NYAKALLO TEFU|

Parents say they are worried about the Department of Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, gazetting that on 26 July learners in grade R to seven are to return to class daily as well as grade R to 12 at special education needs schools.

The minister’s decision has been placed under further scrutiny following President Ramaphosa’s announcement last night that the country has been moved from alert Level 2 to alert Level 3 as the number of Covid-19 cases continue to rise across the country.

Ramaphosa said South Africa has never experienced a health crisis of this severity before, nor one so prolonged.

“A third wave of infections is upon us. We have to contain this new wave of infections.

 “The average number of daily new infections has doubled. Over the last seven days, we have recorded an average of 7,500 daily infections. Hospital admissions due to COVID-19 over the last 14 days are 59 per cent higher than the preceding 14 days,” said Ramaphosa.

The president added that the average number of people who die from Covid-19 each day has increased by 48 per cent from 535 two weeks ago to 791 in the past seven days. 

He said four provinces – Gauteng, the Free State, North West and the Northern Cape province – are officially in a third wave, while others are approaching that point. Ramaphosa said the proportion of Covid tests that are positive are also continuing to rise in Gauteng, Limpopo, Western Cape, the Free State and Kwa-Zulu Natal.
 
“Of these, Gauteng has been the worst hit. 

“In view of the rising infections, we have therefore decided to move the country to Alert Level 3,” said Ramaphosa.

Adding that the country’s mass vaccination programme has also encountered several setbacks.

Inside Education reported on Monday that the vaccination of educators has been put on hold following the announcement on Sunday by the department of health that over two million Johnson and Johnson (J&J) vaccines are contaminated.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Saturday ordered that over 60 million J&J vaccine doses be discarded after concerns that they could be contaminated at the manufacturing plant.

READ: Unions wait in bated breath for details on the vaccination of educators

It is against this backdrop that parents have raised concerns about their children going back to school.

Motshekga said the current rotational system in place is no longer working.

“It really worries me that we are going to erode the foundations for learning,” said Motshekga.

She said learners were missing out on a lot of work because they would come in one week and skip the next.

READ: DBE Portfolio Committee supports return to class full-time for primary and special education learners

“We continue to monitor the trajectory of the pandemic and make all necessary regulations and directions in line with the Covid-19 risk-adjusted differentiated strategy. I realise that there is anxiety about sending all primary school children back to school at once. There’s no need to panic. Our decision making is supported by empirical evidence,” said Motshekga.

READ: Malema gives Motshekga seven days to shut down schools as Covid-19 cases rise in children

This decision taken by the minister is despite the fact that more learners and staff are getting infected by the virus, with Gauteng reporting 2000 cases just last week.

Gauteng Department of Education Spokesperson Steve Mabona said the provincial department can confirm that a growing number of children are testing positive in Gauteng schools, “and where it is recommended by the Department of Health for us to close schools, we will do so,” he said.

But the spokesperson said no decision to close down schools has been taken as yet.

READ: ‘Schools cannot open if all health protocols are not in place’ say teachers and parents

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NALEDI SHOTA| 

A survey on how Covid-19 impacted on the education and learning of young people in higher education has revealed that a majority of them suffered from mental health and also that others had difficulties communicating with their institutions while at home. 

The survey titled, Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth in the Post School Education and Training (PSET) Sector in South Africa was released by Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology on Monday. 

The survey looked at 13 119 students from universities, Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, community colleges and private higher education institutions and was done by Higher Health and the Human Sciences Research Council. Higher Health is a health, wellness and development agency of the department of higher education, science and innovation. 

According to the survey, over 65% of students experienced mild to severe psychological distress. 

“A higher proportion of 18-19 year olds reported severe psychological distress (37.5%) than 25-29 year olds (28.7%) and 30-35 year olds (29.9%). Psychological distress was more prevalent among female than male students, and in those with high self-perceived risk of becoming infected with Covid-19,”  reads the survey. 

READ: Classroom Management: School Reopening Conversation Shines A Light On Student Mental Health

The target for the survey was young people between the ages of 18 to 35 and was done from June until September last year. 

