RIYAADH EBRAHIM|

President Cyril Ramaphosa has outlined a number of measures to address the burning issue of unemployment, particularly among young people. With South Africa’s unemployment rate rising to a record 32.6% in the first quarter of 2021, social investment from the private sector can play an important role in what seems like an almost insurmountable challenge.

Unemployment in South Africa is a systemic issue, and there are two elephants in the room that need to be addressed — the structure of the economy and education.

From a funding perspective, most funders are interested in addressing the education component, because that is the “easier” option, but without addressing the systemic issues in the economy, the struggle to address unemployment will continue unabated.

Funding into training might seem like a step in the right direction when it comes to supporting the education side of unemployment, but this is problematic as this funding does not always address education at the systemic levels. An example of this is funders putting resources into “training” people to run businesses and issuing bursaries, but not addressing key issues such as literacy and numeracy, a problem from the foundation phase of education.

The net result is that we tend to have a lot of funds going into programmes that are trying to develop young people into employment, but there are either no jobs available for them once they graduate, or they are not graduating from various programmes with the necessary skills.

READ: Ramaphosa has no plausible strategy for reducing youth unemployment

Another important consideration to factor into any education and employment support funding is how the Fourth Industrial Revolution will affect jobs.

The reality is that more jobs are going to emerge over the next decade which will in all likelihood require higher technical proficiencies. This will only exacerbate the problem that South Africa and many developing economies face, with school leavers not having enough of a background for the development of these proficiencies.

Digital inclusivity is also essential, especially as we look to develop more people into the gig economy. How do we as social investors bring more young people into the digital economy as active participants and not only technology recipients? What is needed is a reassessment of what skills we deem necessary. For social investors it is imperative that they try to match the output to the skill sets, link earlier school-based investments to post-school development, so that we begin to develop pockets of excellence through various cohorts.

Because the structure of the economy and education will never be changed by social investments alone, social investors need to adopt a more pragmatic approach to investing in employment creation. What is needed is the tempering of expectations and localising of efforts.

Instead of funding a programme from which thousands of young people hope to graduate and be employed, certain strategic investments could build and develop local economies. This could include investing in a very small local economy that produces a “space” where 10 start-up businesses can thrive.

While many of these changes are needed in the long term, the greatest paradigm shift that is needed is moving the social investment from breadth to depth. While this may sound counterintuitive, we should not be aiming to reach as many people as possible. Rather, we need to be creating jobs, businesses and industries that are as sustainable as possible.

This will develop local economies that will develop new markets that will have a multiplier effect on absorbing more people into the greater economy. Also, with the use of technology, the “local economies” will not only have to remain geographical, but will be able to broaden their reach, once they have been initially contained and somewhat protected.

READ: Youth unemployment: Is the solution a change in mindset?

The support of small business is absolutely essential. We desperately need to be putting cash into building small businesses and their immediate markets, as opposed to the funding of training or any other resources. 

We need to jump-start certain industries with market-creation techniques through direct investment before leaving the business to contend with the open market. Types of interventions here could include rent relief, loan sureties and better supply-chain integration.

Attracting impact investments into this space could also have an enormous benefit, specifically if we use high-risk social investments that do not require returns, to lower the risk for impact investors.

Riyaadh Ebrahim is a Social Investment Specialist at Tshikululu Social Investments

Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande on Wednesday said 170 000 devices were ordered by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas) from an appointed service provider.

He said of these, 90 060 had already arrived in the country and were ready for distribution. 

Nzimande was addressing the media on the department’s plans for post-school education and training (PSET) institutions on Wednesday following the country’s move to Adjusted Alert Level 4 lockdown.

Nzimande said the remaining number of devices was expected to arrive in mid-July and September.

Nzimande asked universities to promptly confirm the student’s details with the service provider in order to deliver the laptop.

He said universities should contact NSFAS to ensure they verify their student information so that NSFAS-funded students can receive laptops.

“To date, university student information as per the NSFAS portal has been slow due to universities not timeously verifying student details on the NSFAS portal. 

“A total of 1 846 students’ information has been shared with the provider, of which 1 123 has been delivered to four universities, namely the University of Pretoria, University of Free State, Durban University of Technology and the University of Mpumalanga,” Nzimande said.

