EDWIN NAIDU

THE 2023 and the 8th Basic Education Lekgotla, which laid out the priorities and challenges for the year ahead, was given the presidential seal of approval and attended by teacher unions, school governing bodies, academics and experts involved in the sector.

The three-day Lekgotla took place on 26 -28 January 2023 in Sandton, Johannesburg, under the theme “Equipping learners with knowledge and skills for a changing world post Covid-19 pandemic”.

The Lekgotla was addressed by President Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa, joined by Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga, Deputy Minister of Basic Education Dr Makgabo Reginah Mhaule, MECs for Education, leaders of teacher unions and school Governing Bodies, representatives of learner organisations, academics and experts in the education sector and representatives of non-governmental organisations. While addressing unemployment was high on President Ramaphosa’s agenda, the effects of the pandemic, which led to a shutdown of the economy and disruption of schooling, was not lost on Motshekga.

The Minister said the devastating impact of Covid-19 has brought about new thinking around the world regarding the ability of education systems to respond with agility to the unpredictability of pandemics.

“South Africa protected learning to some extent compared to other countries but also experienced severe learning losses. We protected learning through the implementation of a framework for the recovery of learning, and the system began the process of rebuilding,” she said.

She added that key levers of the recovery framework were the emphasis on foundational and core skills that resulted in the curriculum trimming to ensure a focus on deeper learning.

In 2022, the following decisions and recommendations emerged from the Lekgotla:
• A decision not to revert to the original, content-heavy ATPs and assessment plans in the CAPS post-
Recovery, but to use the revised and reduced ATPs and assessment plans
• A shift towards more systematically and deliberately incorporating 21st Century competencies into
the curriculum, assessment, teacher development, and the pedagogical core. Given this mandate,
Motshekga said the work began in earnest in 2022 to design an
approach to strengthening teaching, learning, and assessment. As a result, the initial focus of this
work is Curriculum Strengthening, with the following goals:
• To enhance the relevance of the knowledge, skills, character, and values taught in the current
curriculum so that learners are prepared for a changing world
• To contribute towards greater alignment across the sector, with the ultimate goal of improving
learning outcomes and preparing learners for life beyond school.

This work has included consulting with local and international stakeholders to design a draft competency framework to guide the infusion of competencies into the In 2023, broader consultations will occur to refine and finalise the
draft competency framework.

A detailed curriculum-strengthening blueprint and implementation roadmap will guide the sector-wide activities supporting curriculum strengthening.

“It is also intended to enhance alignment across the sector regarding pedagogical practices, assessment, LTSM, and learning environments that will support the development of desired knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values among South African learners,” she said.

According to Motshekga, to respond holistically and sustainably to these multifaceted challenges, the sector proposes deliberate action in five broad areas:
• Curriculum: Refers to strengthening the existing curriculum statement (CAPS)
• Assessment: Refers to updating and enhancing current assessment practices
• Teaching: Refers to effective classroom teaching, learning, and pedagogical practices
• Learning Environment: Enhancing the space (physical and non-physical/virtual in which learning
takes place
• Learning and Teaching Support Material (LTSM): This refers to strengthening the primary
compulsory learning resources per subject.

To this end, multiple avenues may be considered as part of Curriculum Strengthening: Subject modernisation entailing a review of the current subject offering and introducing new subjects to operationalise the Three Stream Model and ensure the relevance of the curriculum.

In addition, she said there would be content modernisation: entailing a review of content within existing subjects and updating it in line with the demands of the changing world. It could also entail streamlining content to focus on core
concepts and important content in each discipline.

Another proposal related to infusing competencies and cross-cutting priorities into CAPS by deliberately and systematically incorporating social, emotional and cognitive competencies into teaching and learning through updates to the curriculum, pedagogy and assessment.

It also entails incorporating relevant across subjects, e.g., environmental literacy.