The survey says that 40% of the students interviewed had moved back home during the lockdown, and half the students said they had difficulty communicating with their institutions during lockdown while at home. It was mostly TVET college students at 38% that experienced the most difficulty. 

“Two thirds of students (66.2%) from TVET colleges found it difficult to communicate with their institutions, followed by those in university of technology with 63.7%. Most private college students found it easy to communicate with their colleges,”  reads the survey. 

Fifty seven percent of the  students also said the “main challenges” that they experienced during lockdown were loss of study time, 55.8% said it was not having money for personal items for studying while 42.2% said it was the loss of social contact and 40.1% said it was not having money for food. 

Only 3.5% of the students said they did not have access to the internet for their studies while on lockdown, while 42.7% said they had access through the data bundles provided by their institutions and 29.2% relied on prepaid data bundles. 

“Students reported if their institution provided virtual learning. Over 90% of students at private colleges and 80% of university students reported that their institutions provided virtual learning. Significantly fewer (38.1%) TVET students indicated that their institution provided the capacity to conduct virtual learning. Overall 66% rated their institution’s e-learning portal during lockdown as good or excellent, and 23.4% thought their institution’s e-learning portal was of poor quality.” 

Speaking on the release of the results of the survey, Nzimande said the survey has provided crucial data and learnings that would help the sector when it’s hit with a similar public health emergency in future. 

“I am pleased to hear that students received support from their institutions in the areas of online learning, provision of data free bundles and data free access to the online learning platform and the university website.

I empathise with our students for the challenges that they faced during hard lockdown and the challenges that they continue to face,”  he said. 

READ: Thokozane Ngcongwane: My Roller-coaster Ride Of Mental Health

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NALEDI SHOTA|

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has unmasked another Covid-19 rot in an education department. 

And this time it is the North West Department of Education where an SIU investigation has found that the department irregularly appointed a service provider but there is no proof that the service provider delivered. 

In a short statement on Monday, the SIU said that its investigation has revealed “that   [the] North West education department irregularly appointed service providers to supply 50 000 masks to the tune of R1.2m.”

Adding that it could not be determined whether the] masks were indeed delivered.

The SIU said it will kick start civil proceedings. 

The revelations come after the SIU uncovered irregularities in the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) where the department paid R431 million to companies to decontaminate schools between June and August last year. 

READ: SIU freezes accounts of decontamination companies contracted by GDE

Last week, the SIU froze seven more bank accounts of companies that were irregularly appointed by the GDE to decontaminate schools. The value of the bank accounts was R22.4 million. 

Last month, it announced that it had been granted an order to freeze 14 bank accounts and assets to the value of R40.7 million belonging to 14 companies that were also irregularly appointed to do work in schools. 

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

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President Cyril Ramaphosa will launch yet another plan to deal with the scourge of youth unemployment. The president on Monday said he will officially launch SAYouth.mobi, the National Pathway Management Network “to expand opportunities and support available to young people”. 

Ramaphosa said the National Pathway Management Network is a partnership between the National Youth Development Agency, Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, Department of Science and Innovation, Department of Employment and Labour, Department of Higher Education and Training, Department of Small Business Development and the Youth Employment Service.

“Young people are encouraged to sign up to join the network and access opportunities through SAYouth.mobi,” said the president. 

Adding that he will also provide an update on the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention, announced in his 2020 State of the Nation Address. 

This launch comes at a time when South Africa faces 75% youth unemployment. The country’s statistics agency this month released shocking youth unemployment statistics. 

According to Statistics South Africa’s QLFS, youth between 15-24 sit at an unemployment rate of 74, 7%. Statistician General Risenga Maluleke explained that the 15-24 range is aligned with global definitions of youth. 

The ANC government has come under severe criticism because of its inability to create an environment supportive of employment creation. 

Ann Bernstein, executive director of the Centre for Development and Enterprise said tackling the youth unemployment crisis should focus on accelerating labour-intensive growth has to be the country’s top priority.

Bernstein said policy reform is urgently required in South Africa is going to make a significant dent “in these catastrophic youth unemployment levels”.

“We have to change the rules and regulations that shape the way our economy functions so that it grows much faster and creates jobs far more rapidly than was the case long before Covid-19 struck,” said Bernstein.

