Johnathan Paoli

THE Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Science and Innovation kicked off with chairperson Nompendulo Mkhatshwa, announcing the absence of officials from both the Department of Higher Education as well as NSFAS, saying that she had received three forms of communication requesting postponement in order to brief the committee on a more comprehensive plan in mid-October.

The committee was expected to hear submission on a turn-around strategy or plan to resolve the problems related to the new direct-payment system; delays in resolving student appeals and accreditation of student accommodation; plans to improve the information and communication technology (ICT) systems and plans to achieve day-zero of outstanding appeals and query resolution matters.

In addition, the committee was expected to hear from the service providers contracted by NSFAS, namely Tenet Technology, eZaga, Noracco Corporation and Coinvest Africa on their background and profile, contract with NSFAS, disbursement of allowances to students, challenges experienced and plans in place to address them.

DA MP Karabo Lerato Khakhau, expressed her concern over NSFAS’ and the department’s failure to appear before the committee, and said this undermined the important role of the committee and an illustration that the deliberations of this committee were not taken seriously.

“We are not a spaza shop, we as a committee do not run things happy go lucky, without the members taking their work seriously. This letter for me indicates that NSFAS does not know how to fix the mess they are in,” Khakhau said.

EFF MP Naledi Chirwa criticised the absence of the NSFAS representatives and the Minister as merely the recent step in a long line of disrespect both have shown to the committee, to parliament and to South African youth that are so dependent upon the deliberations and decisions undertaken on these platforms.

Following a committee meeting held earlier this month, the committee gave NSFAS a two-week deadline to present a plan for how it will resolve the issues raised in the meeting.

Earlier this month, NSFAS briefed the committee on its disbursement of allowances to students, the roll-out of its new direct-payment system, and its query system.

The student financial scheme has been facing criticism for its ongoing inadequacies, nonpayment and allegations of corruption.

Last month, NSFAS announced that its CEO, Andile Nongogo, had taken “a leave of absence” while the board investigated allegations against him related to his conduct in awarding bids at NSFAS.

According to the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), NSFAS hired businesses without banking license registrations to handle direct payment to students, and these businesses charged much higher rates than commercial banks.

Last month, NSFAS acting CEO Masile Ramorwesi said that the fund had received 2.1-million applications from first-time and recurring applicants. Of these 24% were rejected; 2.4% withdrawn; 62% accepted; and 11.6% pending, largely due to missing information from students, third parties, or institutions.

The acting CEO said 45 927 students were disqualified for submitting falsified or fraudulent documents and confirmed that after NSFAS re-evaluated the applications, 14 703 applications were reinstated, while 31 224 remained disqualified.

Ramorwesi had previously said that NSFAS plans to resolve all internal appeals by 30 September and resolve appeals that are dependent on the student or institution by 30 October.

Following today, both NSFAS as well as the Department of Higher Education will have another opportunity scheduled to appear before the committee to present updates as well as the comprehensive plan that is seeking to engage the crisis underway.

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Inside Education Reporter

Leading TB expert and eminent research scientist Professor Kogie Naidoo has been elected as a Fellow of the prestigious Royal Society in South Africa for her seminal research over three decades in TB-HIV co-infection and multidrug-resistant TB. 

Naidoo is among South Africa’s highly accomplished medical scientists playing a leading role in tuberculosis research, the leading cause of death in people living with HIV (PLWH) and has made significant contributions to the global understanding of TB-HIV treatment integration. 

The Royal Society of South Africa, a “learned society composed of eminent South African scientists and academics,” announced last week, following “rigorous consideration by the Society’s Adjudication Committee” and approval by the Council and current RSSAf Fellows. 

Naidoo, the Deputy Director and leads the HIV-TB treatment programme at the Centre for the AIDS Programme of South Africa (CAPRISA), said she was “honoured and deeply humbled by the recognition.” 

“My passion is to save lives through medical research and change the lives of vulnerable, marginalised populations most affected by tuberculosis, multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, and HIV.”

Born in Durban, she obtained her MBChB and PhD at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, where she is an honorary associate Professor in the College of Health Sciences and was among the first to implement public antiretroviral therapy (ART) services for people living with HIV over 25 years ago. 

Her research with her colleagues showed that starting antiretroviral treatment (ART) simultaneously with tuberculosis treatment resulted in a 56% lower death rate, saving the lives of patients with HIV-TB co-infection. This work led to the WHO advising that co-treatment would now be the standard of care for people with HIV and TB.

“Her research has shaped the development of international clinical guidelines and algorithms used in managing TB-HIV co-infection,” said Professor Salim Abdool Karim, Director of CAPRISA. 

“She leads several CAPRISA studies across multiple research sites to optimise innovative treatment strategies to reduce deaths in patients further co-infected with TB-HIV and HIV patients with drug-resistant TB.”

