THE Covid pandemic has reminded institutions of higher learning to revisit their curricula with a view to engage with deep programme reform in order to remain relevant, says professor Ahmed Shaikh, MD of Regent Business School.

Professor Shaikh said educators find themselves in a changing world wherein the rate of change, uncertainty and flux is without precedent.

He said higher education was already facing deep challenges before the pandemic, largely because of the impact of exponential and disruptive technologies, and those challenges have been compounded by the lasting impacts of a global pandemic.

Individuals from various institutions were invited to express their views at the Southern African Association for Institutional Research (SAAIR) Quality Forum with the theme: “New Innovations in Teaching and Learning: Do these innovations lead to quality teaching and learning?”

Lerato Makuapane, a research and project coordinator of the Analytics and Institutional Research Unit at the University of the Witwatersrand, touched on staff experiences of how they coped with the adaptation, abandoning the ‘old’ and familiar for a new way of teaching under Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT).

“Work and life balance together with much higher workloads appeared to be a major challenge, and while a range of previously under-utilised technology enablers were introduced into the Teaching and Learning (T&L) environment, a key success factor in the T&L process had been lost – the human interaction.

“Of course, the pandemic became a double-edged sword, in some respects, as it took such a catastrophic phenomenon to force all of us to adopt and accept technology as a vital medium in the T&L process, but at the cost of person-to-person connections that are part of our hardwiring,” she said.

Dr Carin Stoltz-Urban, the quality assurance manager for Teaching and Learning at the Inscape Education Group, shared some interesting insights from her institution on how they have strengthened the student and academic relationship through technology with a strong emphasis on staff development, mentioning that an effective approach has been to introduce Continuous Professional Development (CPD) in a non-threatening manner through communities of practice.

Hoosen Essof, the redHUB and operations manager at Regent Business School, drew close attention to the traits required for the future world of work and the tension between realistic expectations of students and what can be achieved through the curriculum.

Essof’s presentation also reminded the participants of the value and importance of work-integrated learning and how to think differently about traditional approaches to internships.

Dr Kirti Menon, a senior director of the Division for Teaching Excellence at the University of Johannesburg, stressed that technology is not the driver of the curriculum and related pedagogy but is rather an enabler, stating that we now have the opportunity as we emerge from the pandemic to reflect deeply and intentionally on how technology can be used to shift the way we teach and the way students learn.

Students who attended the event highlighted the disparity between their backgrounds and levels of preparedness for the remote teaching environment.

They also highlighted that the levels of anxiety experienced under remote teaching conditions were a significant challenge that placed a huge strain on their own mental health and well-being.

Students underscored the need to train the teachers – specifically in terms of assessment methodologies and, more importantly, to facilitate these with students.

They also raised questions on the need to reflect on how learning may occur rather than following the old familiar path of memory retention under timed conditions, which yield little benefit.

The students closed the discussion by saying that institutions have so much to learn from one another and that they should be open to sharing these with one another.

Business Tech

THE National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has confirmed it will prosecute former Stellenbosch University Theuns Du Toit for allegedly urinating on the desk, laptop and books of Babalo Ndwayana.

Du Toit was expelled from the university after he was filmed urinating on Ndwayana’s belongings in May.

The university found that Du Toit has also been found guilty of contravening the university’s disciplinary code for students, saying, “…no student shall, without good and lawful reason, willfully engage in any conduct which adversely affects the University, any member of the University community, or any person who is present on the University campus at the invitation of the University.”

NPA spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said: “I can confirm that the NPA has decided that he must be prosecuted on malicious damage to property and crimen injuria but gave instructions that investigation must be finalised before the matter is placed on the roll.”

In May 2022, du Toit was filmed urinating on the desk, laptop and books of Ndwayana.

After the incident took place, Ndwayana laid a criminal complaint against du Toit.

The charges included housebreaking, crimen injuria, and malicious damage to property.

Crimen injuria is a wilful injury to someone’s dignity, caused by the use of obscene or racially offensive language or gestures.

INSIDE EDUCATION

WITH the 2022 National Senior Certificate examinations set to begin at the end of the month, Cabinet has urged parents and guardians to play their part by encouraging and motivating learners and creating a conducive environment for studying at home.

“Cabinet wishes the Class of 2022 well as they embark on the final leg of their school journey. The continued support from teachers, parents and guardians will go a long way in helping these learners to face these exams with confidence,” Minister in The Presidency, Mondli Gungubele said on Thursday.