“I call upon our universities to contact NSFAS through the NSFAS portal to ensure that they verify their students’ information. It is important that universities prioritise this task urgently,” Nzimande said.

READ: Nzimande on student debt, financial exclusions and infrastructure backlogs

The minister said Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college students do not need to order via the NSFAS portal. He said that Nsfas will, however, prioritise the TVET students for delivery.

“A total TVET listing of 46 846 has recently been shared with the provider for delivery. The provider will contact these students to arrange for delivery as campuses are currently closed. Of the 46 846, a total of 183 has been delivered to South Cape TVET College and 86 for Central Johannesburg TVET,” Nzimande said.

On Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the country las been moved to Adjusted Alert Level 4 following the highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus spreading quickly across the country, particularly in Gauteng.

In his speech, Ramaphosa indicated that new curfews are in place (9pm to 4am), that there are further restrictions on movement, both within and beyond the province, and that there are implications for students and employees, amongst other matters.

This has implications for the teaching and learning programme, and assessments in particular, 

Nzimande said that in terms of the Adjusted Alert Level 4 lockdown, the universities do not officially close but all face-to-face teaching and examinations must halt for the next two-week period.

He said during this period, learning will shift exclusively to online learning for all students.

“Residences will remain open, as it is also not safe for students to travel back home at this time, and it is necessary for students to retain access to campus and residence-based Wi-Fi.

“However, universities need to continue to manage residences according to the necessary health and safety protocols, as outlined in the directions and in line with protocols developed by higher health,” Nzimande said.

READ: Nzimande clarifies NSFAS funding criteria

The minister urged that as many staff as possible who can do so, should work from home.

He said the sector will continue to be guided by the 29 March 2021 directions and the 27 June Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs regulations.

Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi was cleared in the controversial R30 million tender that was reported he influenced in 2020.

This was said by Deputy Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka on Wednesday during a media briefing on the release of 16 investigative reports.

Gcaleka said even though the contract was irregularly awarded, they found nothing wrong with how Lesufi awarded the tender.

Gcaleka said the allegations that Lesufi unduly influenced the award the R30 million tender to IN2IT was “found to be unsubstantiated”.

“There is no evidence indicating that Lesufi was involved in any procurement process of the SOC [Security Operations Centre] tender or that he disregarded the provisions of the code of conduct for members of the provincial executive council.”

“The investigation revealed that e-Gov advertised and awarded the SOC tender to IN2IT without following proper procurement processes and this constituted improper conduct and maladministration,” said Gcaleka .

Adding that those responsible for awarding the tender should be subjected to disciplinary action.

READ: SIU freezes accounts of decontamination companies contracted by GDE

“The provincial MEC of finance and e-government must ensure that Cyril Baloyi, the departmental head, conducts training in respect of all the executive officials of e-gov and officials involved in supply chain processes. This must happen within 30 working days of the report.

“Baloyi must also institute disciplinary steps against Mr Muthivhi for advising IN2IT of the tender award before a letter of appointment was issued and the contract signed by e-gov and IT2IT and against Ms Koyana for failing to follow supply chain processes in that she evaluated only two request for quotations on her own, outside the prescribed supply-chain management policy,” said Gcaleka.

In response Lesufi said: “I just hope those who insulted me and even laid a criminal case with the police will do the honourable thing”.

Lesufi was accused by Anton Alberts of the Freedom Front Plus of influencing the awarding of a tender to IN2IT Technologies.

The complaint was laid back in 2020 when the Gauteng finance and e-government department irregularly awarded a contract to IN2IT Technologies.

Lesufi did not come out unscathed from this matter with some saying there is no way he cannot know of a R30 million tender from his department, as well as the R431 million tender current under investigation by the country’s Special Investigating Unit (SIU).

The department has been under fire since earlier investigations revealed that it had spent R431 million on decontaminating schools between June and August last year.

That investigation further established that there was no need to decontaminate the schools as they were not occupied for months because learners were at home during the hard lockdown. 

The SIU has said that the seven companies were irregularly appointed along with over 200 others. 

To this the MEC said, “Let us wait for the SIU report”.

