WENDY MOTHATA|

SOUTH AFRICA’S ability to reverse rising levels of unemployment and poverty depends on its progress to deliver training and skills development programmes that address today’s challenges.

This is according to Deputy President David Mabuza, who was speaking in his capacity as the Chairperson of the Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) at the Sedibeng TVET College in Vereeniging, Gauteng.

“Apart from those in the schooling and training system, the reality is that we have an unsustainably high number of unemployed young people. Something drastic needs to happen,” he said.

Citing the Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) data, he said the country’s unemployment rate stood at 33.9% in the second quarter of the year, with almost 12.3 million jobless people.

“Most concerning is that 35.7% of youth between the ages of 15 and 24 are classified as not being in employment, education, or training.”

He has since urged the Council to put measures in place to ensure that those who have lost employment and learning opportunities can bounce back.

According to the Deputy President, this could be made possible through a package of skills development interventions that will create viable options in life.

“What the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us is that certain jobs may not come back as we know them.”

He said the Council needs to look at working with industry to design targeted skills programmes that will facilitate the absorption of youth into entrepreneurship and employment.

“Many a time, we keep deliberating on our challenges, and we make undertakings to change course, but very little is done to implement all the good resolutions that we take to change the situation,” the Deputy President said.

To this end, he called on the body to finalise the programme of action immediately.

He urged members to reflect on whether their work will produce skills that are appropriate for citizens to thrive in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).

“Instead of trying to do everything, we should reflect on how we prioritise and select a portfolio of interrelated national high impact interventions or projects to deliver tangible results for our country.”

More critically, Mabuza said the Council needed to mobilise necessary financial resources from government and the private sector to drive these initiatives.

“How do we ensure that the HRDC strategy responds to the current job seekers and those pursuing entrepreneurship?”

He emphasised that the programme of action should lead to the realisation of a better environment for learning and training.

“With proper education and training, we can move forward as a country.”

Business skills

He told the delegates that the evolving nature of doing business has set in motion the shifting content of skills and capabilities needed to build and grow a sustained modern economy.

“It requires a quick paradigm shift and reorientation to realign the content of our curriculum offerings and skills development programmes so that we can respond to the demands of industry and the economy,” he said.

In addition, he said the 4IR, National Digital and Future Skills Strategy provides a critical framework for inclusive partnerships between industry, labour, higher education institutions and society to imagine and build a new set of skills and capabilities for the country.

“From the foundations of basic education to tertiary levels, key resources and infrastructure must be provided to accelerate the provision of relevant and appropriate skills.”

He said he was encouraged by the Sedibeng TVET College with prides itself on new cutting-edge research and technology in disciplines like mechatronics.

He thinks that the combination of mechanical engineering, electronics and computer systems will go a
long way in developing the skills required as a country and growing the economy.

“As the Council, we need to ensure that all our TVET Colleges have strategic partnerships with industry
players across all economic sectors,” he said.

Digital divide

Meanwhile, he said the country needed to bridge the digital inequality gap, especially among unskilled
and low-income citizens, especially amongst women and girls.

He raised concerns about the 750 000 learners who did not return to school due to the pandemic.

“These increasing dropout rates, compound the already high number of young people that are not in
education, employment, and training.”

He also highlighted how COVID-19 exacerbated the issue of the digital divide in society.

“While other schools in affluent areas were able to continue learning during COVID-19, those who have
no access to ICT have been disadvantaged, thus lagging, hence our call for the mobilisation of requisite
resources from the government and private sector to jointly drive these initiatives,” Mabuza said.

INSIDE EDUCATION

THE Mpumalanga Department of Education is positive that Ubuhle Buzile E-Learning programme, which was launched in April by Premier, Refilwe Mtshweni Tsipane, is revolutionizing the delivery of teaching and learning within the province.

The launch event coincided with the delivery of 55000 tablets for Grade 12 learners and 6700 laptops for teachers in the quintiles 1 to 3 schools.

Speaking at that occasion, an elated Mtsweni-Tsipane said: “We are taking a giant leap in the educational field today, with Ubuhlebuzile secondary school, as the base to launch the e-Learning Programme. It gives me pleasure to be a part of this history-making moment, joining hands with the community of Mkhondo Municipality, as our provincial government is making this bold move.”