Addressing the media on the outcomes of the Cabinet meeting that was held on Wednesday, Gungubele said the exams are set to start on 31 October and end on 7 December 2022.

“The 2022 National Senior Certificate examinations begin on 31 October and end on 7 December 2022,” said Gungubele.

Cabinet urged parents and guardians to play their part by encouraging and motivating the learners and creating a conducive environment for studying at home.

INSIDE EDUCATION

THE Department of Basic Education has released the Grade 12 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination timetable; this means that exams are around the corner.

Exam season can be an incredibly stressful time for all learners, especially with the weight of expectation in these economically challenging times. How are learners supposed to cope?

According to Dr Bernadette Aineamani, director at Pearson South Africa, many learners feel overwhelmed by the amount of information they are required to retain.

“This problem is particularly where a lot of material is covered, learners may not know where to start, and endless amounts of content available simply doesn’t mean that information gets adequately retained or remembered when needed,” says Aineamani.
Aineamani recommends ten ways in which learners can tackle their exams with confidence:

Be at your exam venue at least 30 minutes before your exam starts.Stay calm and do not panic. Approach every question in a calm way, take deep breaths when you feel overwhelmed.Read the instructions and entire question paper before starting the examination.Read each question carefully to ensure that you understand how to best answer the question.Write neatly.Adhere to the mark allocation of each question. Refrain from giving too much or too little information.Show your workings and calculations in brackets if required.Do not use correction fluid or tippex.Do not leave questions out – even if a question looks unfamiliar, at least try to provide some answers.Remember you are competing with yourself. Do not start panicking when another learner completes the question paper before you do.

“I also encourage learners to take time off to rest and recuperate when needed. It is vital that mental health is looked after because stress and pressure are in abundance while calm and focus are the key to examination success,” advises Aineamani.

Courtesy: Pearson

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel of experts in primary care and prevention, issued a final recommendation on Oct. 11, 2022, published in the journal JAMA, stating that all children and adolescents between the ages of 8 and 18 should be screened for anxiety, regardless of whether they have symptoms. The recommendation follows a systematic review that evaluated the potential harms and benefits of screening.

The Conversation asked Elana Bernstein, a school psychologist who researches child and adolescent anxiety, to explain the task force’s recommendations and what they might mean for kids, parents and providers.

1. Why is the task force recommending young kids be screened?

Nearly 80% of chronic mental health conditions emerge in childhood, and when help is eventually sought, it is often years after the problem’s onset. In general, recommendations to screen for mental health disorders are based on research demonstrating that youths do not typically seek help independently, and that parents and teachers are not always skilled at correctly identifying problems or knowing how to respond.

Anxiety is the most common mental health problem affecting children and adolescents. Epidemiological studies indicate that 7.1% of children are diagnosed with anxiety disorders. However, studies also estimate that upwards of 10% to 21% of children and adolescents struggle with an anxiety disorder and as many as 30% of children experience moderate anxiety that interferes with their daily functioning at some time in their life.

This tells us that many kids experience anxiety at a level that interferes with their daily functioning, even if they are never formally diagnosed. Additionally, there is a well-established evidence base for treating childhood anxiety.

The task force evaluated the best available research and concluded that, while there are gaps in the evidence base, the benefits of screening are clear. Untreated anxiety disorders in children result in added burdens to the public health system. So from a cost-benefit perspective, the cost-effectiveness of screening for anxiety and providing preventive treatment is favorable, while, as the task force pointed out, the harms are negligible.

The task force recommendation to screen kids as young as age 8 is driven by the research literature. Anxiety disorders are most likely to first show up during the elementary school years. And the typical age of onset for anxiety is among the earliest of all childhood mental health diagnoses. The panel also pointed to a lack of accurate screening instruments available to detect anxiety among younger children; as a result, it concluded that there is not sufficient evidence to recommend screening children age 7 or younger.

Anxiety disorders can persist into adulthood, particularly those disorders with early onsets and those that are left untreated. Individuals who experience anxiety in childhood are more likely to deal with it in adulthood, too, along with other mental health disorders like depression and an overall diminished quality of life. The task force considered these long-term impacts in making its recommendations, noting that screening in children as young as 8 may alleviate a preventable burden for families.

2. How can care providers identify anxiety in young kids?

In general, it is easier to accurately identify anxiety when the child’s symptoms are behavioral in nature, such as refusing to go to school or avoiding social situations. While the task force recommended that screening take place in primary care settings – such as a pediatrician’s office – the research literature also supports in-school screening for mental health problems, including anxiety.