READ: SIU freezes more bank accounts of companies linked to the GP department of education tender for sanitizing schools

NYAKALLO TEFU|

The Gauteng department of education (GDE), together with Discovery, launched a new vaccination site in Gallagher Estate in Midrand, Johannesburg on Wednesday.

The new site is established as part of efforts to get educators across the country vaccinated.  

In an effort to improve the vaccination of educators, the Gauteng Department of Education has partnered with Discovery to launch a new site, we hope to vaccinate more of our teachers, said GDE spokesperson Steve Mabona.

Mabona said they those scheduled to come to the Midrand vaccination site are urged to do so in order to fast track the process.

“Today, the end of June is the end of term 2 and we want to make sure that by the beginning of the new term we are done with this process,” said the provincial spokesperson.

READ: BREAKING: Schools to shut down from Wednesday

The department of basic education launched its vaccine rollout drive last week, aiming to vaccinate over 500 000 teachers and non-teaching staff across the country.

The drive started a few days before President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the compulsory closing of schools in South Africa as the country faces increasing infections of the deadly Covid-19 delta variant.

According to the World Health Organization, the Delta variant  – which originates from India – has been identified as the superior variant. This is because it spreads more rapidly and is reported to be much deadlier.

Ramaphosa on Sunday also announced that to deal with the spread of the virus, the country will have to be moved to alert level 4.

However, it is not all bad. On Monday, Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga announced that over 200 000 educators have been vaccinated across all 9 provinces.

READ: 200 000 educators and staff vaccinated so far

The minister said the vaccination of all teachers and non-teaching staff is set to end on 9 July.

Gauteng has over 60 sites where teachers and staff can get their Covid-19 jab.

Head of Gauteng Education Department Edward Mosuwe said they are excited that today they started a new vaccination site.

“We will vaccinate over 4000 teachers and non-teaching staff today and another 4000 tomorrow. On Friday, we will vaccinate another 4000 [at the new site alone],” said Mosuwe.

Adding that all teachers need to take advantage of this opportunity as this is an opportunity of them to be safe.

Anna Matsheni, a teacher who got their vaccine jab today at the new site today, said the morning started off really slow but everything was going according to plan.

“I got vaccinated today. I am not feeling some of the side effects people said I would get which include being dizzy. I am okay,” said Matsheni.

Arina Ace, another teacher who was vaccinated at the same site, said she was very afraid when she came for her vaccination.

“I am very impressed with how well organized the whole process was, I came here to vaccinate because I want to be part of the solution to the pandemic,” said Ace.

DBE Minister Motshekga is currently on a nation-wide vaccine drive campaign. On Monday she was in the Free State where she announced the updated date for shutting down schools. Motshekga visited the Northern Cape on Tuesday and her next stop wil be at the Eastern Cape.

READ: DBE Covid-19 provincial vaccine rollout campaign

Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga was in the Northern Cape on Tuesday to monitor the vaccine rollout programme under the campaign, “Drop all and vaccinate!”.

The minister, together with the MEC for Education Zolile Monakali in the province visited the Warrenton Primary School vaccination site.

Motshekga encouraged all educators and support staff at schools to make use of this opportunity to vaccinate.

She said this will contribute immensely to create a safe and stable environment in our school.

The Northern Cape was one of the provinces that recorded one of the highest increases of Covid-19 infections at the schools.

Earlier this month, Monakali said the department recorded 264 new positive Covid-19 cases, which included educators, learners and support staff at schools in one week alone.

READ: The Northern Cape sees sharp increases in Covid-19 infections in schools

“These statistics are very concerning as they lead to the sporadic closure and reopening of schools, thus having a negative impact of valuable learning and teaching time,” he said at the time.

May saw the province close 79 schools for disinfection in the province.

Monakali said schools were observing all protocols in the province.

“There is social distancing. The schools have been disinfected and we all wear masks. The challenge that we are facing is that learners, educators and the support staff come from communities where big events are attended.

“They attend super spreader events and when they come to school, they infect and spread the virus,” he said.

During her campaign in the province, Motshekga made an appeal to teachers to use the vaccination drive programme to vaccinate.

“Many, many others want this opportunity that has been given [to educators]. It has been given to us. It is good for us, it is good for our learners and it is also good for communities,” said Motshekga.

