ANGELINE MAROKOANE

PROFESSOR Louis du Preez, professor of zoology at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University (NWU), was honoured by having a newly discovered Malagasy frog species named after him.

The honour was bestowed by a group of German scientists from the University of Braunschweig, Landesmuseum in Darmstadt, and the Zoological Museum in München, in recognition of Professor du Preez’s substantial contributions to understanding the flatworm parasites of Malagasy anurans.

This lineage of frog species represents the most evolutionarily divergent species of Blommersia known to date.

It means within the genus Blommersia, this new species branch off early and is in fact an old species.

Although it is still regarded as Blommersia, it differs quite a lot from all other species in the genus.

The new species is now formally named and described as Blommersia dupreezi.

“I am grateful to be recognised for the work I did in Madagascar by having a vertebrate animal named after me. This is a huge honour and I am humbled by the gesture,” he says.

Professor du Preez is a renowned National Research Foundation B-rated scientist and is affiliated to the Unit of Environmental Sciences and Development at the NWU.

His role as leader of the African Amphibian Conservation Research Group is highly regarded in scientific circles.

The group’s research focuses on the conservation and well-being of amphibians.

Professor du Preez research focuses on amphibians and their parasites. He has authored seven books – including The Field Guide to Frogs of Southern Africa – as well as 168 peer-reviewed scientific papers.

His contribution to the knowledge field doesn’t stop there, as he, along with Vincent Carruthers, created a smartphone app about the frogs of Southern Africa, which is truly commendable.

Professor du Preez says the best aspect of his work is training and inspiring young scientists. “Seeing their knowledge develop and finding their niche areas is incredibly rewarding for me.”

His job presents a variety of challenges, including the need for travel to remote locations.

He adds that when one is passionate about their work, it can become difficult to separate your career and personal life.

“My family has been remarkably supportive of my work – they’ve joined me in research and turned family trips into learning opportunities. It is thanks to them that I have been able to spend long hours in pursuit of my dreams while still having their support,” he adds.

Professor du Preez encourages aspiring researchers to remember to stay passionate about their work and focus on making positive contributions to the scientific world, rather than striving for personal achievements.

“We all have a duty to improve conditions and increase the chance of survival for every species on Earth – including the frogs, who were one of the first land-dwelling animals and are now among the most threatened vertebrates on our planet,” he adds.

INSIDE EDUCATION

AK Arts & Leadership Academy (AKALA) is on a mission to disrupt the arts education landscape in the country by expanding access to arts education and combating arts teacher unemployment.

Inspired by the radical leadership of fallen apartheid activist Ashley Kriel, AKALA is a non-profit company (NPC) founded by University of Cape Town (UCT) alumni. 

Through human-centred approaches and co-creation with stakeholders, AKALA aims to advocate for the integration of the arts across all spaces of learning and design, implement arts education programmes, and capacitate the professional development of arts education students and graduates.

This as a way of mitigating the crisis faced by South Africa’s arts education system, which is beset with a looming shortage of qualified arts teachers, a declining status of arts education, and limited employment opportunities for newly graduated specialist art teachers.

AKALA recently held its first event, The Co-Creation Station, where stakeholders in arts education discussed and co-created the organisation’s mission, vision, and values using design thinking.

This workshop gave rise to AKALA’s Big Audacious Goal Statement, which serves as a reminder to always co-create with those who stand to benefit from the organisation’s work.

Baseline research conducted by AKALA revealed that only two in 10 schools in the Western Cape offer specialist art education subjects, with 42 out of 50 teachers who teach art subjects not suitably skilled or qualified. Moreover, there is a looming arts teacher shortage, with half of the country’s current working teaching force set to retire by 2030.
 
“Our aim is to make people competitive in the global workplace by nurturing future skills through advocacy and practice.”

The NPC’s long-term goal is to establish the pilot AKALA Art Centre, a combined school registered with the Provincial Education Department, offering specialist art education for grades R to 12, and specialist vocational art education for the Further Education and Training Phase.

The 2022 Durban floods were the most catastrophic yet recorded in KwaZulu-Natal.

INSIDE EDUCATION

THE Department of Basic Education has dismissed reports that South Africa’s education system is deteriorating, saying that “the facts” point to improvements against all “relevant” metrics of education system performance.

The department was responding to several reports published by the Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE) in March, in which the group painted a shocking state of affairs in education in South Africa.

