored the challenges posed by budget constraints and the growing demand for quality education.

With vulnerable schools already stretched thin, Naptosa along with other education stakeholders are calling for urgent interventions to prevent further harm to the country’s education system.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Johnathan Paoli

The Department of Basic Education has recovered an overpayment of more than R21 million from the Mvula Trust, an implementing agent involved in one of its infrastructure projects during the 2022/23 financial year.

This recovery was confirmed by Minister Siviwe Gwarube, who responded to Parliamentary questions about financial mismanagement and the measures in place to monitor contractors and service providers.

Gwarube said that the department engaged implementing agents to manage the construction of new infrastructure and the maintenance of existing school facilities.

She assured Parliament that systems were in place to monitor these projects closely, with regular site visits conducted to verify that progress aligns with contractual obligations.

In the event of delays or issues requiring corrective action, Gwarube emphasised that the implementing agents bore the associated costs.

This policy was enacted in the recovery of the R21 million overpayment from the Mvula Trust.

Gwarube acknowledged that while delays and discrepancies could arise in large-scale infrastructure projects, the department remained proactive in holding implementing agents accountable for any financial irregularities.

The department’s infrastructure delivery model depends on implementing agents like Mvula, Coega Development Corporation and the Development Bank of Southern Africa to execute projects on its behalf, with the agents appointing professional service providers to design, monitor and administer contracts, ensuring quality and compliance.

However, accountability measures have been strengthened to mitigate the risk of financial irregularities.

Gwarube outlined several strategies to ensure the timely completion and quality delivery of school infrastructure projects.

The department holds regular progress meetings with implementing agents, addressing construction milestones, challenges and risks, with updates being shared with the Ministry, the Director-General (DG), and operational teams.

Department officials, including the DG, conduct site visits to verify that work aligns with contractual specifications, ensuring progress is on track and within agreed timelines.

The minister said with the recovery of funds and the implementation of enhanced monitoring strategies, her department aimed to ensure that South Africa’s schools received the infrastructure support they urgently needed, reaffirming its dedication to providing a conducive learning environment for students.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Johnathan Paoli

The Gauteng education department has denied malicious intent regarding the student funding concerns at the Gauteng City Region Academy (GCRA).

Speaking to Inside Education, department spokesperson Steve Mabona said the department was aware of the challenges and was doing everything in its power to deal with the situation.

“We acknowledge that we did experience some delays in making necessary payments to some institutions, which have already been resolved as payments were made accordingly,” Mabona said on Friday.

This follows the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) demanding the immediate removal of the GCRA CEO Percy Moleke, and a new leadership that reflected the aspirations of young people.

“This individual’s incompetence has caused unnecessary suffering to students, betrayed the trust placed in the institution and undermined its mandate to support youth development,” ANCYL provincial secretary Mpume Sangweni said in a statement.

Mabona responded to the calls for a change in leadership.

“We note their call for leadership change at GCRA, however, it must be noted that the department adheres to labour legislation to employ or dismiss employees, and such must always be respected,” he said.

The affected students include three top-performing medical students from the University of Cape Town, with the league claiming possession of an email sent by a fifth-year student to GCRA pleading for assistance regarding unpaid tuition fees.

Sangweni accused Moleke of sabotaging ANC-led initiatives, such as the Nasi Spani programme, which aimed to create opportunities for young people.

“The GCRA was established to transform the lives of young people, but under this leadership, it has become a symbol of inefficiency and betrayal,” Sangweni said.

In October last year, the Democratic Alliance called on provincial education MEC Matome Chiloane to launch an investigation into serious allegations of student bursary fraud and corruption involving senior department officials at the GCRA.

This followed reports that a group of anonymous department employees accused their Head of Department, Rufus Mmutlana, and Head of Human Resources, Kgabo Morifi, of running an elaborate scheme to coerce junior administrators into diverting payments and stipends intended for students.

The institution has been plagued with numerous challenges ranging from mismanagement of funds to corruption and maladministration, with the Auditor- General previously recommending that the accounting officer open a case against Moleke.

Moleke was implicated in the tender fraud, corruption and maladministration of supply chain management procedures.

The league called for the appointment of a credible and qualified young person who would better understand the lived realities of the youth.