She added: “We have to strive to make our environments safe places so that we don’t infect our learners.”

Motshekga said the education sector has lost a number of teachers to the pandemic, “we don’t want to lose any more,” she said.

“Despite the fact that the vaccine does not prevent you from being infected, it does reduce the risk of sickness in health. So it does some amount of protection, so it is worth it,” she said.

READ: Nine schools in the Northern Cape expected to reopen following Covid-19 cases

SHABIR MADHI

South Africa is in the grip of another resurgence of COVID-19. Gauteng province, the country’s economic hub, where 25% of the population live, is the epicentre. But infection rates are expected to rise in other major provinces as well.

To ease pressure on the health system and slow the rate of transmission, President Cyril Ramaphosa recently announced tighter lockdown restrictions. Shabir Madhi is the director of the South African Medical Research Council Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit and co-founder and co-director of the African Leadership Initiative for Vaccinology Expertise at the University of the Witwatersrand. He sheds some light on South Africa’s situation.

How bad is the situation?

Based on the limited sequencing that’s been done, it appears that the Delta variant has emerged as the dominant variant in the latest resurgence. According to the latest research, it is much more transmissible and possibly also more virulent compared to previous variants.

The previous Covid-19 resurgence, which peaked in January 2021, was dominated by the Beta variant.

The current resurgence in South Africa differs by province, and even within a particular province. Gauteng, the country’s economic hub and one of nine provinces, is probably two to three weeks ahead of what will likely be experienced particularly in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Kwazulu Natal provinces.

In Gauteng the data show that the daily rate of Covid-19 infections in the current wave is two and a half times higher than at the peak of the first or second wave. Unfortunately, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement on Sunday of stricter lockdown measures is unlikely to stop the trend.

We are likely to see many more Covid-19 cases being hospitalised as well as people dying from COVID-19 in the next two to three weeks in Gauteng. This is because severe disease usually lags behind infections in the community by about two to three weeks.

But, looking at the trajectory of the outbreak in India, we can expect the number of cases to start gradually decreasing after that.

To a large extent it depends on whether people adhere to the regulations, particularly avoiding indoor gatherings in poorly ventilated spaces and ensuring they wear face masks when indoors or in crowded spaces.

What is your biggest concern?

We’ve simply failed the people of South Africa by not ensuring that they were timeously vaccinated. The vaccine programme that’s under way has struggled to meet even the revised targets set by the National Department of Health. To date, under 5% of South Africans have been vaccinated, including less than one-third of those older than 60 years who were targeted to be vaccinated by the end of June 2021.

Constraints in supply of vaccines have obviously been a challenge. Countries like South Africa have been unable to gain access to adequate numbers of Covid-19 vaccines. This has been due to the inequitable distribution of vaccines around the world.

These failures, however, also speak partly to lack of planning. South Africa didn’t engage early enough with pharmaceutical companies in bilateral discussions to ensure it could get vaccines early. It only started earnestly engaging with companies in January this year. This simply put it at the back of the queue.

But equally important have been the impediments in allowing easy access and inadequate community mobilisation, particularly of the targeted high-risk groups. This has held back the rapid scaling-up of vaccination.

Had we vaccinated high risk individuals above the age of 60, as well as others with other comorbidities before the onset of the current resurgence, the number of people being admitted to hospital, and the number of people dying, would have been reduced significantly.

That’s been the biggest disappointment.

There were a series of other miscalculations too.

One was around deployment of vaccines. People were asked to register on the electronic vaccination data system, an online portal to manage the COVID-19 vaccine rollout. All this did was exacerbate the inequity that exists in the country when it comes to healthcare. The demographics of those who have been vaccinated indicate that people on medical aid schemes (and likely from higher socio-economic groups) are more likely to have been vaccinated. This comes as little surprise considering their greater ability to register on the electronic data system, as well as more opportunities to be vaccinated in private and public facilities.

The system looked good on paper. But it is simply not doing what it was intended to do – to get as many people vaccinated as possible.

Furthermore, it appears that less than two thirds of the COVID-19 vaccines that had arrived in the country by mid-June have been used. Since then a few million more have reportedly landed.

This tells us that the country simply hasn’t sorted out the logistics to ensure that it can get vaccines into the arms of people as quickly as possible.