“Our only objective is to ensure that learners leave school with a holistic breadth of knowledge, skills, character, attitudes, and values to succeed in a changing world,” Motshekga said.

President Ramaphosa said the Basic Education Sector Lekgotla is one of the most important events on the calendar. “It is here that officials, educators, teacher unions, policymakers, the private sector and civil society chart the course for basic education for the next twelve months and beyond.”

He added that Basic education was the foundation of a nation’s development, progress and prosperity.

“Despite the impact of lockdowns, school closures, learning disruption, curriculum trimming, rotational timetables and numerous hurdles, our learners excelled.”

This year’s results, particularly in the performance of learners from poorer schools, show the broadening impact of education spending and the social wage.

“We congratulate all the learners.” President Ramaphosa said: “The biggest heroes are our educators”.

“Because of their dedication to their profession, our learners got the support they needed to sit these exams and to do well. I speak here about the extra hours spent tutoring, the personal time taken to help redraft and amend timetables and curricula, the time spent being part of matric camps and many other initiatives.

“Many of our educators have their own families and children in school, and yet they provide an extended family to their learners. The improved matric results must encourage us as stakeholders in basic education to redouble our efforts to address the severe problem of learner dropout.”

The three-day Lekgotla was a platform for discussions for various stakeholders to address issues in the curriculum and technology, among others, while mapping out the way forward for success in 2023.

INSIDE EDUCATION

A shooter killed at least eight people and wounded 13 in a drive-by attack near a town close to Belgrade late Thursday, the second such mass killing in Serbia in two days, state television reported.

The attacker shot randomly at people near the town of Mladenovac, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of the capital, the RTS report said early Friday. Police were looking for a 21-year-old suspect who fled after the attack, the report said.

The shooting came a day after a 13-year-old boy used his father’s guns in a rampage at a school in Belgrade that killed eight of his fellow students and a school guard.

The bloodshed sent shockwaves through a Balkan nation unused to mass murders.

Though Serbia is awash with weapons left over from the wars of the 1990s, mass shootings are extremely rare. Wednesday’s school shooting was the first in the country’s modern history. The last mass shooting before this week was in 2013, when a war veteran killed 13 people in a central Serbian village.

Serbian Interior Minister Bratislav Gasic called Thursday’s shooting “a terrorist act,” state media reported.

Special police and helicopter units have been sent to the region as well as ambulances, it added.

No other details were immediately available, and police had not issued any statements.

Earlier Thursday, Serbian students, many wearing black and carrying flowers, filled streets around the school in central Belgrade as they paid silent homage to peers killed a day earlier. Thousands lined up to lay flowers, light candles and leave toys to commemorate the nine people who were killed on Wednesday morning.

The tragedy also sparked a debate about the general state of the nation following decades of crises and conflicts whose aftermath have created a state of permanent insecurity and instability, along with deep political divisions.

Authorities on Thursday moved to boost gun control, as police urged citizens to lock up their guns and keep them away from children.

Police have said that the teen used his father’s guns to carry out the attack. He had planned it for a month, drawing sketches of classrooms and making lists of the children he planned to kill, police said on Wednesday.

Police say a 13-year-old who opened fire at his school drew sketches of classrooms and made a list of people he intended to target. He killed eight fellow students and a school guard before being arrested Wednesday.

The boy, who had visited shooting ranges with his father and apparently had the code to his father’s safe, took two guns from the safe where they were stored together with bullets, police said on Wednesday.

The shooting on Wednesday morning in Vladislav Ribnikar primary school also left seven people hospitalized — six children and a teacher. One girl who was shot in the head remains in a life-threatening condition, and a boy is in serious condition with spinal injuries, doctors said on Thursday morning.

To help people deal with the tragedy, authorities announced they were setting up a helpline. Hundreds answered a call to donate blood for the wounded victims. A three-day mourning period will begin Friday morning.