“A job creation drive launched by President Cyril Ramaphosa is under way, but is still in its infancy.

“Given the depth of the youth unemployment crisis, there is no plausible strategy for rapidly reducing unemployment in the short term,” said Bernstein,

Adding that despite the president’s seal of approval, the jury is still out on the likely success of this expensive exercise.

We need more bold signals that will encourage the investment and expansion of existing firms if we are to create enough jobs in the future, she said.

In his Monday newsletter, “From the desk of the president” Ramaphosa said he recognised that the struggles of young people in South Africa today “are many”.

READ: Opinion: 2021 Youth Day celebrations? I’ll sit this one out.

He said the greatest struggle young people wage today is against unemployment – something that has worsened under the Covid-19 pandemic.

 “Everything that we do as government contributes towards improving the lives of young people.

“Tackling youth unemployment requires accelerating economic growth, particularly in labour-intensive sectors and building the capability of the state to fulfil its developmental role,” said Ramaphosa.

The president said that government is driving the agenda of youth employment through targeted interventions – including the Presidential Employment Stimulus, which he says, has provided work opportunities and livelihoods to support many young people.

He added that the employment stimulus intervention was built on the understanding that to address the youth employment crisis, innovative thinking and strong partnerships across society are required.

However, for Bernstein, the country needs reforms that will create space for new, more labour-intensive activities to emerge and grow.

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

She said these reforms include legal exemptions for small and new firms from collective bargaining agreements to which they are not party, and rebalanced collective bargaining structures to provide greater representation of smaller firms’ concerns.

“We also need to start tackling youth unemployment on as many fronts as possible by reforming the education system, improving the way young people are trained for potential jobs, bringing in skills from all over the world to help train South Africans and grow the economy, and removing all structural constraints on growth.

“We need to do whatever is possible to get as many young people as we can into formal jobs,” she said.

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NYAKALLO TEFU|

Youth day, a day when we commemorate the youth of 1976 who fought against inequality and oppression caused by apartheid in South Africa.

45 years later, we are a youth with very little to celebrate.

45 years later we struggle to find jobs, yet we are an educated youth. This is made in comparison to the youth back then who were forced to learn under Bantu education – an education system created to train black children for manual labour and menial jobs that the government deemed suitable for those of their race. A system that was explicitly intended to inculcate the idea that black people were to accept being subservient to white South Africans.

However, 45 years later, here we are.

Black youth is treated unfairly in the workspaces. What is ironic about this is that we have older generations who are always too quick to remind us of how fortunate we are to be there.

So, what is it that we are celebrating this year?

According to Statistics South Africa, 74.7% of South African youth, those ages between 15 and 24, are unemployed. The unemployment rate for those between 25 and 34 sits at 51.4%.

READ: South Africa’s youth unemployment crisis – a ticking time bomb

But year after year, we are told that our government is creating new opportunities for the youth.

President Cyril Ramaphosa introduced the Presidential Youth Unemployment Intervention just as South Africa entered a national lockdown in 2020.

READ: DBE in talks to continue with the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative

The intention of the initiative was to employ young people at schools at teacher assistants and general assistants. However, until today, some of these young people are still not paid while others received their payments after months of fighting.

We are a youth stressed, abused and not considered by our leaders and this is why I choose to sit out this year’s Youth Day celebrations.

When the young people of 1976 marched on that bloody day, they wanted the youth after them to have fair and equal opportunities. I am certain that they wanted a better life for us. But I often wonder if their dream has been fulfilled. The oppression of the state continues in a different way.

Being part of the youth, we live in constant fear of falling into the trap of nothingness and unemployment. For us, when it comes to the jobs we have, “it is here today and gone tomorrow”.

We have become a youth that is forced to have multiple streams of income in order to survive. In essence, we are a very tired youth, working most days of our lives, for close to nothing.

According to the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG), 1 in 4 university students have been diagnosed with depression. The study shows that young people are in a constant battle with life and maybe that is where the term ‘sad generation’ comes from.

Covid-19 has become one of our biggest nightmares, from losing parents and loved ones to losing our jobs which has taken us 10 steps backwards.