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INSIDE EDUCATION REPORTER

THE first shots of the IRB Rugby World Cup have been fired in France, titans have been sunk, changing rooms are rife with the walking wounded, and rugby fever is at the pitch.

But, the impact of the Rugby World Cup far exceeds entertaining crowds with breath-taking tries and eliciting jeers from aggrieved crowds for off-the-ball scuffles.

Numerous economic factors fluctuate with the fortunes of the respective teams.

“The economic aspects are, of course, diverse. It is a long tournament, and analysts have already warned that it can influence people’s productivity,” explains Prof Waldo Krugell, an economic expert at the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences of the North-West University (NWU).

“With South Africa’s matches being played on Sundays, a win or a loss can cause an absence from work on Monday. However, the beer industry is unsure if that will be the case. Consumers struggle financially, and load-shedding means taverns cannot always keep the beer cold. Where people are wary of crime, they may not leave the house to watch matches, dampening spending,” says Krugell.

“Internationally, much research has also been done on the influence of sports sentiment on the stock market. When a country’s team loses, investors are somewhat depressed, and the next day is often a bad one on the stock exchange. The research has found that this is true for the FIFA World Cup and international cricket and rugby matches.

“Other research, in turn, looked at what happens to the stock prices of the big sponsors. Regarding the PGA golf tour and American NASCAR Cup races, sponsors’ stocks do better for the duration of the competition,” Krugell explains.

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Staff Reporter

THE Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) has begun a policy dialogue on School Dropout of Adolescent Girls during Pregnancy and in the Postpartum Period. 

The dialogue is informed by CGE’s recently published research report exploring reasons for school dropout by adolescent girls during pregnancy and postpartum. The research study investigated the social, cultural, legislative, and economic factors that pose barriers to school attendance by teenage girls during pregnancy and after birth. 

This research was conducted in three provinces with the highest prevalence of adolescent pregnancy, i.e., KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, and Limpopo. The policy dialogues will engage key stakeholders to communicate the research findings and recommendations. 

The KZN policy dialogue was held on 8 September, Limpopo on 15 September, and the remaining discussion will occur in the Eastern Cape on Venue on 22 September 2023. 

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Prashwin Naidu

Long-serving teacher Mlungisi Nkosi has a passion for education. The mathematician and award-winning educator has recently turned his dream of making STEM education accessible to all into reality with the Mlungisi Nkosi Maths & Science Centre in Northriding, Randburg.

Soweto-born Nkosi has been a teacher for 15 years. He says the idea for the centre has been with him for at least 13 years. 

The centre assists learners from grades 8 to 12 with Maths, Science, and Coding tutoring and career guidance aligned with STEM. The focus is on students who have yet to perform well, although students seeking extra lessons are welcome. 

Matric students can access exam preparation classes, while post-matric students can take upgrade classes to enhance their performance.

“I truly believe that anyone can excel in mathematics and physics. I work extensively 

with my learners to help them believe in their capabilities,” says Nkosi.

Nkosi was recently honoured with the Outstanding Educational Influencer award at the AKS Global Teaching Awards in Dubai. His educational content creation on the social media platform YouTube began in 2020 in response to the challenges faced by students during the global coronavirus pandemic.

Nkosi has garnered over 160,000 subscribers to his channel, where he focuses on innovative approaches to assist learners in comprehending Mathematics and Physical Science. The track has resonated with his audience and has aided many students in mastering and destigmatising these subjects. His philosophy of “individuals before content” ensures no learner is left behind, earning him views from across the country and beyond.

The passion for mathematics and physical science begins with cultivating a relationship with the individual. Acknowledging their potential and employing relatable teaching models significantly contributes to the teaching process,” says Nkosi. His strategy involves not making assumptions when tutoring on his channel; he often starts by revising concepts from grade 10 for his Matric preparation classes, ensuring his audience is comfortable with Matric-level concepts.

The dream of the maths and physics centre has become a reality for Nkosi and his team. Many students wish to benefit from the centre but need help. Nkosi welcomes donations from individuals and corporations interested in sponsoring struggling students. 

His former students sparked the idea and approached him about paying forward the education they received to help another student.

“I imagine there are people who can and would like to contribute by offering their time, sharing advice, discussing their journey, and sharing wisdom in the field of STEM. We also welcome assistance in leadership and career guidance,” adds Nkosi.

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Johnathan Paoli

THE South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) is making inclusive learning and teaching a reality. SADTU, as part of the Teacher Union Collaboration (TUC) programme with other unions in education to complement the Department of Basic Education in training teachers on skills for a changing world, has partnered with Bona Africa to train teachers teaching visually impaired and blind learners in coding and robots.

This unplugged coding and robotics training has been extended to the visually impaired and blind following the successful training of almost 16 000 teachers in mainstream schools in 2022. 