Serbian teachers’ unions announced protests and strikes to warn about a crisis in the school system and demand changes. Authorities shrugged off responsibility, with some officials blaming Western influence.

The shooter, whom the police identified as Kosta Kecmanovic, has not given any motive for his actions.

Upon entering his school, Kecmanovic first killed the guard and three students in the hallway. He then went to the history classroom where he shot a teacher before turning his gun on the students.

Kecmanovic then unloaded the gun in the school yard and called the police himself, although they had already received an alert from a school official. When he called, Kecmanovic told duty officers he was a “psychopath who needs to calm down,” police said.

The children killed Wednesday were seven girls and one boy. One of the girls was a French citizen, France’s foreign ministry said.

Authorities have said that Kecmanovic is too young to be charged and tried. He has been placed in a mental institution, while his father has been detained on suspicion of endangering public security because his son got hold of the guns.

“I think we are all guilty. I think each one of us has some responsibility, that we allowed some things we should not allow,” said Zoran Sefik, a Belgrade resident, during Wednesday evening’s vigil near the school.

Jovan Lazovic, another Belgrade resident, said he was not surprised: “It was a matter of days when something like this could happen, having in mind what is happening in the world and here,” he said.

Gun culture is widespread in Serbia and elsewhere in the Balkans: The region has among the highest numbers of guns per capita in Europe. Guns are often fired into the air at celebrations and the cult of the warrior is part of national identities.

Experts have repeatedly warned of the danger posed by the number of weapons in a highly divided country like Serbia, where convicted war criminals are glorified and violence against minority groups often goes unpunished. They also note that decades of instability stemming from the conflicts of the 1990s, as well as ongoing economic hardship, could trigger such outbursts.

“We have had too much violence for too long,” psychologist Zarko Trebjesanin told N1 television.

“Children copy models. We need to eliminate negative models … and create a different system of values.”

AP

ON International Girls in ICT Day, on 27 April, several industry experts held conversations around diversity and inclusion in a sector largely still dominated by men under the theme ‘Digital Skills for Life’.

Asked to share their hopes for the future of girls in ICT, four female leaders in ICT, were frank yet inspiring leaving one in no doubt on the task at hand.

Ursula Fear, Senior Talent Program Manager at Salesforce, said the greatest challenge to advancing gender equality in the workplace, particularly in the technology industry, is addressing women’s under-representation in emerging roles, such as cloud computing, engineering and Data and AI.

“A successful outcome would be the day that we no longer need to talk about girls or women in ICT as a specific focus area. In the meantime we need to keep nurturing potential, interrogating how to make ICT more appealing to girls and women, and actively debunk any remaining stigmas, myths and stereotypes around ICT being a male field,” she adds.

Rashi Gupta, Managing Director, MFS Africa Hub at MFS Africa, believes that the presence of women in STEM fields is crucial for driving innovation and promoting a sustainable economy.

“Women bring unique perspectives and problem-solving approaches that can lead to new innovations in technology and science. Additionally, having a diverse workforce in STEM industries can lead to more inclusive and equitable decision-making, which is essential for creating a sustainable future for all. Encouraging and supporting women in STEM education and career paths is not just a matter of fairness and equality, it is also a business and economic imperative. Investing in women in STEM is investing in the future,” she adds.

Vanashree Govender, Media Relations and Communications Manager at Huawei South Africa, says Innovation and ICTs are key drivers of economic growth, especially for emerging markets like South Africa.

“The country’s social and economic growth challenges call for solutionist thinking driven by innovation and ICT skills that contribute to demolishing the triple threat challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality. It is the type of solutionist thinking that requires the inclusion of girls in ICTs.”

This context, is however often missed when the participation of girls in STEM and their role in ICTs is defined. It is a well-known factor that women approach problem-solving with a brain that places emphasis on specific pieces of the problem-solving process.

“A future for girls in ICT, is one that takes girls beyond seeing STEM as a subject, but more as an enabler of a future they desire for themselves, where they have the digital skills and are fully aware and conscious of how these can empower them to change their worlds,” she adds.