We are referred to as the ‘sad generation’ I do not blame whoever came up with that term because most young people are fighting for survival every day and such things cause anxiety and depression.

Not a day goes by without seeing a young person crying for help to find a job or food on Twitter.

Studies show that 2020 saw many people getting retrenched, especially young people.

According to the Youth and Covid-19 survey report – Impact on jobs, education, rights and mental well-being, the Covid-10 pandemic inflicted a heavy toll o young workers, destroying their employment and undermining their career prospects.

“Globally, one in six young people who were employed before the outbreak, stopped working altogether. Two out of five young people reported a reduction in their income while young people in low- and middle-income countries are the most exposed to reductions in working hours and a contraction in their income,” reads the study.

So I ask, yet again, what is it are you asking me to celebrate?

What I would like for you to understand why this “sad generation”” would rather go out and have drinks instead of commemorating the day this Youth Day.

We are not happy.

We are not happy with how millions of rands are looted by government officials, while remain unemployed. We are not happy that we can’t afford to get educated, yet funds are being mismanaged by the governing party.

Statistics show that there are 7.2 million unemployed people in South Africa. Of this number, 52.4% of them have no matric and 37.7% of them have matric.

From the 37.7% who have a matric certificate, 2.1% are unemployed graduates and 7.5% of them have other tertiary qualifications.

Basically, we either are unable to finish matric – mainly a result of social and economic we face at home. For some of us, even when we finish matric, we cannot afford to go to university. Worse still, for those who can afford to go to university, the chances of unemployment re still high.

This is why, every year, we Fees Must Fall protests where protesting students are shot at by the police. Some have died while in protest either via police violence, or mental illness that takes over and leads to suicide.

This is our daily reality. We have become disillusioned and no longer believe in the promises made in 1994.

Aluta continua!

The post Opinion: 2021 Youth Day celebrations? I’ll sit this one out appeared first on Inside Education.

THEBE MABANGA|

Lerato Malau (32) from Kwa Thema in Ekurhuleni has a degree in Human Resources but has never been able to find work in her field since graduating five years ago.

Malau says she is instead finding short term roles as an administrator at a local doctor’s rooms or a cashier at a large retail chain.

“I took the cashier role hoping it can lead to opportunities to be trained as a manager or lead to an opportunity in human resources, but in the year, I was there no opening occurred,” she say in reference to a stint that was cut short on the onset of Covid 19 pandemic.

Adding that her work hours were immediately reduced at the onset of the lockdown.

Malau is now hoping to register for Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resources as a way of updating her knowledge in the field and hopefully landing a proper job.

Experts say South Africa’s youth will continue to face bleak employment prospects unless the country creates jobs aimed at lower skilled and lower paid workers to absorb the armies of the unemployed in the short term and in the medium to long term.

According to two prominent economists, the country must undertake major economic reforms and better manage public resources to create employment.

Last week, Statistics SA reported that there are now 7,2 million unemployed people out of a workforce population of 22,2 million, to yield and unemployment rate of 32, 6%. This number excludes the 3,1 million job seekers who have given up looking for work. Stats SA’s latest survey shows that the expanded unemployment rate for black Africans was 47.9% during the first quarter of 2021. For black African females it was 51.5%. In the Eastern Cape and Limpopo, the unemployment rates for people of all races were 49.6% and 49.5% respectively. The expanded youth unemployment rate was a staggering 74.7%.

READ: South Africa’s youth unemployment crisis – a ticking time bomb

In an interview with Inside Education, economist and founding director for the Centre for Economic Development and Transformation Duma Gqubule said South Africa should aim to create jobs for the workforce that it has not the workforce it wishes it had.

Gqubule said the country must aim to absorb low and semi-skilled workers through labour intensive sectors that have high employment multiplier and job creation potential. These include agriculture and manufacturing, he said.

In his analysis of the labour market between December 2008 – at the start of the Global Financial Crisis – and the end of first quarter of 2021’s Quarterly Labour Statistics released by Stats SA this month, Gqubule found that over the 13-year period, South Africa created only 226 000 jobs while its labour force has grown by 5,7 million over the same period.

He said the manufacturing sector, frequently cited as a source of new jobs, has in reality lost 600 000 jobs while the trade sector lost 356 000.