It encouraged any students affected to come forward.

Mabona said department wished to assure students that the matter was being managed accordingly, and it has communicated to the affected institutions not to withhold results of the students.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Johnathan Paoli

The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) has demanded the immediate removal of Gauteng City Region Academy (GCRA) CEO Percy Moleke following a fee-crisis which has left a growing number of students without funding.

ANCYL provincial secretary Mpume Sangweni called the appointment of leadership that reflected the aspirations of young people.

“This individual’s incompetence has caused unnecessary suffering to students, betrayed the trust placed in the institution, and undermined its mandate to support youth development,” Sangweni said on Thursday.

The affected students include three top-performing medical students from the University of Cape Town, with the league claiming possession of an email sent by a fifth-year student to GCRA pleading for assistance regarding unpaid tuition fees.

Sangweni accused Moleke of sabotaging ANC-led initiatives, such as the Nasi Spani programme, which aimed to create opportunities for young people.

“The GCRA was established to transform the lives of young people, but under this leadership, it has become a symbol of inefficiency and betrayal,” he said.

In October last year, the Democratic Alliance called on Education MEC Matome Chiloane to launch an investigation into serious allegations of student bursary fraud and corruption involving senior department officials at the GCRA.

This follows reports that a group of anonymous department employees accused their Head of Department, Rufus Mmutlana, and Head of Human Resources, Kgabo Morifi, of running an elaborate scheme to coerce junior administrators into diverting payments and stipends intended for students.

The institution has been plagued with numerous challenges ranging from mismanagement of funds to corruption and maladministration, with the Auditor-General previously recommending that the accounting officer open a case against Moleke, who was implicated in the tender fraud, corruption and maladministration of supply chain management procedures.

The league said a credible and qualified young person must be appointed so that the GCRA better understands the lived realities of the youth.

It has also encouraged any students affected to come forward.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Johnathan Paoli

President Cyril Ramaphosa and Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Blade Nzimande have paid tribute to late education minister Prof Sibusiso Bengu. saying that he was a trailblazer in education.

“Prof. Bengu was a pioneering leader of our democratic dispensation and administration who led the transformation of education in a democratic government… where deep divisions existed about how far this transformation should go,” Ramaphosa said on Thursday.

Bengu, who was South Africa’s first democratic education minister and then the ambassador to Germany, died earlier this week. He was 90.

Ramaphosa praised the Education Act formulated under Bengu’s leadership as a cornerstone of the liberation project in addressing the legacies of the past.

He thanked the former minister for his patriotic and visionary service in developing the educational landscape.

“His legacy is entrenched through the Sibusiso Bengu Development Programme which seeks to advance the development of historically disadvantaged institutions in higher education as strong, socially embedded institution in a diversified post-school education and training system,” Ramaphosa said.

Nzimande praised Bengu’s role as vice-chancellor of Fort Hare University and playing a leading role in dismantling the apartheid edifice of South Africa’s education sector.

“As part of the Cabinet of president Nelson Mandela, he led the introduction of a number of foundational laws that helped to shape the policy and institutional architecture of South Africa’s school and post-school sector in the decades following the collapse of the apartheid system,” the minister said.

He praised Bengu’s facilitation of the South African Schools Act of 1996 and the policy recommendations of the National Commission on Higher Education that guided government’s efforts to reconstruct and transform the apartheid higher education system.

In addition, Nzimande welcomed Bengu’s role in the transition from the Tertiary Education Fund of South Africa to the now National Students Financial Aid Scheme.

In 2022, Nzimande approached the former minister on behalf of government to accept the renaming of what was then known as the Historically Disadvantaged Institutions Development Grant to be the Sibusiso Bengu Development Programme.

The programme is aimed at decisively redressing the inequalities that have negatively impacted the development and sustainability of institutions and seeks to enable them to respond to cross-cutting imperatives, including decolonisation in higher education, indigenous knowledge systems, the Fourth Industrial Revolution and digitisation.

“In Prof. Bengu our country has lost not only one of its most committed educationists, but also a model public servant and patriot, who even when his own health was waning, continued to serve his country and people with dignity and integrity,” Nzimande said.

INSIDE EDUCATION