Head of MiWay Blink, Keletso Mpisane, says one of the biggest barriers in ICT has always been access to market and competition but for women it is also gender bias.

“The ICT space has historically been male dominated and though there have been strides made – over the years, there is still room for a higher presence of women in the field. These women would act as role models for the next generation, who would be in the position to take this field even further forward into a more equally representative space,” adds Mpisane.

INSIDE EDUCATION

PHUTI MOSOMANE

THE Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Nompendulo Mkhatshwa, has expressed her heartfelt condolences to the Kgwadi family on the passing of Professor Daniel Kgwadi, who served as the Vice Chancellor of the Vaal University of Technology (VUT).

Prof Kgwadi passed away on Sunday, leaving a profound impact on the entire higher education sector, which Mkhatshwa acknowledges and appreciates.

Prior to his tenure at VUT, he also served as the Vice Chancellor of the North West University, and contributed significantly to various professional bodies including Umalusi Council, leaving behind a shining legacy.

The committee had previously engaged directly with Prof Kgwadi in Parliament, where he emphasized the importance of stabilizing management and governance at VUT to ensure that the university could perform effectively on its core mission of providing students with a sound education, knowledge, and skills that are responsive to the needs of the South African industry and beyond.

“The committee is behind the Kgwadi family during this very difficult time of grief and mourning and extends its heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, colleagues of Prof Kgwadi and the entire VUT community. May his soul rest in eternal peace,” said Mkhatshwa.

North-West University’s Professor Dan Metsileng from the subject group Economics said even though it was never an easy ride for Prof Kgwadi, he has achieved a lot and leaves behind a lasting legacy.

“You guided the campus as rector and later the NWU as vice-chancellor on a sometimes bumpy and difficult road, but you never faltered in your resolve. You tackled issues head on, always having the university and its staff and students in mind.”

“The NWU family has entrusted the leadership of this family in your capable hands. As Patrick Lumumba once said – ’Time limits are good things. No matter how good a dancer you are, you must leave the stage’. Farewell Prof Kgwadi – the Mahikeng Campus wishes you good health and all of the best in your future endeavours. You will always be the trusted ambassador of this family,” concluded Professor Metsileng.

INSIDE EDUCATION 

EDWIN NAIDU

THE Eastern Cape DoE had faced severe budgetary pressures that had impacted its ability to carry out some of its planned activities, coupled with the service delivery challenges experienced in different facets of its operational spectrum.

Despite this, the notable improvements in 2022, particularly the examination outcomes, should be seen in the context of the system-wide education transformation plan of the Department.

Its strategic thrust was to maximise opportunities for learners to achieve a good pass in the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations whilst improving performance in the whole system.

The Department’s expenditure had increased from R37.507 billion in 2019/20 to a revised estimate of R39.796 billion in 2022/23.

The 2023/24 budget allocation had increased slightly by 3.3% to R41.128 billion, mainly due to additional funds allocated for personnel and norms and standards in the baseline.

Further reprioritisation of the baseline budget had been undertaken to increase funding provision for learner-teacher support material (LTSM), school furniture, coding and robotics, vocational and technical equipment, agricultural schools, maintenance of ECD centres, and information communication technology (ICT) in schools.

During the discussion, the NCOP heard that the Department would continue to prioritise the rationalisation and realignment of unviable schools for optimum resource distribution, through the densification of schools for enhanced and effective school management that would result in improved learning outcomes.

The Department had also said that they would continue to ensure the provision of an appropriate package of support to viable secondary schools in quintiles 1 to 3.

It had also been resolved that the provision of quality education was the main factor behind the rationalisation of small and unviable schools. The second objective was improved financial efficiency and the re-distribution of resources to where they were most needed.

The process of rationalisation of schools was complex, so it would be informed by a provincial education plan, based on a needs assessments and merger trends.