According to Gqubule, financial services added 758 000 jobs in the period an indication of where jobs of the future might lie.

Gqubule said he uses the broader definition of unemployment, which includes discouraged work seekers, and puts unemployment at 43,2%.  He said South Africa should look to areas such as the green economy to create jobs.

READ: Youth unemployment: A catastrophe

Iraj Abedian, the CEO of Pan African Advisory Services said without implementing urgent reforms, South Africa will not achieve a dent in its unemployment rate.

He said unemployment will not be addressed by policy ideas, but actual implementation.

“For example, policy conversations about freeing up the communication spectrum have gone on for more than a decade.  

“Freeing up the spectrum sill improve access to the internet and general connectivity and lead to competitive telecoms pricing. This will benefit all sectors including the service sectors and even agriculture, which requires reliable connectivity before the exchange of goods,” said Abedian.

Last week, President Ramaphosa announced that the threshold for embedded generation will be lifted from 1MW to 100 MW.

This announcement was welcomed by many in the business sector and some analysts. Abedian called the move a step in the right direction but noting that it will not be enough on its own and “could have been done a decade ago”.

According to Abedian, reforming the energy sector earlier could have created between 250 000 to 300 000 jobs in the sector itself before boosting other sectors.  

He said apart from telecoms and energy, South Africa also requires reform in areas such as logistics and transport, where government aims to free up space in rail and ports to make them more competitive.

The lack of employment or employment opportunities is even more dire when one looks at youth unemployment. Gqubule told Inside Education that there are 2,3 million unemployed young people.

He said government efforts aimed at addressing youth unemployment have so far yielded limited results.

“The Youth Employment services of the Presidency set out to create 3 million jobs for young people but according to its website, has created 55 000 opportunities,” he said, calling this lack of progress “shameful”.

Abedian told Inside Education that the problem with South Africa’s youth is that the 1994 democratic breakthrough coincided with technological revolution which has evolved to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, yet the country’s education system did not keep up with this change, which then rendered its youth skills irrelevant.

 “The mismanagement of public resources and corruption has not helped matters,” said Abedian.

He added that unemployed young people, especially graduates, require “a change of mindset and reskilling” to suit the job market.

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JAMES HOLLY JR.

Black people make up just 9% of the STEM workforce. As a scholar who studies how STEM educators can more effectively reach Black students, I want to help all people develop an understanding of how anti-Black racism is a significant barrier for Black students learning STEM.

Many scholars have argued that our current ways of teaching STEM are bad for everyone because only the experiences and contributions of white people are discussed, but the negative effects are greater for Black people. Teachers frequently question the intellectual ability of Black students and prevent them from using their cultural worldviews, spirituality and language in the STEM learning setting.

Still, Black people continue to boost STEM knowledge across the world. It is time to generate new teaching practices in STEM that affirm Black students in a way that connects with their lives.

1. Talk about Black excellence

The projection of ideas about who can who can pick up STEM concepts is important. Research has shown that many people think of engineers as white men; therefore, seeing Black STEM professionals in person or via media representation can build inspiration among Black youths.

Although Black representation is essential, it alone won’t address the barriers Black students face. These barriers include racial stereotyping, stressful academic culture and other social and cultural factors. Some of these issues are not unique to Black people, but together they can create a particularly harmful experience for Black students. When teachers celebrate the successes of Black people in STEM, they can also discuss the resources and opportunities these individuals had or did not have while navigating racism.

Many Black people throughout history have achieved advanced STEM knowledge. Dr. Patricia Bath, an ophthalmologist who developed laser technology used in treating cataracts, and Steven Townsend, who has advanced awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding, are just two examples. But Black contributions to STEM predate American enslavement. Recalling this history normalizes Black success across STEM disciplines.

Educators must be mindful of how they tell Black success stories in STEM. When educators reduce examples of Black excellence to just a few people, it perpetuates the myth of Black exceptionalism, the idea that Black people who are capable of success are rare. Individual success stories can also portray these people as being successful without assistance or serve as limited representations. Instead, teachers can share varied examples of successful Black scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians, including local residents and family members of their students.