Fortunately, in the past three decades, considerable advances have been made in mental health screening tools, including for anxiety. The evidence-based strategies for identifying anxiety in children and adolescents are centered on collecting observations from multiple perspectives, including the child, parent and teacher, to provide a complete picture of the child’s functioning in school, at home and in the community.

Anxiety is what’s called an internalizing trait, meaning that the symptoms may not be observable to those around the person. This makes accurate identification more challenging, though certainly possible. Therefore, psychologists recommend including the child in the screening process to the degree possible based on age and development.

Among the youths who are actually treated for mental health problems, nearly two-thirds receive those services at school, making school-based screening a logical practice.

3. How would the screening be carried out?

Universal screening for all children, including those with no symptoms or diagnoses, is a preventive approach to identifying youths who are at risk. This includes those who may need further diagnostic evaluation or those would benefit from early intervention.

In both cases, the aim is to reduce symptoms and to prevent lifelong chronic mental health problems. But it is important to note that a screening does not equate to a diagnosis, something that the task force highlighted in its recommendation statement.

Diagnostic assessment is more in-depth and costs more, while screening is intended to be brief, efficient and cost-effective. Screening for anxiety in a primary-care setting may involve completion of short questionnaires by the child and/or parent, similar to how pediatricians frequently screen kids for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.

The task force did not recommend a single method or tool, nor a particular time interval, for screening. Instead, care providers were advised to consider the evidence in the task force’s recommendation and apply it to the particular child or situation. The task force did point to multiple available screening tools such as the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders and the Patient Health Questionnaire Screeners for generalized anxiety disorder, which accurately identify anxiety. These assess general emotional and behavioral health, including questions specific to anxiety. Both are available at no cost.

4. What are care providers looking for when screening for anxiety?

A child’s symptoms can vary depending on the type of anxiety they have. For instance, social anxiety disorder involves fear and anxiety in social situations, while specific phobias involve fear of a particular stimulus, such as vomiting or thunderstorms. However, many anxiety disorders share symptoms, and children typically do not fit neatly into one category.

But psychologists typically observe some common patterns when it comes to anxiety. These include negative self-talk such as “I’m going to fail my math test” or “Everyone will laugh at me,” and emotion regulation difficulties, like increased tantrums, anger or sensitivity to criticism. Other typical patterns include behavioral avoidance, such as reluctance or refusal to participate in activities or interact with others.

Anxiety can also show up as physical symptoms that lack a root physiological cause. For example, a child may complain of stomachaches or headaches or general malaise. In fact, studies suggest that spotting youths with anxiety in pediatric settings may simply occur through identification of children with medically unexplained physical symptoms.

The distinction we are aiming for in screening is identifying the magnitude of symptoms and their impact. In other words, how much do the symptoms interfere with the child’s daily functioning? Some anxiety is normal and, in fact, necessary and helpful.

5. What are the recommendations for supporting kids with anxiety?

The key to an effective screening process is that it be connected to evidence-based care.

The good news is that we now have decades of high-quality research demonstrating how to effectively intervene to reduce symptoms and to help anxious youth cope and function better. These include both medications or therapeutic approaches like cognitive behavioral therapy, which studies show to be safe and effective.

THE CONVERSATION

Varsity Netball is one of the most popular tournaments in the country. Over the years, since its launch in 2013, it has seen a lot of stars rise, and some get into different national team setups. Spar Proteas assistant coach, Dumisani Chauke was one such individual. She represented the Nelson Mandela University (formerly Nelson Mandela Bay University) both on the court and on the sidelines as a coach.

She reckons the competition is a great pathway for players to move onto the next chapter of their playing careers.

“It’s quite important because it helps us as universities to drive our mandate which is cultivating students athletes and assisting them to perform both on and off the field. It’s important because that helps us in developing the holistic human where we look at both, sports participation and competition as well as academics where we are preparing them for life after university with an academic qualification and the life skills that they have learned through sport.

“So it is quite important that Varsity Sports or Varsity Netball has this competition because it inspires those at high school as well to pursue to play netball post high school where they can see that ‘maybe one day I can play on TV, one day I can represent my university even though I am getting a qualification.’ Because some of these girls play for their universities on sports bursaries,” says the Tshwane University of Technology HOD of Sport.

The competition is a good place for national coaches to keep an eye on the national players for upcoming tournaments like the Diamond Challenge and the Fast5 Netball World Series.