Among many notable points made by the reports, the group spoke of a ‘silent crisis’ in local schools, showing that South Africa has one of the worst-performing education systems in the world.

Broadly, the CDE highlighted the following:

– South Africa is the single biggest learning underperformer relative to GDP per capita among low and middle-income countries.

– After a year of school, more than 50% of Grade 1 learners don’t know all the letters in the alphabet. 78% of Grade 4 learners could not read for meaning in any language.

– Out of 39 participating countries, South Africa’s Grade 9 learners – on a test designed for Grade 8s – placed 38th (second last) in mathematics proficiency and last place (39th) in science proficiency.

– Covid-19 lockdowns devastated learning in South Africa (as elsewhere). Experts believe the average 10-year-old knows less than the average 9-year-old before the pandemic.

– many teachers lack the capabilities to teach better, with the proficiency levels of South African teachers (41%) rank far below that of their peers in Kenya (95%) and Zimbabwe (87%). 79% of Grade 6 maths teachers in the country scored below 60% on a Grade 6 maths test.

– South Africa has the highest teacher absenteeism rate of all SADC countries, which stood at 10% in 2017.

– A report by the National Education Evaluation and Development Unit (NEEDU), released in 2015, assessing rural literacy found extensive union involvement in corrupt teacher hiring and promotion processes.

– Despite findings of criminality, no government official implicated in the 2014-2015′ jobs for cash’ scandals has been prosecuted or suspended.

On Thursday (13 April), the department said it had “noted” the reports but broadly dismissed them as a one-sided, inflammatory, political analysis.

Further, it said that work currently being done by the department had already caught up to many of the points raised, adding that the CDE missed an opportunity to give readers an update on the developments within the sector.

“The sector was not invited to respond or at least to provide information on work being done to address the challenges raised in the reports. This means the reports are one-sided and overtaken, in some parts, by work done up to now,” it said.

“Any underlying value in the CDE’s analysis and recommendations on education policy is unfortunately undermined by the strong politically charged stance taken.”

The DBE said that calling president Cyril Ramaphosa a “weak president” and seeking the resignation of DBE minister Angie Motshekga made the publishing of the reports a political move, while terminology, such as likening the corruption within the system to state capture, emphasised this.

“The appropriation of the language of ‘state capture’ into the education space is unfortunate and inappropriate, given that “state capture” has a particular reference to a serious problem our country has experienced, and applying it inappropriately empties it of its value,” it said.

The department also said that much of the CDE reports were based on data published by the department, so it took issue with the group calling it a ‘silent crisis’ when work was clearly being done.

Progress made

While not addressing each point raised by the CDE, the department did speak to some of the sore points and the progress being made.

On the issue of corruption, it said that the department cooperated fully with police investigations of possible criminality and has drafted reforms to school appointment processes which are now contained in the draft Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill.

It offered no comment on the poor performance of learners and teachers, but said that the country has seen increased participation in the country, with essentially universal school attendance for 7 to 15-year-olds.

“Early learning opportunities have been rapidly expanding in recent years: Only 40% of 5-year-olds attended an educational institution in 2002, compared to nearly 90% in 2021,” it said.

It added that the average performance of South African learners has been amongst the fastest improving in the world, according to all three independent international assessments of learning.

“These quality advances have supported consistent improvements in the outcomes of the National Senior Certificate examinations. The percentage of all youths who complete the National Senior Certificate has increased from less than 40% in the early 2000s to over 60%.

“The number of bachelor passes – those qualifying for university entrance – has tripled since 2008. More than 60% of these bachelor passes now come from no-fee schools, which serve children in more vulnerable and rural contexts,” it said.

“The authors of the CDE reports are obviously aware of the record of clear progress in the sector because they do not actually say there has been a decline in the performance of the system. In fact, the reports do acknowledge that South Africa’s performance on all independent international assessments of learning quality improved since the early 2000s.”

However, this acknowledgement is in the proverbial “fine print” of the reports, the department said, which makes the negative tone “unsurprising”.

The department said that the CDE reports raise valid points – such as the impact of Covid-19 – but that it “opted for an inflammatory tone, one-sided negative analysis, and a politically charged stance, ultimately missing an opportunity to contribute to a shared agenda for improving education in the future”.

Business Tech

STAFF REPORTER

THE disastrous flood that hit Durban in April 2022 was the most catastrophic natural disaster yet recorded in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) in collective terms of lives lost, homes and infrastructure damaged or destroyed and economic impact.