2. Emphasize social skills

Although STEM professions require both social and technical knowledge, technical skills are typically valued more than social skills.

Math and science instruction often encourage competition and rigor, which constrains students’ ability to value differences in experience, style and problem-solving approaches. This also limits students’ ability to see how math and science knowledge can solve social problems. Furthermore, traditional math and science teaching has punished Black students for how they speak and live. This happens when teachers focus more on using scientific language than on displaying scientific understanding. Therefore, many Black students become disengaged and lose interest.

STEM education in its current form pushes Black students away instead of addressing the racial and socioeconomic problems within STEM classrooms and broader society.

Black youths tend to have a strong sense of social realities and a “soulfulness” that causes them to focus more on people than objects. STEM educators can train Black youths to utilize their emotional strengths in designing problem-solving technologies that are both effective and humane. For example, Black-centered design, a race-conscious application of human-centered design, allows Black people to use their cultural knowledge to provide scientific solutions to problems in their community. However teachers choose to do it, Black identity and culture should be seen as an asset to STEM education and careers.

3. Teach with sociopolitical awareness

An abundance of resources can help teachers develop curriculum that highlights the ways culture influences how we learn and practice STEM. One example is The Woke STEM Teacher, a website where educators can get tools to include social justice topics in their STEM curriculum.

Teachers can design or use enjoyable exercises that prompt students to use STEM knowledge to solve problems relevant to their lives outside of the classroom. This allows opportunities for students’ communities to be used as spaces for STEM learning.

Also, the creativity of Black students may look different from that of other students, so it is important to develop a supportive approach. Educators have used hip-hop, cosmetology, and double-Dutch to demonstrate Black intelligence in STEM.

I believe these simple steps are powerful ways to shift STEM education toward better appreciating and elevating the knowledge and contributions of Black people in STEM.

The post 3 ways schools can improve STEM learning for Black students appeared first on Inside Education.

STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education is increasingly recognised as a driver of economic performance, which is essential in helping developing countries compete in the global market, create jobs and create lives and livelihoods.

This is according to University of Cape Town (UCT) Chancellor Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe who gave the keynote address during Harvard University Center for African Studies’ (CAS) inaugural “Partnerships in STEM Innovation and Future Africa” virtual research symposium this month.

Moloi-Motsepe said the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is in full swing, and that it is crucial for Africa to claim its place as not only an equal partner and contributor, but also as a leader in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, as well as the arts.

“There are many young people in Africa are slipping through the cracks of education systems that are simply not up to scratch,” said Moloi-Motsepe.

The UCT chancellor said almost 60% of Africa’s youth between the ages of 15 and 17 are not enrolled in school, while less than 4% of people across Africa have a university degree.

“Furthermore, among currently enrolled students, less than 25% are pursuing STEM qualifications. The African Union estimates that 70 000 skilled professionals emigrate from Africa every year to pursue economic opportunities in Europe and America,” she said.

“Increased promotion of STEM and the available opportunities in the labour market can create necessary working opportunities that can fulfil the aspiration of Africa’s growing population,” said Moloi-Motsepe.

Adding that in response to this crisis, the African Union (AU) has prioritised education, particularly education underpinned by science, technology and innovation in its Agenda 2063. 

Moloi-Motsepe said the AU aspires that by 2063 Africa will be a continent of well-educated and skilled citizens.

“In this knowledgeable society, it will be the norm that no child misses school due to poverty,” she said.

READ: 4IR: A Vision For The Future Of Education In Africa

According to the AU, union member states spend at least 1% of their gross domestic product on research and development that will enhance STEM innovation.

The World Bank stated that the economic and social prosperity of countries depends on the state of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. This is why, according to research, these fields of research can provide for a deeper understanding of problems in the African context and an opportunity for new discoveries by researchers to solve challenges and advance future development.

Moloi-Motsepe also spoke about the importance of tapping into the knowledge already available on the continent. She said in order to promote much-needed collaboration and knowledge-sharing to benefit Africa and other developing nations, it is important for Africa to collaborate and work in partnership with leading global innovators to reduce its reliance on imported innovation.