“This is evidence of our commitment in equipping the Grade 12 Class with the tools that will optimise their learning. There is more to these technological tools, that we are handing over today: They are the fruits that stem from the 4th industrial revolution era that we are in; They are catalysts of change that to thrust both learners and teachers into a digital age in which their
capacity will be elevated to national standards.”

The gadgets will optimise the quality of learning across the province and through this initiative.

“We will move a step closer to attaining the ideals of the Strategic Framework for Schooling 2030, Mpumalanga Vision 2030, The African Union: Agenda 2063 and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and provide quality, effective and non-colonial education to the children of our beautiful Province,” said Mtsweni-Tsipane.

“We are a first step towards the realisation of our vision to ensure a “One Tablet-One Learner” for the
benefit of our children.”

These sentiments were confirmed by Sibongile Irene Gondwe, Principal of Sitintile Secondary School, who lauded E-Learning being introduced at her school from January 2022.

“As a school, we’re under the Mathematics, Science and Technology Academy aligned schools whereby, e-Learning assists a lot,” Gondwe said.

Gondwe said that since the tablets were introduced to the learners after a two-year Covid-19 pandemic challenge, they are certain that they will make it at the end of the year because of the progressive support considering that learners are able to access all information whether they are at school, in the bus or car and at home.

“A learning environment has been created for them around the clock. We are definitely going to improve our pass rate since we’ve got these gadgets which are assisting teaching and learning at school and other social spaces. Learners are also able to download past examination question papers to acquaint themselves with how to approach their examinations at all costs,” Gondwe said.

“I must say there’s open communication between learners and educators through this system as WhatsApp messages are exchanged between learners and the educators at all times. So, we don’t have a huge problem in terms of communication. We will definitely improve our pass mark from last year’s 69% to 85% because we have put all strategies in place to ensure we succeed.”

The principal said that there are many strategies in place that have profiled the learners according to their abilities.

“We have streamlined them and have provided questionnaires to determine their abilities. The top learners will also be pushed to leverage up to Level 7 and go higher still. The learners on the border line will be provided the easy to answer questions, will be pushed from Level one to three, hence we’re confident of attaining our 85% and above, we will obtain it at the end of this academic year,” said Gondwe.

She asserted further that since the e-Learning was introduced and the gadgets distributed among the learners, learners are able to interact with their teachers and among themselves, too.

“They are able to, through WhatsApp, ask questions on things they require explanation. That is why I’ve said we’re gunning for 85% pass mark this year because there’s just a hive of activity between the teachers and learners. Above that, data is there and at school we’re controlling its usage in a good manner. We ensure that learners don’t come with their own gadgets, or cards, but stick to the ones supplied to them, hence this academic year, we’re going to receive good results, a thing that is very motivational, indeed,” she ended.

Thembeka Secondary School Principal, Mlungisi Khoza, said they are very excited about the E-Learning gadgets.

“As principals, I must confess that we were very excited because we foresaw that they would contribute a lot in enhancing learning and teaching at our schools. These tablets will go a long way in assisting learners in terms of resourcefulness. They replace the textbooks which would be lacking due to retrieval challenges, now the gadgets are closing that gap,” Khoza said.

“We did experience teething problems as this was something new for our schools. The learners got excited as some abused these gadgets by not using the available data the right way. It’s ensuring that the data provided is adequately used for learning and research purposes, including communicating with educators through WhatsApp and also communicating with their peers, discussing
and advising each other on subject matters. All subjects are covered on the system.”

A learner from Thembeka Secondary school, Njabulo Chauke, said: “When they were first introduced to us, we saw them as befitting to help us cover up for learning lost due to Covid-19. We found it to be packed up with a lot of learning material and study guides that came in handy for us to really get down to studying hard.”

“On the other hand, this system has come in handy because in the past, we used to experience lack of textbooks, but now we have all textbooks in our gadgets. I’m doing seven subjects which is Physical Science, Mathematics, Life Sciences, English, Life Orientation, among others,” Chauke said.