Another major setback was the debacle around the AstraZeneca vaccine. In January a South African study – which I led – showed that the vaccine didn’t protect against mild or moderate COVID-19 due to the Beta variant.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) looked at all the available data following the study, and recommended that even countries such as South Africa where the Beta variant was dominant should continue using the AstraZeneca vaccine because it was likely to protect against severe disease due to the Beta variant.

But a decision was taken by the government to ignore the WHO guidance.

The result was that South Africa chose to sell the 1.5 million doses it had secured from the Serum Institute of India to other countries through the African Union.

Six months later there’s even more evidence that the AstraZeneca vaccine would probably protect against severe COVID-19 due to the Beta variant and works extremely well against the Delta variant.

The study that showed that the vaccine didn’t protect against mild to moderate COVID-19 due to the Beta variant didn’t mean that the vaccine wouldn’t necessarily protect against severe COVID-19 due to the Beta variant. Which is why the WHO made its recommendation – a view I supported. The government’s decision dramatically set back the country’s vaccination programme.

As it happens, the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca vaccine against the Delta variant for hospitalisation is 75% after the first dose – and 92% after the second dose.

What should be done?

We need to ensure that we get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible.

In my view we shouldn’t be trying to focus on getting a second dose of the Pfizer vaccine into people who have already received a single dose. We need to ensure that we get as many people as possible above the age of 60, and those above the age of 40 with underlying medical conditions, vaccinated.

A single dose of the Pfizer vaccine has been shown to have more than 90% protection against hospitalisation due to the Delta variant. With two doses of the Pfizer vaccine that goes up to 96%.

And we need to ensure that we use the 4 million doses of vaccine the country has in the space of the next two weeks, and not two months. That is what we need to focus on. Unfortunately, the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines is already too late to reduce hospitalisation and death due to the current resurgence in Gauteng, but could still be useful for those provinces that are at an earlier stage of the current resurgence.

Student debt is growing in the university system. This is according Minister of Higher Education, Science And Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande during his address to members of the South African Student Union (SAUS) at their eighth National Elective Conference held at the University of Venda on Sunday.

Nzimande said it is extremely worrying to note that inequitable patterns of student success still prevail. African, coloured and male students are least successful in the university system

There are four categories of affected students identified: NSFAS students; students who are recipients of other scholarships and bursaries; self-paying students (including the so-called “missing middle” students; and international students. It is acknowledged that there have sometimes been delays in the processing of historic debt of NSFAS qualifying students linked to administrative challenges in resolving the debt. The Department is working with NSFAS and institutions to ensure a speedy resolution of the processing of historic debt claims.

Nzimande said Indeed, the issue of access is multifaceted. Much as financial access is the most pressing for students, I am concerned that the other dimension of access is not getting adequate attention, that of epistemological access – the type and form of knowledge that students have access to or are unable to access

One of our key challenges facing out higher education system is that of the urgent necessity to transform the relations of knowledge production – especially the patriarchal, class and racialized nature of knowledge and its production in our country. This is a crucial dimension in the dismantling of barriers, through access to relevant, transformatory and liberating knowledge. Another key dimension of dismantling barriers is that of ensuring that we build student centred and student friendly universities and other post school institutions. Institutions that are not student friendly constitute a serious barrier to effective financial and epistemological access.

I understand that there have been concerns about the withholding of academic records of students who have outstanding fees by institutions. I have had several engagements with universities on this matter. All institutions have agreed to provide a certificate of completion to potential employers where students have met all the requirements for graduation, but still have university debt.

The Department, working with USAf, has requested up to date information from all institutions which will contribute to the policy review process, and form part of the review of student financial aid.

The development of a policy framework for the regulation of university fees in order to ensure that fees are kept at affordable levels for all families that need assistance, is also underway. These efforts in the long-term aim to ensure that going forward all students are able to access some form of financial support for their university studies. However, without substantial additional funding being available in the sector, student debt will continue to be a problem.

This important elective conference takes place in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic with government restrictions on attending gatherings which compelled me to address you virtually

The conference theme is very important and timely, as we all grapple with challenges of access. As you know my department has been tasked to come up with a comprehensive student funding model, including dealing with the issue of student debt.