Moloi-Motsepe also said that the arts and humanities are as important to development and innovation as the STEM fields. Adding that to equip Africa’s youth with skills that suit the future of work and skills, the interaction between STEM subjects and the humanities needs to be recognised as critical for navigating the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

“We need to break down the silos between these academic fields. The interaction between STEM subjects and the humanities needs to be recognised as critical for navigating the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” she said.

READ: Presidential Commission On 4IR Presents Draft Diagnostic Report To Ramaphosa

The post STEM and art education is central to Africa’s development and innovation appeared first on Inside Education.

BENSON NTLEMO|

It was back in 2011, when learners at PP Hlungwani Secondary School in Malamulele, Limpopo together with their parents, boycotted classes demanding the return of their school principal, Richard Khosa.

That year, the rural school matric results had plummeted to 57, 3% from previous years highs of over a 90% matric pass rate.

Learners and parents at the school said Khosa had the winning formulae to return the school’s pass rate to its former glory.

They were right.

Upon Khosa’s return, PP Hlungwani Secondary School has returned to producing one of the best matric results in the province.

In the 2020 Matric exams, the quintile 1 school, which caters for the poorest 20% of learners, achieved a matric pass rate of 92,7%.

This happened despite the lack of resources available at the school, and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic that placed even more pressure on learning and education. The school – situated in Green Farm village about 15km outside Malamulele – still managed to produce one of the country’s best learners, 18-year-old Pearl Khosa (no relation) who represented the school at the Top Matric Achievers National Awards.

Pearl achieved six distinctions for the 2020 Matric year. It was reported that she also attained 300 out of 300 marks in Physical Science, a subject that Khosa himself teaches.

READ: Matric Results: MTN Awards SA’s Top 183 Matriculants With Laptops, Computers

In 2018, the school produced a top learner, Nwayitelo Masia, also attained full marks for Physical Science as well as 7 distinctions. Nwayitelo represented the school at the provincial awards ceremony.

The school, being a government quintile 1 school lacks basic necessities. The school does not have an adequate number of classrooms, a science laboratory, a school hall, an admin block and decent ablution facilities.

When asked about the secret of the success of the school that he leads, Khosa said: “It is the commitment of the school management team lead by the school principal. This trickles down to other educators.

“School management must be exemplary. At my school, the SMT [science, mathematics and technology education] is supported by other stakeholders such as the school management body, parental involvement and traditional leadership,” said the principal.

Adding that one must not expect the support from other stakeholders for nothing, “you must show commitment and their support will follow”.

Khosa joined PP Hlungwani Secondary School in 2003 after then school principal, Mackson Masangu, resigned to join the Thulamela Local Municipality as a senior manager.

Although his position was as a deputy principal, he was soon promoted to acting principal.

However, in 2006, the Department of Basic Education seconded him to be the acting principal of a new school, Jilongo Secondary School in Jilongo Village also under the Madonsi Traditional Council.

It was during this time that matric results at PP Hlungwani Secondary School saw a sharp decline, which led parents and pupils to go on massive protest demanding the return of their principal.

Jilongo Secondary School pupils and their parents also boycotted classes demanding that Khosa continue as principal. The tug of war would see Khosa sent back to PP Hlungwani where, many said he was never meant to leave. Khosa was replaced by Dan Khanyi who later left Jilongo to join the Collins Chabane Local Municipality as the manager in the mayor’s office.

READ: #MatricResults: Son of a street hawker becomes a top achiever

But Khosa was almost lost to teaching.

As a young man who had just completed his then Form Five examinations at Mtititi Secondary School, Khosa was trained by Telkom for three years. He later became a qualified technician with a diploma in telecommunications.

But after working for three years, he saved enough money to finance his passion to be a teacher.

Khosa attended Tivumbeni College of Education where after three years, he acquired a teacher’s diploma and came back to teach at his alma mater, Mtititi Secondary School.

From there he was promoted to deputy principal at Shitlhangoma Secondary School before his transfer to PP Hlungwani.

PP Hlungwani presently has 1 446 leaners and 43 educators.

The principal’s small office has been converted into a classroom. On the classroom walls, there are many accolades including certificates and trophies.