SADTU, through its Curtis Nkondo Professional Development Institute and Ubuntu Africa, are training teachers from schools for the visually impaired across all nine provinces in a series of 16 workshops in September to reach 600 teachers.

Workshops have already been conducted in some special schools in the Free State, KwaZulu Natal, Eastern Cape, and Northern Cape provinces, and these were fully embraced by visually impaired teachers as well. 

The teachers provided valuable lessons for the Institute, providing insight into their needs for successful professional development. This showed that learning is a two-way process.

Apart from reaching out to the teachers who are normally marginalised in professional development initiatives, this training will positively impact the visually impaired and blind learners as it will open the world of opportunities and positively impact their world and future.

Explaining SADTU’s interest in shifting the coding and robotics training to capacitate teachers from schools for the visually impaired, SADTU General Secretary Mugwena Maluleke said the move was motivated by the Union’s commitment towards the promotion of our inclusive agenda by ensuring the development of an education system which is fully accessible to all, is equal and is of quality. 

“SADTU and the Institute, through this training, will ensure that these teachers and learners are not left behind in the teaching and learning the skills for a changing world. We will make every effort, especially with the strengthened curriculum, to ensure that all learners benefit from innovation,” Maluleke said. 

Bona Africa ( a collaboration between Tangible Africa and Bona uBuntu) is providing the content for the training. The teachers are provided with training and supporting materials that are fully accessible to the blind. They will use these to implement coding at the school level. For the blind learners, their kit includes tactile tokens and is available in braille. 

Tangible Africa has worked with SADTU since the training of teachers from mainstream schools. The organisation has also partnered with various teacher unions in South Africa to train teachers in coding.

Its founder, Head of Department, and Associate Professor at the Nelson Mandela University Computing Sciences Department, Professor Jean Greyling, said the organisation was committed to bridging the digital divide by making coding more inclusive to visually impaired youth across South Africa.

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Staff Reporter

Committee Chairperson Bongiwe Mbinqo-Gigaba said the Basic Education Department Committee has concluded deliberations on the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill. 

She said this brings the Bill, which has been more than 20 years in the making, a step closer to being enacted. 

Some of the proposals adopted today include making Grade R the new compulsory school-starting age, penalties for parents who do not ensure their children are in school and confirmation that corporal punishment is no longer allowed at schools with penalties for those found guilty of such offences.
 
Regarding language policy, the amendment states that the governing body must submit the language policy of a public school and any amendment thereof to the Head of department for approval. 

The language policy must also consider the language needs of the broader community. After consultation with the school’s governing body, the committee further adopted the proposed amendment that the Head of the department has the final authority to admit a learner to a public school.
 
The contentious proposed amendment regarding home education was partially agreed to. When considering an application, this amendment provided for the Head of the department to require a delegated official to conduct a pre-registration site visit. 

The adopted amendment now provides that such learners must still be registered, but that site visits are optional. Furthermore, a report at the end of each phase will now be required by a qualified educator or assessor to prove the learner’s competency.
 
Some proposed amendments were scrapped in totality. The proposed amendment regarding the sale of alcohol on school premises after hours during functions was not supported by the committee. 

The proposed amendment dealing with members of a governing body that must disclose on an annual basis their financial interests and the financial interests of their spouses, partners and immediate family members also did not garner the support and was deemed too onerous a task.
 
Mbinqo-Gigaba said the proposed amendments are to align the legislation with developments in the education landscape and to ensure that systems of learning are put in place in a manner that gives effect to the right to primary education as enshrined in section 29(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.
 
She said the committee extensively deliberated on all clauses in the Bill. “In some instances, all members agreed that certain proposed amendments did not belong to the Bill and ensured that they were removed, whereas in other cases, the committee vigorously debated clauses and retained them. This is all to ensure that we better the education landscape of the next generation.

“The committee held extensive public hearings in all provinces, oral submissions were heard in Parliament from stakeholders and thousands of written submissions were considered when debating and drafting this legislation. This speaks of a Parliament that engages and listens to the people.” 

The committee is expected to meet next week to adopt the final Bill before it is referred to the National Assembly for debate and consideration. 

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Johnathan Paoli

THE national department of Tourism and the Gauteng department of Economic Development announced the upcoming National Tourism Careers Expo 2023 to be held at Nasrec, and expected to draw as many as 10 000 learners and teachers from across the country.

The Department of Tourism, Culture Arts, Tourism, Hospitality & Sport Education Training Authority (CATHSSETA), in conjunction with the Gauteng Department of Economic Development, and its provincial marketing agency, the Gauteng Tourism Authority, will be launching the collaborative effort, under the theme “Tourism Investments for People, Planet and Prosperity” from 29 September to 1 October.