Nhlanhla Madonsela, a learner from Sitintile High School, said: “The tablets have come in very handy for me and I’ve been embroiled in all its activities they have really assisted me a lot. We are able to browse the internet. It has enhanced my learning abilities as it provides textbooks which are more useful study guides. I improved my pass mark for Mathematics, for instance, from 43 to 76%. I’m optimistic that our school will attain a 100% pass rate this year because of the wealth of study material available in these tablets,” she stated.

INSIDE EDUCATION

GILLIAN ANSTEY|

AROUND 900 people attended the three online public webinars presented last week to clarify the new Draft Policy for the Recognition of South African Higher Education Institutional Types. The online engagements were led by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) in collaboration with Universities South Africa (USAf).

Each webinar comprised a presentation by Mr Mahlubi Chief Mabizela, Chief Director responsible for Higher Education Policy and Research Support in the DHET, and a discussion session. The first webinar was for private higher education institutions, the second for public ones, and the third for the general public, a grouping which still attracted way over 100 participants.

These were the right platforms for questions

Mabizela asked the online participants to use the webinars — rather than their written submissions to the department — as an opportunity to ask questions. “Because when you are submitting, you are projecting your views, you are stating what you think. And if you ask questions in your submission, we are not going to be able to answer them,” he said. Otherwise, there was no specified format for submissions. Comments on the draft policy may be submitted until 8 September 2022, as the Government Gazette was published on 8 August 2022.

He said his presentation at the webinars was designed purely to explain the content of the policy and not to change or influence any ideas. He pointed out that the list of annexures at the end of the draft policy indicated various forms still being developed. The number of annexures might increase, but any such changes would not affect the policy itself. This article, therefore, supplements a previous one titled The Draft Policy for the Recognition of South African Higher Education Institutional Types is not as disruptive as some perceive it to be.

“Every input or comment is important. We, therefore, request you to make comments as clearly as possible and not leave them ambiguous.” He also invited the audience to suggest elements of interest that were not yet covered in the draft policy.

Dr Linda Meyer, USAf’s Director: Operations and Sector Support, assured the audience that the Draft Policy for the Recognition of South African Higher Education Institutional Types was a process. She said the DHET had been very open about inclusions that needed to be made, hence this rigorous engagement for information sharing and “to get particular questions that they can respond to.”

The process after 8 September 2022

First, the department would revise the draft based on the public comments. The policy had generated so much attention that they expected many submissions and could not anticipate how long this revision would take. They would then submit this public input to the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation for the SEIAS process, a Social-Economic Impact Assessment. The policy had already undergone the initial assessment during the drafting process. This final SEIAS process could involve some to-ing and fro-ing to ensure the policy had no negative impacts. Then either during this process or on its completion, the Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, has a mandatory consultation with the Council on Higher Education (CHE), which might decide to appoint a committee of some sort to analyse the policy further or even call for submissions from the DHET or others.

“I am trying to illustrate that there may be another consultation process. Given this policy’s attention, it is possible that it may be submitted to Cabinet before it goes out for publication. That will be the Minister’s decision,” said Mabizela.

The target deadline is before April 2023

The DHET wants the policy to be finalised by April next year. One of the reasons was that “public nursing colleges have been knocking at our door wanting to be classified as one of the types of higher education institutions.” Mabizela explained that these colleges currently fall under the Department of Health, not DHET, and that some are already offering Bachelor’s degrees in collaboration with universities. However, they cannot be recognised as higher education providers without a “type” of an institution to fall under – a transition which requires specific legal compliances.

The DHET had already published in a Gazette in 2019, that nursing colleges could offer Bachelor’s degrees from January 2020. A joint technical team had been established between the two government departments to facilitate the outstanding legal, administrative and technical processes to declare them higher education colleges. According to the draft policy, this type of institution focuses on undergraduate and skills development programmes.

A similar process with the DHET’s joint technical team had been established for public agricultural colleges. The National Working Group on Institutional Mergers had already identified a need for this as far back as 2003, at the inception of the higher education mergers.

Higher education colleges and research

Mabizela said the DHET had already received questions about why higher education colleges — one of the new types of institutions in the draft policy — were not allowed to do research. He said while these institutions could do research, it was not part of their mandate. “In public institutions, research is subsidised,” he said. Higher education colleges would not be subsidised for carrying out research, given that it is not part of their requirements. “However, they are still welcome to do research.”