“We receive them all the time,” said Khosa. “They are from the district, region and province. Some are from the [teachers’ union] Sadtu. They show that the different stakeholders appreciate what we are doing,” he said.

In Khosa’s first year back at PP Hlungwani in 2012, the matric pass rate returned to over 90%.

Because of his track record, many schools are utilising his services.

He recently addressed a one-day workshop on Curriculum Management organised by two schools at Nkatini Secondaru High and Matimba Secondary at Shingwedzi Camp in the Kruger National Park. He was also invited to address a similar workshop organised by Nwanati Secondary School in Makuleke in Malamulele held in Swadini Aventura Inn outside Hoedspruit in Mpumalanga.

Khosa told Inside Education that even with the lack of resources, education must always take place.

 “We do not teach subjects, but we teach children. Once we have children, we must make sure they are taught,” said the principal.

READ: Man who went from gardener to lecturer will do PhD in England

The post PROFILE: “We do not teach subjects, we teach children” – Khosa appeared first on Inside Education.

NALEDI SHOTA|

The Department of Basic Education is this week expected to announce a date on when teachers will be vaccinated. 

Spokesperson for the department, Elijah Mhlanga, told Inside Education on Monday that the department has been in meetings with the Department of Health and talks are at an advanced stage regarding the vaccination of teachers.

“There is progress. We met with health today and an announcement is going to be made this week,” said Mhlanga.

In a statement on Monday pharmaceutical company Aspen, said it was disappointed that specific batches of the Johnson&Johnson vaccine manufactured at its plant in Gqeberha had to be destroyed. 

This comes after the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Friday that some batches of the Johnson and Johnson vaccines produced at the Emergent BioSolutions Plant in Baltimore in America were contaminated.

“[This is] due to the ‘Good Manufacturing Practice’ risk of isolated material in the drug substance supplied to Aspen by Johnson & Johnson from their contract manufacturing partner in the USA, Emergent. The batches manufactured had been retained in storage awaiting the outcome of the US FDA [Food and Drug Administration] assessment of Emergent.

“This is not only a setback to both the Aspen and Johnson & Johnson teams who have worked tirelessly to ensure the manufacture of these batches, but more importantly, has the potential to negatively impact the vaccine rollout across South Africa and Africa,” reads the statement. 

However, the company further said that within days Aspen would provide 300 000 doses of the vaccine for South African teachers. These are not impacted by the contamination. 

Mhlanga also told Inside Education that the sector “will more likely benefit from the 300 000 vaccines cleared for use in South Africa”.

The vaccination will happen as primary schools and special education needs schools are expected to receive back all learners on 26 July. There is currently a rotation system in place. 

However, on Thursday Julius Malema, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) president called for schools to be closed with “immediate effect”. Malema said this needed to happen because more and more learners are testing positive for the virus. He said the party would give Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, seven days to respond to their call or the party would shut down schools. 

READ: Malema gives Motshekga seven days to shut down schools as Covid-19 cases rise in children

Mhlanga said the EFF had written to Motshekga calling for schools to be closed and had asked her to respond to the party by Thursday. He said the department would respond to the party by its deadline. 

In the past week, the Northern Cape department of education said it had recorded 103 positive cases and 69 of these were from learners, while the Gauteng department said in the past week 1977 learners tested positive in the last week.

Two weeks ago, Inside Education reported on a letter that had been written by the Head of Health in KwaZulu-Natal, Dr Sandile Tshabalala, addressed to the Head of Education Enock Nzama about the vaccination of educators. Tshabalala said the national department of education has confirmed that the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccines would be made available in the next week and that “most of which should be used for educators”.

“The target group is basic education (all staff members of primary and secondary schools). It is expected that the dedicated vaccination sites for educators will be ready by Wednesday, 9th June 2021, and the vaccination period will be for two weeks,” read the letter.

READ: Teachers set to be vaccinated in the next week

Teacher unions also told Inside Education, two weeks ago, that they had written to the national departments of health and education asking that teachers be prioritised for vaccination this month. 

There are about 400 000 teachers in the system. 

READ: Teachers over 40 to be vaccinated from Wednesday

The post Announcement on teacher vaccination to be made this week appeared first on Inside Education.