ON UNISA

We also have to tackle the issue of poor throughput in distance education programmes.

There has also been reports of challenges in governance, management and the quality of higher education provision at this institution. As a result, I appointed a Ministerial Task Team to conduct a review of UNISA with a strategic focus on its mandate as an open and distance education institution. The mandate of the Task Team includes analyzing the scope, capacity, systems and organizational structure in relation to the University’s mandate and mission. The team will make recommendations on measures required to ensure that UNISA is strategically positioned as an institution with a clear mandate and mission supported by the necessary structures and capacity for a sustainable future. I am looking forward to receiving the report of this Task Team very soon. The Department of Higher Education and Training is implementing the University Capacity Development Programme to contribute towards building a university system that is equitable and focused on student success, focusing on building the capacity of academic staff and transforming the academy, as well as ensuring responsiveness in terms of the programmes and curricula that it offers.

As you are aware there has been significant growth in funding allocated to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme to support qualifying students: R12.3 billion in 2017/18 to R43 billion in 2021.

In the current financial year an additional amount of R6.4 billion was allocated through reprioritisation within the Department’s budget and the National Skills Fund to address the NSFAS shortfall.

Following a meeting that I had with SAUS earlier this year, USAf has initiated a process to work towards a system-wide approach to the issue of student transcripts and certificates and outstanding fees. I am aware that USAf has started this process and hopes to conclude it soon. We have established, together with the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), a Student Housing Infrastructure Programme (SHIP), to centrally facilitate the construction of student accommodation. Our aim is to address the shortage of student housing and accelerate the development of at least 300 000 beds over a ten-year period, and we are working towards delivering even more than this. As part of our development, the University of Fort Hare, Nelson Mandela University, University of North West and University of Western Cape, Sefako Makgatho University and University of Limpopo are the first beneficiaries of our SHIP Phase 1 developments. Phase 1 SHIP developments enabled an investment of about R3.5 billion, including the DBSA commitment of R1.6 million debt funding for 12 000 student beds. Phase 2 SHIP developments comprise of about 24 000 student beds of 12 institutions including 6 universities. I recently launched the Alice Student Village at the University of Fort Hare, and was proud to see the fruits of this work.

We also support the HDIs to deal decisively with some of their long-term infrastructure challenges.

Science festivals across the world attract millions of visitors every year. They are typically busy, buzzing events: visitors stroll through interactive displays, enjoy science-themed shows and popular science talks and take part in hands-on workshops.

These events appeal to different groups of people for different reasons. For adults, they provide rare – and valued – opportunities to talk directly to scientists while learning in a leisure context. For students visiting with their schools, there is often a focus on science learning, inspiration and sometimes getting advice about science careers.

Science festivals form part of an expanding global range of events designed for public engagement with science. This science engagement format has been adopted in South Africa with support from pan-African and South African  science policies.

But what is the appeal for the scientists whose participation is key to festivals’ success? Some studies have examined scientists’ willingness to engage with public audiences, but this research was done almost exclusively in the developed world. For example, one study found that scientists who participated in the Madrid Science Fair wanted to improve public interest in and appreciation of science. They also hoped to promote a general culture of science in society. A Swedish study, meanwhile, found that scientists participated in science festivals primarily for personal reasons such as improving their communication skills.

We wanted to understand what motivates scientists in South Africa to participate in science festivals – or deters them. This is important for two reasons. First, because science communication of the sort that happens at these festivals benefits society by bridging the gap between scientists and non-experts. It brings science to people and demonstrates how science can be a positive force for change.

Second, scientists usually participate at festivals as volunteers and have to invest significant time in preparing and contributing. It is vital to understand the factors that encourage or deter scientists’ participation, as well as the perceived benefits and risks that may affect their future involvement. That’s what our new study, the first of its kind to explore the participation of scientists in an African science festival, set out to do.

We found, among other things, that scientists enjoyed informing, exciting and inspiring the public. They also recognised the value of being role models, getting school children and students interested in science. Some of the barriers they identified included time constraints and a lack of institutional support and recognition for public engagement.

Driving factors

Our study focused on Scifest Africa, which has been held annually in South Africa since 1996. In 2020, it moved online, as did many other science festivals around the world, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Forty scientists who participated in the festival in 2019 took part in an online survey.