The aim is to create synergy between types of higher education institutions

Mabizela said one of the aims of the new draft policy was to create channels of movement of students from one type of institution to another — a process known as articulation. So, a student could start at a higher education college and finish at a university. “That way, we are also trying to expand access and make the curriculum accessible to students, to promote the development of a flexible learning system progressively encompassing the entire sector,” he said.

The policy is not about downgrading institutions

He said the media had focused on the policy as a means of downgrading institutions from one type to another. Still, there was no evidence or insinuation of this in the policy. “That is not to say it is impossible,” said Mabizela.

But the policy had not created the possibility of this. He said Section 65AB of the Higher Education Act of 1997 states that the Minister may, at the request of the Council of the institution concerned, and after consultation with the CHE, and by notice in the Government Gazette, amend or remove any restrictions on the scope and operations of a higher education institution.

“So, the Minister can close a public higher education institution now. It has always been there, since 1997,” he said.

“If you want to look at it in terms of a downgrade, yes, it allows for that, but it is also possible to change from a higher education college to a university college and from a university college to a university. So, it cuts both ways.

“This policy is not introducing anything new other than higher education colleges (which have a relatively limited range and scope) and university colleges (which are universities in the making). Nothing else,” he said.

Mr Mabizela commented on the high attendance numbers and the delegates’ active engagement. He extended his gratitude to USAf for organising these events.

USAF

THE South African Reserve Bank, in partnership with the Department of Basic Education, has announced the finalists and winners of the 2022 Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) Schools Challenge.

Marais Viljoen High School in Alberton, Gauteng, was announced as the overall winner.

Each participating learner from the school walked away with R16,000 as well as an iPad for each learner and the educator.

The Horizon High School from Turffontein, Gauteng, took the second spot.

They were followed by Paarl Girls’ High School from the Western Cape.

The SA Reserve Bank and the DBE introduced the MPC Schools Challenge to expose learners to the processes of the MPC in determining the repo rate.

The project offers an exciting opportunity for Grade 12 Economics learners and their teachers to become “members” of the monetary policy Committee for a few weeks.

“We are pleased that 225 schools attended the briefing sessions for learners and teachers, and 102 schools submitted essays that are required to proceed to the next level of the competition. These essays are prepared in the same format as the SARB MPC statement. The statement must reflect global and domestic economic conditions and factors, and reflect the decision of the learners on its Monetary Policy stance,” said SARB Governor Lesetja Kganyago.

He said the quality of their essays and presentations were evidence that the objective of expanding the understanding of monetary policy is being achieved.

“To our learners, remember that nothing of value comes without an effort. Your presence here as finalists bears testimony to your commitment, hard work and dedication. We encourage you to pursue careers in the field of economics and central banking,” he said.

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said the Monetary Policy Committee Schools Challenge demystified the role and functions of the Reserve Bank.

“In other words, the winning team inadvertently become the bank’s ambassadors, explaining the role of the bank and monetary policy to their communities,” she said.

“Thus (they are) assisting in public education about inflation, financial markets and banking, among others. It is also good for our learners as it broadens their career options while planting a seed of the importance of economics and mathematics in everyday life of our country.”

The competition was initially piloted with 70 Gauteng schools in 2012 and has grown to a national competition which includes well over 400 schools and has impacted more than 1,800 students across all nine provinces.

The MPC Schools Challenge was launched in 2012 with 70 schools in Gauteng participating.

To date, it has reached over 3, 200 learners in over 400 schools.

INSIDE EDUCATION

GAUTENG Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi has officially launched the Rosina Sedibane Modiba Sports School of Specialisation with a focus on Sports and Sports Science in Laudium on Tuesday morning.

Rosina Sedibane Modiba Sport School is a fully functional Sports School that has proficiency in Chess, Tennis, Soccer, Netball, Aerobics, Athletics, Swimming, Basketball and Gymnastics.

The boarding school aims to nurture sports talent.

“We want to create sports stars of the future at this school and hope they will do us proud,” said Lesufi.

“We encourage all parents who want to see their children represent this country on the world stage to come to this school to give them the best possible platform.”