This is according to a new study by researchers from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, and the University of Brighton, UK, published in the South African Geographical Journal.

Professor Stefan Grab from Wits University and his colleague, Professor David Nash constructed a geographical history of flooding disasters in KZN by sifting through thousands of archived articles held in old newspapers, colonial and government records, early missionary records, and meteorological records which became available from the 1850s onwards.

They define extreme flooding events, where major rivers were overflowing their banks, together with one or more
significant consequences, such as the loss of human life, livestock, agricultural fields and crops, and infrastructure such as buildings, roads and bridges.

The study, which reconstructed the history of floods in KZN since the 1840s, confirmed a widely-held – yet anecdotal view – that the April 2022 floods were likely the most catastrophic natural disaster yet recorded in KZN and that flooding events have doubled over the last century or more.

“Right after the floods, many commentators like the media, some scientists and others were quick to report that the floods were the most severe ever recorded. Our aim was to place the floods into perspective and see if this and other statements related to the disaster were factually correct by building a historic geographic account of past floods and associated extreme rainfall events for the province of KZN and particularly the greater Durban region,” says Grab, lead author of the study.

“When you look at a natural disaster you need to look at it in context. Whether the April 2022 floods were the ‘worst in living memory’ is debatable, as a flooding event in September 1987 affected a larger geographic area of KZN and destroyed more homes than the 2022 event,” says Grab.

Similarly, a catastrophic flooding event in Durban, 1856 – also in April – produced a greater quantity of rainfall
over a three-day period than last year’s floods.

In April 2022, the KZN coastal zone, including the greater Durban area and South Coast, received more than 300mm of rain in 24 hours. This led to calamitous flooding, with 459 people losing their lives and 88 people still missing by the end of May 2022. Over 4000 homes were destroyed, 40 000 people left homeless, and 45 000 people were temporarily left unemployed.

The cost of infrastructure and business losses amounted to an estimated US$2 billion.

In April 1856, 303mm of rain fell in Durban over 24 hours, and a record of 691mm over a three-day period from April 14 to 16.

INSIDE EDUCATION

STAFF REPORTER

HONORIS United Universities and Regent Business School are proud to announce that one of their students, Boitumelo Nkatlo, has returned from a trip to Harvard Business School which he won following the entrepreneurship skills he demonstrated in his ground-breaking project, BNAqua Solutions.

He joined global leaders in entrepreneurship as they gathered at the prestigious Harvard Business School’s Africa Business Conference, held in Boston, USA, from 24 to 25 March 2023.

Regent Business School is a proud member of the Honoris United Universities network, the first pan-African private higher education network committed to preparing and educating the next generation of African leaders and professionals to make a regional impact in a globalised world.

As the Platinum Sponsor of this conference, Honoris United Universities believes in the power of entrepreneurship and innovation for the prosperity of the African continent and its communities.

This belief is manifested through various partnerships with international organizations and institutions that work towards uplifting and encouraging young entrepreneurs in Africa.

Boitumelo Nkatlo’s winning invention, BNAqua Solutions, is a testament to this belief. It is an inventive solution that addresses the water scarcity issues faced by communities in South Africa. His invention, which is fully recognised and licensed in his name, treats acid mine drainage water and transforms it into safe drinking water, using waste metallic materials.

As the winner of this prestigious competition, Boitumelo Nkatlo attended the Harvard Business School’s Africa Business Conference from 24 to 25 March 2023 in Boston, USA, where he was afforded access to a host of activities specifically for students including a campus tour, introductions to the Harvard faculty, an MBA open house, and a networking lunch.

His excitement and gratitude for this once in a lifetime opportunity were evident, “I am truly grateful to Honoris United Universities and Regent Business School for enabling me to attend the Harvard Business School’s Africa Business Conference in Boston, USA., where I made valuable contacts within the African continent. Some noteworthy interactions were with the chairman of OCP Group, a fertilizing manufacturer based in Morocco, Mostafa Terrab; a Ghanaian entrepreneur, Fred Swaniker and the chairman of Standard Bank South Africa, Nonkululeko Nyembezi. The break-out sessions which I attended covered some incredibly relevant topics, and I particularly enjoyed the sessions
focusing on Africa’s creative economy and financial inclusion. A highlight was a private meeting with
Prof. Anywhere Siko who is a Berol Corporation Fellow and assistant professor in the Accounting and
Management unit at Harvard. This trip could lead to other life-changing opportunities.”