One key finding was that scientists are mainly motivated by the objectives of informing, exciting and inspiring the public. As one respondent said: “Normally, the public does not know the science that we do. Scifest Africa is a good platform to make your science known to the public”.

Scientists also said they were driven by a sense of duty, given that they work with public funding. A respondent suggested that since “research is paid using taxpayers’ money, the public has a right to know how their money is being used”.

Another finding was that South Africa’s apartheid legacy inspires a strong moral obligation among scientists to give something back to society. One of the respondents told us: “Today, science communication can also be done by black people, e.g., we can be the ones who are explaining, teaching and demonstrating science to white people.”

Black women scientists in particular identified being role models as a key motivating factor for taking part in the festivals. A respondent suggested that “many black girls are afraid of studying science because they think it’s too difficult”, and that her engagement as a role model may help.

Other motivating factors included improving their own communication skills and finding it rewarding to engage with the public.

Barriers

When it came to barriers or deterrents, many respondents mentioned time constraints. Others were concerned that their institutions neither recognised nor supported public engagement work. A respondent said: “It is time-consuming and demanding to man an exhibition, but we are not paid for this and no one accounts for the productive time lost.”

Some respondents complained that institutions didn’t generally provide training opportunities to equip scientists with effective public dialogue skills.

Our findings offer practical insights to help festival funders and organisers to sustain and expand scientists’ participation.

They highlight the need for universities, research institutions and other science engagement entities to build expertise and provide continuous support to improve scientists’ participation.

SIZI BOTSIME| 

Every child is born with an ability and the onus lies with us – parents, teachers and community members – to invest in the child and unleash their talents so that we can develop them to their maximum potential.

My name is SIzi Botsime. I am an educationist, an education activist and an inclusive education enthusiast.  I work in a full-service school, and I have established networks with different stakeholders across the globe including those in NGOs, in the education professions, and companies in order to help our education institutions become inclusive.

I have been teaching for over 10 years.

I have taught in South Africa, the Kingdom of Bahrain, in the Middle East and in Egypt.

I am the founder and director of the Sizi Botsime Foundation

The Sizi Botsime Foundation (SFB) primarily advocates and promotes the rights of children living with a disability.

My advocacy is aligned with frameworks including the White Paper 6 of 2001, the paper titled the Screening Identification Assessment and Support (SIAS) of 2014 and the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #4 – Quality Education of the United Nations.

READ: Ramaphosa: ‘We Need To Tackle Discrimination Against Persons With Disabilities’

The SFB notion of inclusive education encompasses the idea and belief of equal and quality education for all.

Just to give a brief background about the frameworks mentioned above, the two policies are in place in the South African education system.

The 2001 White Paper 6 document outlines how the education and training system must transform itself to contribute to establishing a caring and humane society, how it must change to accommodate the full range of learning needs and the mechanism that should be put in place.

The SIAS 2014 ‘s purpose is to provide a framework for the standardisation of the procedures to identify, assess and provide programmes for all learners who require additional support to improve their participation and inclusion in school.

Lastly, the Sustainable Development Goal 4, which is part of the United Nations plan of action for people, planet, and prosperity, is the education goal. Its objective is to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

SDG Target 4A refers to the importance of building and upgrading education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive, and effective learning.

This is why it is saddening that even with these policies that have been put in place in different countries across the African continent, policies that speak to “inclusion for all” are yet to be found.  Children living with a disability or with disabilities continue to be failed and marginalised in Africa.

In South Africa for instance, some children have never experienced being inside a classroom as a result of their disability.

This is particularly true for children from downtrodden communities.

According to the 2017 Disability Africa Changing Children’s Lives, an overwhelming majority of children in Africa are being deprived of access to education. Furthermore, only around 2% of the children living with a disability are attending schools.

This suggests that current measures put in place are not good enough and this situation must change, reads the document.

I share the same sentiments that this has to change.

This is in accordance with the policies that are put in place and promote inclusive education, as well as the adoption of the United Nation’s Convention on Disability Rights by the African governments.

Our foundation believes that the plausible solution lies in the realisation of inclusive education; the understanding that the education of the children goes beyond the four walls of the classroom.