Various South African sporting stars were present at the school’s opening, including former Bafana Bafana, Mamelodi Sundowns and Al-Ahly head coach Pitso Mosimane.

“My talent was spotted when I was playing soccer at my school, so I know how important a platform it can be,” Mosimane said.

“It’s safe to say that without the school, I would never have made it at the highest level, and my life would not be the same. But at the same time my parents encouraged me to stay at school so that I could support myself after my career, so education was just as important. After my career in football ended, I went to university and completed my degree in sports science.”

The school was named after Modiba, a pioneer as a black African woman athlete who competed in multi-racial championships in 1976.

She made history by becoming the first black South African woman athlete to win a gold medal, in the 1500m, during the multi-racial provincial championships at Pilditch Stadium in Pretoria in March 1977.

STAFF REPORTER|

For fourth-grader Leah Rainey, the school day now begins with what her teacher calls an “emotional check-in.”

“It’s great to see you. How are you feeling?” chirps a cheery voice on her laptop screen. It asks her to click an emoji matching her state of mind: Happy. Sad. Worried. Angry. Frustrated. Calm. Silly. Tired.

Depending on the answer, Leah, 9, gets advice from a cartoon avatar on managing her mood and a few more questions: Have you eaten breakfast? Are you hurt or sick? Is everything OK at home? Is someone at school being unkind? Today, Leah chooses “silly,” but says she struggled with sadness during online learning.

At Lakewood Elementary School, all 420 students will start their days the same way this year. The rural Kentucky school is one of thousands across the country using the technology to screen students’ state of mind and alert teachers to anyone struggling.

In some ways, this year’s back-to-school season will restore a degree of pre-pandemic normalcy: Most districts have lifted mask mandates, dropped COVID vaccine requirements and ended rules on social distancing and quarantines.

But many of the pandemic’s longer-lasting impacts remain a troubling reality for schools. Among them: the harmful effects of isolation and remote learning on children’s emotional well-being.

Student mental health reached crisis levels last year, and the pressure on schools to figure out solutions has never been greater. Districts across the country are using federal pandemic money to hire more mental health specialists, rolling out new coping tools and expanding curriculum that prioritizes emotional health.

Still, some parents don’t believe schools should be involved in mental health at all. So-called social-emotional learning, or SEL, has become the latest political flashpoint, with conservatives saying schools use it to promote progressive ideas about race, gender and sexuality, or that a focus on well-being takes attention from academics.

But at schools like Lakewood, educators say helping students manage emotions and stress will benefit them in the classroom and throughout life.

The school, in a farming community an hour’s drive south of Louisville, has used federal money to create “take-a-break” corners in each classroom. Students can rifle through a “self-regulation kit” with tips on deep breathing, squishy stress balls and acupuncture rings, said school counselor Shelly Kerr. The school plans to build a “Reset Room” this fall, part of an emerging national trend to create campus sanctuaries where students can go to decompress and speak with a counselor.

The online student screener Lakewood uses, called Closegap, helps teachers identify shy, quiet kids who might need to talk and would have otherwise gone unnoticed.

Closegap founder Rachel Miller launched the online platform in 2019 with a few schools and saw interest explode after the pandemic hit. This year, she said, more than 3,600 U.S schools will be using the technology, which has free and premium versions.

“We are finally beginning to recognize that school is more than just teaching the kids reading, writing and arithmetic,” said Dan Domenech, executive director of the national School Superintendents Association. Just as free lunch programs are based on the idea that a hungry child can’t learn, more and more schools are embracing the idea that a cluttered or troubled mind cannot focus on schoolwork, he said.

The pandemic magnified the fragility of mental health among American youth, who had been experiencing a rise in depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts for years, experts say. A recent report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found 44% of high school students said they experienced “ persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness ” during the pandemic, with girls and LGBTQ youth reporting the highest levels of poor mental health and suicide attempts.

If a silver lining exists, the pandemic raised awareness of the crisis and helped de-stigmatize talking about mental health, while also bringing attention to schools’ shortcomings in handling it. President Joe Biden’s administration recently announced over $500 million to expand mental health services in the country’s schools, adding to federal and state money that has poured into schools to cope with pandemic-era needs.