Dr. Ahmed Shaikh, Managing Director of Regent Business School, added, “As an institution that places a high value on innovation and entrepreneurship, we are proud to have played a role in Boitumelo’s success. His dedication to finding sustainable and affordable solutions to address the issue of clean water access is inspiring, and we are confident that he will continue to make a significant impact in the future.”

This recognition is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and innovation of Boitumelo Nkatlo and the Regent Business School. It also highlights the commitment of Honoris United Universities to empower and encourage young entrepreneurs in Africa.

Honoris United Universities and Regent Business School wish Boitumelo Nkatlo well with his future endeavours and remain committed to continued support for the next generation of African entrepreneurs.

INSIDE EDUCATION

BENTA A. ABUYA

Senegal has a young population, with about half of its 18 million people aged below 19. This indicates a potentially high demand for education. Of those aged six to 11, however, 41% are out of school. In the age group 12 to 18, 43% aren’t in school. Statistics show, too, that the enrolment numbers of girls decrease as they advance in grades. To understand these dynamics, the African Population and Health Research Center carried out a two-year study on girls’ education and wellbeing in Senegal. The Conversation Africa asked Benta A. Abuya, a lead researcher on the study, to unpack the findings.

You found that only a third of girls enrol in a secondary school. Why is this?

The reasons begin in primary school. In Senegal, the official primary school entrance age is six. Primary school lasts six years, lower secondary lasts four years and upper secondary lasts three years.

Our findings were that in the last grade of primary school, the dropout rate was 26.7% for girls and 22.2% for boys.

We found that financial hardship in households is one of the obstacles to girls and boys completing school. About 39% of Senegalese live below the poverty line.

Despite the existence of government programmes – like free public school education until age 16 and the Girls’ Education Support Project, which provides school uniforms – the cost of schooling is still an obstacle for many families. They have to pay for learning materials and transport to school.

We also found a preference to educate boys over girls. In households with limited finances, boys are more likely to be sent to school even if girls would like to go.

Additionally, girls who are delinquent, lack interest in school or engage in unsafe sexual activities tend to be judged harshly by communities. They are viewed as bringing shame to their families. They are, therefore, withdrawn from school and married off early in an attempt to address this behaviour.

Deep-seated cultural beliefs and practices – such as female genital mutilation, forced child marriages and early pregnancies – also prevent some girls from making progress in school. They, therefore, lag in education and wellbeing.

The legal age of marriage in Senegal is 16 for girls and 18 for boys. But families decide when girls get married. For example, in the Kolda region in the south, 68% of girls get married before they turn 18. This is more than double the national average of 31%.

In a scoping review we did in 2019, we found that out of 1,321 adolescent girls, 78% got pregnant between ages 12 and 18. Of these pregnancies, 25.6% occurred before the girls turned 15. And in an exploratory study we did in 2021, teenage pregnancy was predominantly cited in Zinguinchor and Sedhiou regions in south-west Senegal, as leading to girls dropping out of school.

Some girls marry early because their families believe it makes them less likely to fall pregnant in a transactional sexual relationship. Others marry early if they see it as the only opportunity to make a life after dropping out of school.

Why is this a problem?

When girls don’t get into secondary school, they and their communities miss out on the social, economic and health benefits that accrue from education.

When more girls get to secondary school, this spurs communities to build more secondary institutions. This in turn spurs higher primary school enrolment. It also increases the chances of girls being near the schools they need to attend, which motivates parents to be more committed to supporting their schooling.

When girls get a secondary school education, the whole society benefits. Critical thinking skills enable girls to participate in civic duties and drive democratic change in their communities. Educated women are better placed to address some of the health challenges facing their children and their communities, as they are often primary caregivers.

Educated mothers increase the immunisation and nutrition intake of their children, reduce the likelihood of child mortality and stunting, have lower fertility rates, and have fewer unwanted pregnancies.

Lastly, going to secondary school reduces the likelihood that girls will contract sexually transmitted diseases, as they are able to access information to change their health behaviour when they are most vulnerable.

How can parents help turn the tide?

Parents can help increase the number of girls getting into secondary school if they:

give equal chances to girls and boys to attend school

refrain from marrying girls off early

stop using the excuse that girls are bound to “end up in the kitchen”

register all their children, including girls, at birth so that they have birth certificates.

We found that a failure to follow up on the issuance of birth certificates for girls hinders their education beyond primary school, as they are unable to sit for final exams.