We are all responsible for the education of the children and thus we need to involve the stakeholders to capacitate the education systems across Africa and ensure that no child is left behind.

SIzi Botsime is an Educationist, Education Activist and Inclusive Education Enthusiast.

While learners in schools for the middle class and independent schools have had access to online learning, learners in schools for the poor and working class have had no such access.

Visiting associate at Wits University Lynn Bowie said this was also unlikely to change in the near future.

On Monday, Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga announced that public schools across the country will shut down this week and reopen on 19 July.

The decision comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa ’s address on Sunday that schools must be closed by 30 June 2021 due to the third wave of the coronavirus in South Africa.

Ramaphosa said the number of daily new infections was more than doubling, and that hospital admissions were rising. Ramaphosa said the deaths from Covid-19 were increasing by nearly 50%.

“The situation has gotten worse. In addition, we now have the Delta variant. The Delta variant has now been detected in five of our provinces, namely the Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape.

“We are concerned about the rapid spread of this variant. “Reports from some countries, including on our continent, also suggest that infections and clinical illness in children may be more common with the delta variant, even as the overall rate of infection remains substantially lower than in adults,” said Ramaphosa.

Bowie said there is evidence that, in mathematics, learners in less well-resourced schools are four years behind their counterparts in well-resourced schools by the end of Grade 9.

It is therefore likely that most Grade 9 learners will fell further behind in 2020 and continue to do so in 2021.

“This situation needs urgent attention. It is time to think beyond 2021, and to treat 2021 and 2022 as a continuous learning opportunity.

“It is also time to be more strategic about what is taught. In the Covid-19 discussions on schooling there has been too little focus on what learners will learn – whether at school or at home,” said Bowie.

A study by Associate Professor at the University of Stellenbosch Nicholas Spaull found that only 16% of Grade 3 students in South Africa are performing at a Grade 3 level in mathematics.

Spaull said the poorest 60% of students are three Grade-levels behind the wealthiest 20% of students in Grade 3.

The gap between the poorest 60% and wealthiest 20% of students grows to four Grade-levels by Grade 9.

After Grade 9, South African learners must choose between Mathematics and Mathematical Literacy for the remaining three years of secondary school.

Mathematics is essential for entrance into science-based programmes in universities, but the majority of learners lack the knowledge to cope with Mathematics from Grade 10 onwards.

Associate Professor of Mathematics Education at Wits University Craig Pournara said for example, in the Annual National Assessments for Mathematics administered from 2012 to 2014, the average mark each year for Grade 9 was less than 14%. 

“Similarly, in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study assessments in 2015, only one third of South African Grade 9 learners achieved at the minimal level in mathematics,” said Pournara.

He added that a recent study of Grade 9 and 10 learner performances on negative number, basic algebra and functions yielded an average score of 28.3%.

“Clearly Grade 9 performance is far below desired levels,” he said

“Add to this situation the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In most state schools, Grade 9s are scheduled to return to class on 19 July 2021.

“Research indicates that long breaks from school lead to learning loss, with maths scores being particularly badly affected. And these breaks have a greater negative impact on learners from lower socioeconomic groups,” said Pournara.

Pournara and Bowie suggested that a limited number of core concepts and skills for Grades 8 and 9 that will provide a strong foundation for further mathematics be identified.

The two said this can be a solution to the pandemic interruption of learning.

“This involves, firstly, a carefully designed curriculum to address learners’ difficulties, starting with whole number, fractions, negative number, introductory algebra, linear patterns and functions.

“Secondly, teachers need a range of supportive materials – not just fixed lesson plans. It should be clear what must be done face-to-face and what can be done alone at home without technology. Teacher materials should help to identify gaps in learners’ knowledge and to provide guidance for re-teaching what learners have missed,” said Bowie.

Pournara said tests should focus on revealing what learners understand and what they are battling with, instead of putting pressure on them to “pass” a certain level.

He said if this is done, Covid-19 could be the unexpected catalyst that makes the education system accountable to learners and their learning. 

“But we need to get Grade 8 and 9 learners back to learning as soon as possible. It is crucial that they are not neglected because of an overwhelming focus on Grade 12 learners,” he said.