Still, many are skeptical schools’ responses are enough.

“All of these opportunities and resources are temporary,” said junior Claire Chi, who attends State College Area High School in central Pennsylvania. Last year, her school added emergency counseling and therapy dogs, among other supports, but most of that help lasted a day or two, Chi said. And that’s “not really a mental health investment for students.” This year, the school says it has added more counselors and plans mental health training for all 10th graders.

Some critics, including many conservative parents, don’t want to see mental health support in schools in the first place. Asra Nomani, a mom from Fairfax County, Virginia, says schools are using the mental health crisis as a “Trojan horse” to introduce liberal ideas about sexual and racial identity. She also worries schools lack the expertise to deal with student mental illness.

“Social-emotional well-being has become an excuse to intervene in the lives of children in the most intimate of ways that are both dangerous and irresponsible,” Nomani said, “because they’re in the hands of people who are not trained professionals.”

Despite the unprecedented funding, schools are having trouble hiring counselors, mirroring the shortages in other American industries.

Goshen Junior High School in northwest Indiana has been struggling to fill a vacancy of a counselor who left last year, when student anxiety and other behavioral problems were “off the charts,” said Jan Desmarais-Morse, one of two counselors left at the school, with caseloads of 500 students each.

“One person trying to meet the needs of 500 students?” said Desmarais-Morse said. “It’s impossible.”

The American School Counselor Association recommends a ratio of 250 students per school counselor, which few states come close to meeting.

For the 2020-21 school year only two states — New Hampshire and Vermont — achieved that goal, according to an Associated Press analysis of data from the National Center for Education Statistics. Some states face staggeringly high ratios: Arizona averages one counselor to 716 students; in Michigan, 1 to 638; and in Minnesota, 1 to 592.

Also in Indiana, the School City of Hammond won a grant to hire clinical therapists at all 17 of its schools but has not been able to fill most of the new jobs, said Superintendent Scott Miller. “Schools are stealing from other schools. There just aren’t enough workers to go around.” And despite more funding, school salaries can’t compete with private counseling practices, which are also overwhelmed and trying to hire more staff.

Another challenge for schools: identifying struggling children before they’re in emotional crisis. At the Houston Independent School District, one of the largest in the country with 277 schools and nearly 200,000 students, students are asked each morning to hold up fingers showing how they feel. One finger means a child is hurting deeply; five means she or he feels great.

“It’s identifying your brush fires early in the day,” said Sean Ricks, the district’s senior manager of crisis intervention.

Houston teachers now give mindfulness lessons, with ocean sounds played via YouTube, and a Chihuahua named Luci and a cockapoo named Omi have joined the district’s crisis team.

Grant-funding helped Houston build relaxation rooms, known as Thinkeries, at 10 schools last year, costing about $5,000 each. District data show campuses with Thinkeries, which sport bean bag chairs and warmly colored walls, saw a 62% decrease in calls to a crisis line last year, Ricks said. The district is building more this year.

But the rooms themselves are not a panacea. For the calming rooms to work, schools must teach students to recognize they feel angry or frustrated. Then they can use the space to decompress before their emotions erupt, said Kevin Dahill-Fuchel, executive director of Counseling in Schools, a nonprofit that helps schools bolster mental health services.

In the last days of summer vacation, a “Well Space” at University High School in Irvine, California, was getting finishing touches from an artist who painted a mural of a giant moon over mountains. Potted succulents, jute rugs, Buddha-like statuettes and a hanging egg chair brought an un-school-like feel. When school starts this week, the room is to be staffed full-time with a counselor or mental health specialist.

The goal is to normalize the idea of asking for help and give students a place to reset. “If they can re-center and refocus,” said Tammy Blakely, the district’s director of student support services, “they can then, after a short break, go back into their classrooms and be prepared for deeper learning.”

AP

SOUTH Africa faces a serious reading challenge as a study suggests that quite a large amount of South African learners in primary school are unable to read to understand.

In the 2016 Progress In International Reading Literacy (PIRLS) study which tested reading comprehension of learners who were in their fourth year of primary schooling, South Africa ranked last out of the 50 countries that participated.