The government and education stakeholders need to encourage parents to get more involved in programmes to keep girls in schools. For instance, parents are needed to drive the fight against early marriage and female genital mutilation.

The government should also ensure that the Coordinating Framework of Interventions on Girls’ Education in Senegal works with communities.

Men and boys should be involved in intervention programmes. This has the potential to shift power dynamics by challenging gender norms and patriarchal beliefs that men and women aren’t equal.

In the regions where cultural and religious factors hinder girls’ education, parents should be at the forefront of addressing these barriers. They can do this by speaking up against early marriage and keeping girls in schools.

Benta A. Abuya, Research Scientist, African Population and Health Research Center.

THE CONVERSATION

PHUTI MOSOMANE

THE KwaZulu-Natal Education MEC, Mbali Frazer, has acknowledged that glitches in the food delivery system to some schools resulted in thousands of pupils starting the first day back at school with empty stomachs.

Fraser expressed regret over the situation and was shocked to discover logistical challenges on the part of the main service provider.

Upon receiving the report on Wednesday, Frazer instructed the top management of the Department to promptly engage with the affected districts and stakeholders to identify the root causes of the challenges and determine their extent.

“This unfortunate situation currently faced by schools, communities and service providers is deeply regretted. The Department and the affected service provider have been working around the clock to resolve these challenges,” she said. 

There are 5,400 schools which are beneficiaries of the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) in the province.

INSIDE EDUCATION 

PHUTI MOSOMANE

FIVE men have appeared in the Alice Magistrates Court on Tuesday for a number of charges, including murder and attempted murder of employees at the University of Fort Hare.

Three of the five suspects involved in the University of Fort Hare shootings had links with the institution. 

Police said one worked with the fleet manager, the other is a former Student Representative Council (SRC) member, and another was brought back to work at the university after retiring.

One of the suspects allegedly ordered a hit on the University of Fort Hare’s fleet manager Petrus Roets last year. 

Two of the accused are from KwaZulu-Natal. 

Police top brass led by Minister Bheki Cele and National police commissioner, General Fannie Masemola visited Alice in the Eastern Cape following a breakthrough in the police investigations into cases of murder and attempted murder at the Fort Hare university. 

The five men facing murder and attempted murder charges will remain in custody until the 4th of May for a formal bail application. 

Fort Hare vice-chancellor Prof Buhlungu said he was pleased that President Cyril Ramaphosa prioritised the cases as he promised.

“I am pleased that today we are seeing breakthrough in this case. I think the President for sending police top brass as he promised. We will not rest until those who aided and abet corruption are brought to book,” he said on Tuesday. 

On the 6th January, Buhlungu’s protector Mboneli Vesele was gunned down outside his official residence. 

Since then, a high level national police task force and intervention teams were deployed to find his killers and also resolve the remaining murder cases linked to corruption in the varsity.

The team reported directly to the national police commissioner.

INSIDE EDUCATION 

CHINEDU OKAFOR

THE National Bank of Angola’s Governor, José de Lima Massano, met with the executive directors and discussed the country’s achievements in changing financial regulatory systems and processes as well as stabilizing the exchange rate. The visit took place between March 6 and 10.

The Chamber of Commerce, BFA (Bank of Fomento Angola), Standard Bank, Industrial Association of Angola, the association of agro-livestock producers, Angola Development Bank, and the Association of the Bank in Angola hosted a meeting where the directors also met private sector players in the agricultural sector.

They met with the team from the bank’s local office and listened to presentations on the macroeconomic and fiscal situation of the nation as well as the activities of the Bank there.

The delegation was led by Gerard Bussier, the executive director for Mauritius, who discussed the significance of the Bank’s support for the field of science and technology education.

The directors observed the effects of the transformational education project firsthand while on a visit to CAZENGA Secondary School number 3114 in Luanda.

Over 800 students have received scholarships as a result of the project, including 610 scholarships for girls studying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Additionally, the project has funded state-of-the-art biology, physics, and chemistry laboratories for the school.

The directors’ attendance at the groundbreaking ceremony for the planned Science and Technology Park of Luanda, which the Bank will finance as part of the Science and Technology Development Project, was another highlight of their trip.

The Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation (MESCTI) is in charge of carrying out the Project for the Development of Science and Technology (PDCT).

The ceremony, which highlighted the stages of construction and its effects on Angolan society, was presided over by Maria do Rosário Bragança, Minister of Higher Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation of Angola.

The park’s construction is anticipated to take 30 months.

Business Insider: Africa