Infrastructure revitalisation and development would be aligned with the rationalisation process.

The Department had also resolved to continue teaching robotics and coding in the primary phase and to increase the number of schools that offered coding and robotics classes.

INSIDE EDUCATION

PHUTI MOSOMANE

THE University of Johannesburg has refunded R311 million of unallocated funds from 2016 to 2021, which were meant for students who qualified for funding but either changed institutions or deregistered.

The payment made by UJ brings the total amount received from institutions of higher learning to around R349.3 million since the beginning of the NSFAS investigation in September 2022.

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has welcomed this payment and encouraged all institutions of higher learning to repay unallocated funds that are owed to NSFAS.

NSFAS was supposed to collect unallocated funds at the end of each year through reconciliation with the institutions of higher learning. However, the SIU’s investigation found that NSFAS had failed to design and implement controls that would ensure an annual reconciliation between the funds disbursed to the institutions and the funded list of registered students.

To address this, NSFAS has recently hired a service provider to assist with the reconciliation process, known as “close out reporting.”

The SIU is authorised to investigate allegations of corruption and maladministration in the affairs of NSFAS and to recover any financial losses caused by corruption and negligence.

The SIU can take civil action in the High Court or a Special Tribunal in its name to correct any wrongdoing caused by corruption, fraud, or maladministration. Any evidence of criminal conduct uncovered during the investigation will be referred to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for further action.

The SIU has found that more than R5 billion of NSFAS funds may have been allocated to students who did not qualify for funding. The investigations have so far revealed that more than 40,000 students in 76 institutions of higher education have been funded incorrectly.

These are students whose household income is above R350,000 and therefore would not qualify for NSFAS funding based on the funding rules. These students did not submit their parents’ details upon application, and therefore the means test was not properly conducted.

Moreover, the SIU has facilitated a refund or managed to ring-fence about R38.3 million owed to NSFAS from three TVET colleges. Two of these colleges are in the Western Cape, and one is from Mpumalanga.

The SIU is engaging other institutions to determine if they are holding any overpayments that need to be ring-fenced pending the completion of the investigation.

INSIDE EDUCATION

PHUTI MOSOMANE

BASIC Education Minister Angie Motshekga has announced that over 99% of learners in KwaZulu-Natal have now received school nutrition since the end of the Easter holidays. 

She provided this update during a media briefing addressing the recent school nutrition crisis in the province. 

The crisis arose due to logistical challenges faced by the main service provider, Pacina, which resulted in learners at more than 5,400 schools not receiving food deliveries since the end of the Easter holidays.

Motshekga said that she and her team have been collaborating with the MEC of Education, Mbali Frazer, to address the challenges facing the school nutrition program in KwaZulu-Natal. 

“The situation has stabilized greatly. I can confirm that children have been fed, although there were delays in deliveries of food stuff. National Treasury is interested in the matter to ensure that there is no fruitless expenditure,” she said.

“The reason we have come to the province is to ensure that we work together to resolve the challenges, and make sure that by today, 02 May 2023, all the children get their meals. The second priority is to make sure that we sustain the programme.”

The briefing comes on the back of the back of monitoring visits conducted to assess the state of readiness in the implementation of the feeding programme as thousands of learners returned to school after the extended weekend.

During the media briefing, Motshekga explained that the Department of Basic Education has been working to address the school nutrition program issues in KwaZulu-Natal without incurring any fruitless and wasteful expenditure.

“The reports we have gathered during today’s oversight visits indicate that the situation has stabilised in the province. We are also receiving reports indicating that children were indeed fed. There were reports of delays in deliveries, but children were fed,” said Motshekga.

The previous service provider, Pacina, initially opted out of their contract to provide food to schools in the province but later indicated that they would continue to do so until July.

The Minister stated that the legal team is currently handling the issues surrounding Pacina’s contract.