Launching the NTCE 2023, the Deputy Minister of Tourism Fish Mahlalela said South Africa was rebuilding its tourism sector to ensure its sustainability for future generations.

“A robust recovery plan needs to be firmly anchored in a bold strategy that will position the economy on an upward trajectory and growth path. But to drive the growth and recovery of the tourism sector, we need to boost the talent pool, and therefore a demand-led skills supply is therefore pivotal,” said Mahlalela.

The ministry said that entrance to the NTCE 2023 will be free and include motivational talks by leading local tourism entrepreneurs and personalities, tourism educator seminars, exhibitions by local tourism products and related services.

This follows on the impact of Covid-19 and the slow but steady recovery of the tourism industry, as well as government’s attempts at mitigating the notoriously high youth unemployment rate.

However, the tourism sector in South Africa faces several impediments to growth and development, which obstruct job creation. Some of these challenges include crime, a lack of funding and skills, and immigration problems.

Tourism South Africa, the tourism marketing arm of the South African government, has previously come under serious criticism in parliament for receiving a qualified audit opinion from the Auditor General for the 2020/2021 financial year. The first time in 17 years that this had happened.

In addition, this follows on the recent compromise reached between Cabinet, the Tourism department, and organisations such as Afriforum, in effectively adjusting the Tourism Equity Fund (TEF) from 51% to 30% in the requirements for Black ownership in the R1.2 billion fund.

The TEF is an equity acquisition fund managed by the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (Sefa) on behalf of the Department of Tourism, with the purpose to promote the participation of Black enterprises within the tourism industry and provide a combination of debt finance and grant to facilitate equity acquisition and new project development in the tourism sector by black entrepreneurs.

The department said that it will capitalise the fund with an amount of R540 million, which will be matched by a contribution of R120m from the Small Enterprise Finance Agency, and R594m from commercial banks that will be participating in the programme.

Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille said last week that the target was to have the TEF fully disbursed by March next year and to develop and implement mechanisms to unlock the implementation of the TEF to ensure black ownership within the confines of the law and support small to medium enterprises in the tourism sector.

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Johnathan Paoli

SADTU Vice-President for Education, Faseega Solomon, in conjunction with founders Jean Greyling and Robyn Fick, showcased  the coding and robotics workshop for disabled learners as the foundation for the Future Union Collaboration Project which seeks to expand inclusivity for learners in the country.

Speaking at a media briefing on Thursday during a workshop held at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg, Solomon said when the Department of Basic Education (DBE) presented a framework of 21st century skills, Sadtu decided upon coding and robotics as an important sphere, not only for its fundamental role in the changing digital economy, but due to the taboo, ignorance and fear educators faced and felt when confronting this area of expertise. 

In addition, Solomon said that this is only the beginning, that after the successful implementation of this programme, conversations would follow between the DBE and the Department of Higher Education (DHE) over institutionalising this training on a more permanent level within the curriculum of prospective teachers studying at universities and colleges.

“We know it’s not enough, but we hope to take this further and expand this training to as many teachers as possible,” Solomon said. 

Tangible Africa founder Jean Greyling, said that 16 000 out of 25 000 schools do not have computer laboratories and that projects like these play a vital role in engaging the “digital divide” in the country.

For disabled learners, this problem is compounded by the high cost of translating learning material into braille, adding another dimensional challenge to their effective inclusion, he said.

In addition, Solomon said that coding and robotics as a skill development programme remains an integral part in education transformation as it teaches learners critical thinking and problem solving. 

“It’s not about coding at primary school, coding is just a tool to teach kids how to solve problems, how to communicate, to strategise,” Greyling said.

Furthermore, Greyling said that the current project was aimed at what he calls low-entry training for teachers consisting of four hours of training in order to equip them with the material and skills in teaching visually impaired and blind learners.

Considering the long and arduous journey in relation to the insitutionalisation of these skills at university and college level, the short amount of time and resources needed in order to equip teachers would be advantageous in providing the tools directly into the hands of the people on the front-line of education, without the bureaucratic delays of a curriculum change, a shift that can take up to four years. 

Bona uBuntu founder, Robyn Fick, praised the collaboration between unions, NGOs and government and said that this was in line with the main aim of her organisation, namely that all children with visual impairments are fully included in all levels of society. 

“We want inclusion in action, we want ALL children to be included,” Fick said. 

Through the use of gaming apps, Fick said that a project involving 300 learners from across PE, illustrated the manner in which children are taught inclusion. 

Fick said in a competition held on 18 July this year, with a mixed group of able-bodied and visually impaired children, the abled learners did not even realise they were engaging with disabled learners.

Professor Greyling stressed the desperate need for advocacy to assist in the transformation of the way society and even teachers view education saying that union advocacy already shifted the national opinion on coding and robotics, and that advocacy in other levels such as universities and NGOs should be a priority for the unions, teachers and learners. 

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