The study also found that 78 percent of South African learners in primary school are unable comprehend and understand what they are reading.

Many have expressed some of the aspects that have contributed to the heightened figures are limited access to books and that South Africa needs to cultivate a stronger culture for books and reading.

To tackle the crisis, the Department Of Basic Education (DBE) launched the One Million Storybooks Project which is aimed at improving the reading culture in South Africa.

The project is aimed to take it beyond just the technical aspects of enabling learners to read and read for meaning, but to make further advancements on the culture of reading in the country. 

National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT) CEO Godwin Khoza explained that the project is a continuation of other initiatives that are aimed at contributing towards reversing terrible effects of low-level reading in schools and communities.

“During Covid together with the DBE we set off to develop 189 titles for young readers in African languages and those have been processed into a million books that we are busy delivering to kids in schools.“

Khoza says that the role of NECT is to connect with partners who wish to put more reading resources into schools and that it has partnered with several organisations such as Nal’ibali and Room To Read to distribute books to schools and communities.

NECT is exploring various ways to distribute reading materials, including compressing over 2000 storybooks into WhatsApp packages that could be shared on the platform making it easier for people to access, he adds.

It is also crucial that accelerated efforts are made to equip teachers with the necessary tools and resources for their task of teaching children to read. 

“Teachers are at the forefront of teaching children the technical aspects of reading, and although some teachers are doing it very well, there are others that need support”

Khoza says that in partnership with the DBE, they have taken about 110 000 teachers and school managers through a programme called the Primary School Reading Improvement Programme which is aimed at teaching the more technical aspects of how they should teach learners how to read.

Careersportal

DESPITE the progressive legislation that allows for the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community to be protected, homophobia still persists, especially in schools. This affects the mental health and livelihood of queer learners. 

On paper, South Africa is incredibly progressive when it comes to protecting the rights of the queer community. 

In May 1996, South Africa became the first jurisdiction in the world to provide constitutional protection to LGBTQ+ people, stipulated in the South African Constitution, which condemns discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation and other grounds.

Although our Constitution may not practice discrimination, it is still quite common amongst individuals who haven’t outgrown internalised homophobia. 

South African schools have seen persistent bullying and harassment aimed at queer learners, due to homophobia from fellow classmates and even teachers. 

The Legal Resources Centre (LRC) recently published a report titled “Barriers to Accessing Education for LGBTQIA+ Learners”, documenting the stories of queer learners and the challenges they face in schools. 

An attorney from the LRC, Muyenga Mugerwa-Sekawabe, discusses the reasoning and experiences which have lead to a number of LGBTQ+ learners taking their own lives due to persistent homophobia. 

“Queer learners [are] faced with bullying, both from staff members who are meant to have their best interests at heart, but also from fellow classmates as well. There’s also issues around school uniform being admitted to single-sex schools for transgender learners; further challenges transgender learners face in relation to sports (which has been a bit of a controversial issue) as well bathroom use,” says Mugerwa-Sekawabe. 

Based on their sexual orientation and gender non-conformity or gender identity, queer learners are more vulnerable to bullying as compared to their non-queer, heterosexual or cis-gendered peers, reads one research report. 

Teachers can also be responsible for the homophobia suffered by queer learners, while some face discrimination because of their own queer identities. 

In March 2017, a high school principle forced lesbian learners to come out to their parents, by sending them home with letters revealing their sexual orientation. The principle told critics it was nobody’s business how she chose to deal with “problems” at the school. 

Mugerwa-Sekawabe says while policies mandate that LGBTQ+ learners have certain rights, Department of Basic Education officials, at whatever level, who are homophobic can cause the most damage to queer learners.

“If those Department of Basic Education officials, at whatever level they are, were to have homophobic, prejudicial, queerphobic views, then it doesn’t really matter what the policy says, because those are the people in charge of schools.” 

The act of outing someone (disclosing an LGBT person’s sexual orientation or gender identity without their consent) can be detrimental because it is a violation of their privacy, and is a personal process.

It can be a difficult time for someone because of discrimination, homophobia, or potential marginalization from their families and their community at large, reads another report, and has even been linked to self-inflicted deaths. 

Homophobia in schools is also one of the reasons learners may drop out entirely. 