Motshekga said that the central procurement system that was tested by the KwaZulu-Natal province was a step in the right direction, even though the process had some issues. 

She said that the department aims to procure food directly from manufacturers to negotiate prices and achieve economies of scale.

The Minister expressed her confidence in the complete delivery of the school nutrition program in KwaZulu-Natal and thanked various teacher unions and SGBs for their collaboration with the provincial department. 

She also commended the Premier and MEC for swiftly intervening in the matter, adding that “our main concern has been that children are fed.” 

She expressed her satisfaction with the province’s efforts in resolving the issues, stating that over 90% of the children have been fed.

KZN Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube established an online tool to monitor the progress of the R2 billion school nutrition program, which Motshekga acknowledged during the briefing.

Frazer confirmed that food delivery to learners in the affected schools had resumed after resolving the issues.

She thanked workers, parents, educators, the Minister, and the entire KwaZulu-Natal community for their support in ensuring that learners have access to food.

Last week, Pacina Retail Pty Limited, the company contracted to feed learners in over 5,400 schools in the province, announced that it was opting out. A legal battle is expected since the company is demanding payment for the time that it delivered food to schools. 

INSIDE EDUCATION

SUSPENDED for not being at work during illness, Vaal University of Technology (VUT) Vice-Chancellor and Principal Prof Dan Kgwadi has died at age 56.

Kgwadi, who told Inside Education that the university was trying to get rid of him for being absent while recovering from illness, died on Sunday.

After joining VUT in February 2022, Prof Kgwadi made it his mission to clean up the university, which has been plagued by corruption and mismanagement claims, resulting in it being placed under administration.

VUT chairperson Professor Mandla Radebe announced in a short statement that Kgwadi had died.

Kgwadi threatened VUT with legal action after he was placed on special leave after he had been off sick for 14 days, of which he spent five in the hospital. Expressing his disappointment at his shoddy treatment, Kgwadi told Inside Education that he received no sympathy from the university during his convalescence.

Kgwadi was instrumental in setting North-West University on a path towards stability and transformation. His posts on social media during his illness and alleged mistreatment at VUT did not hold back on what was happening to him.
Kgwadi planned to take VUT to court to challenge his suspension.

But the man who replaced him at NWU, Professor Bismark Tyobeka, was full of praise for Kgwadi’s “immense contribution” to leaving behind a university that worked extremely well.

INSIDE EDUCATION

STAFF REPORTER

A SECOND bodyguard working for vice chancellor, Professor Sakhela Buhlungu, was killed near Alice, Eastern Cape, at the weekend.

The bodyguard was travelling on the R63 when a vehicle collided with his car, killing him instantly. In their probe, the police wants to find out what happened and whether it was deliberate, or accidental.

“The university community is understandably shocked and shattered. Earlier this year, we lost Mr [Mboneli] Vesele, and now we have lost another colleague,” according to UFH spokesperson JP Roodt.

The bodyguard had protected a member of the university’s management executive committee.

“While the death occurs in highly unusual circumstances, as the university clamps down on rampant and systemic corruption over several decades, which run politically and criminally deep, the university will not be drawn to comment or speculate on the death until authorities have concluded investigations or until more information becomes available to us.”

Eastern Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinana said the crash occurred at about 01:20 on Sunday. According to the police, the bodyguard, driving a Mercedes Benz, was en route from Bhisho to Ginsburg with three passengers at about 1:20 am Sunday when his vehicle was allegedly struck by a Nissan NP 300.

The crash is being investigated, and there have been no arrests.

The bodyguard is understood to have been a witness in a police investigation into corruption claims being probed at the university. In April, five people were arrested and appeared in court on charges of murder and attempted murder of university employees.

The five – Bongani Peter, Sicelo Mbulawa, Wanini Khuza, Mthobisi Khanyile and Mthobisi Dlamini-Zondo – are due in court today (4 May) for a bail application.

INSIDE EDUCATION