“Bullying leads to absenteeism in schools, it leads to people dropping out of schools and it’s definitely a major challenge which needs to be taken on. Even those learners who don’t drop out of school may face other psychological or mental trauma and issues, which may take a few years, [even] decades after they leave high school to finally grapple with,” explains Mugerwa-Sekawabe. 

If you or anyone you know is part of the LGBTQ+ community and is need of help, please contact the following resources: 

OUT: 012 430 3272PFLAG South Africa/Same Love Toti: 082 654 8635The Gay and Lesbian Network (GLN): 033 342 6165.The Pride Shelter: 021 423 2871. Sonke Gender Justice: 021 423 7088 / 011 339 3589.The Triangle Project: 021 712 6699. 

In an emergency please call LifeLine’s 24 Hour Counselling Line on 011 422 4242 / 0861 322 322 or the South African Depression and Anxiety Group’s (SADAG) Suicide Crisis Line on 0800 567 567. 

Careersportal

MATH and reading scores for America’s 9-year-olds fell dramatically during the first two years of the pandemic, according to a new federal study — offering an early glimpse of the sheer magnitude of the learning setbacks dealt to the nation’s children.

Reading scores saw their largest decrease in 30 years, while math scores had their first decrease in the history of the testing regimen behind the study, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, a branch of the U.S. Education Department.

The dramatic setbacks, which erased two decades of progress in American test scores, reflect years of upheaval for the country’s education system. Schools shut down for months at a time amid COVID-19 outbreaks. Many children spent a year or more learning from home. Virus outbreaks among staff and students continued the disruption even after kids returned to the classroom.

The declines hit all regions of the country and affected students of most races. But they were most dramatic for the country’s most vulnerable kids. Students of color saw some of the steepest decreases, widening the racial achievement gap.

Much of the nation’s standardized testing didn’t happen during the early days of the pandemic, so the findings released Thursday gave an early look at the impact of pandemic learning disruptions. Broader data is expected to be released later this year as part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the Nation’s Report Card.

“These are some of the largest declines we have observed in a single assessment cycle in 50 years of the NAEP program,” said Daniel McGrath, the acting associate commissioner of NCES. “Students in 2022 are performing at a level last seen two decades ago.”

In math, the average score for 9-year-old students fell 7 percentage points between 2020 and 2022, according to the study. The average reading score fell 5 points.

The pandemic’s upheaval especially hurt students of color. Math scores dropped by 5 percentage points for white students, compared with 13 points for Black students and 8 points for Hispanic students. The divide between Black and white students widened by 8 percentage points during the pandemic.

Decreases were more uniform in reading: Scores dropped 6 points for white, Black and Hispanic students.

For Asian American students, Native American students and students of two or more races, there was little change in reading or math between 2020 and 2022, the study found.

The setbacks, especially among underprivileged kids, raised alarms in the education world. Denise Forte, interim CEO of the Education Trust think tank, called it “deeply disturbing.”

“Due to inequitable and unjust school systems, students who are the most underserved continue to struggle academically both before and during the pandemic,” Forte said. “Decision-makers at all levels have not done nearly enough to address the long-standing resource inequities that prohibit Black, Latino and students from low-income backgrounds from reaching their full academic potential.”

A national association of superintendents said the findings are disappointing but not surprising.

Dan Domenech, executive director of AASA, said there’s encouraging evidence that schools are now investing in summer learning, mental health counselors and reading specialist. But experts have questioned whether schools are taking actions that are sweeping enough to address the magnitude of academic losses.

Geographically, all regions saw decreases in math, but declines were slightly worse in the Northeast and Midwest compared with the West and South. Outcomes were similar for reading, except that the West had no measurable difference compared with 2020.

Although it marks a sharp drop since 2020, the average reading score was 7 points higher than it was in 1971, and the average math score was 15 points higher than in 1978, the study found.

Overall, the results paint a “sobering picture” of schooling during the pandemic, said Peggy Carr, commissioner of the NCES.

Federal officials say this is the first nationally representative study to compare student achievement before the pandemic and in 2022, when most students had returned to in-person learning. Testing was completed in early 2020, soon before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, and in early 2022.

AP