“For me, it’s been quite interesting. I have enjoyed watching the young talent coming up through the system, through the ranks, to the breeding ground which is university sport because that is where we get to see these youngsters coming through. It was exciting for me to even see the likes of UJ getting into their first-ever semifinal, it might not have been the result they wanted but history was made and that is what we’re taking,” she adds.

High-intensity and high-performance competition for a university team prepare the players when they play international matches once they are selected to represent the country. Competitions like the World University Netball Championships are also a training ground for this.

“We have CUCSA (Confederation of University and Colleges Sports Associations) where we have our national students netball team going to the African countries (to compete). CUCSA happens every two years, so this year we did have a team that went out to Malawi and they came back with a gold. It is a breeding ground where our athletes get international experience before even getting into a professional setup, whether they graduate into a TNL (Telkom Netball League) team or the national squad but them having had the opportunity to play at the international level it’s something worth mentioning, that is invaluable as well. University sport itself does play a major role in making sure that our athletes are well groomed, well rounded, and experienced,” she says.

Varsity Netball is quite competitive and has seen three different universities win the title. The University of the Free State has won four titles, while the University of Pretoria and the North West University have won twice apiece. Pukke are in line to increase their number of titles as they face Stellenbosch University in the final. Maties are yet to win the competition, although they have played in several finals.

“It is invaluable game time that they are getting, at a highly competitive level. They are playing against other top players, they are playing against other national players so that also adds to the experience that they get. It’s important for them to be constantly playing at this level. It also goes to show the growth in university netball in the country. We currently have a number of our Spar Protea players that can see the ranks of university sports,” she says.

South Africa being the hosts of next year’s Netball World Cup somewhat inspires the next generation of Proteas to keep working hard toward the dream of donning the green and gold. Chauke says it’s important to encourage youngsters to continue playing sports beyond high school as it can open up opportunities.

“We use all our competitions, even the competitions at the school level, to get and motivate our young players to keep playing sport. If you were to look at the research recently done, there’s a huge number of netball girls that stop playing sports post-high school. They do other stuff because some of their role models don’t play sport, so they get lost and stolen by the social ills that engulf the society. So with every opportunity that we have to motivate and encourage our players to keep playing sports, we take that opportunity and keep it moving,” he says.

Supersport

African universities have made dramatic progress in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2023 as, for the first time, 97 universities from 17 countries, up from 71 last year, have been rated to be part of the best universities globally, with 10 of them in the top 500.

The contingent from Africa is being led by the University of Cape Town in South Africa that has jumped forward 23 places to 160th spot globally, from 183rd position last year, and it is the only university on the continent that forms part of the top 200 universities.

Two other South African universities, Stellenbosch University and the University of the Witwatersrand, or Wits, are both in the 251-300 category, tied in second place, while Ghana’s University of Cape Coast in the 351-400 bracket has been placed fourth.

Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences of Tanzania, a newcomer into the rankings, stormed into the world top 500 universities as it was placed in the 401-500 band.

In comparison with the rest of the best-ranked universities in Africa, Muhimbili is relatively new, as it was hived off from the University of Dar es Salaam and was only accorded full-fledged university status by the Tanzania Commission for Universities in 2007.

What does the data say?

But, commenting on the progress made by the universities in Africa, Phil Baty, the chief knowledge officer at THE, said the data indicate these universities are becoming more prominent and competitive on the world stage.

“Not only has the University of Cape Town risen higher up the rankings this year, but the overall representation for Africa has dramatically increased its knowledge economy,” Baty told University World News on October 12 when the rankings were released.

According to Baty, 25 African universities are ranked for the first time, while five African countries, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, have entered the global stage with universities that meet rigorous international academic benchmarks.

In this context, Nigeria has been highly commended for doubling its number of ranked universities from six to 12 with the University of Lagos this year climbing into the world’s top 500 as it has been placed in the group band of 401-500.

Other African universities that are in that category included Aswan University in Egypt, Ferhat Abbas Setif University 1 of Algeria, Nigeria’s University of Ibadan and the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.

In total, 40 African universities have been ranked among the world’s top 1,000 universities, a ranking indicator that occasionally signals a university’s entry into the global high academic leagues.

For instance, five universities are among the top 600 globally as they were in the group band of 501-600 and they included newcomers, Damietta University of Egypt, Jimma University of Ethiopia and University of Zambia. Others in the group were South Africa’s Durban University of Technology and Kafrelsheikh University of Egypt, both previously featured institutions.

According to the rankings, 12 African universities were in the group band of 601-800 and most of them had been ranked before, apart from the newcomers to the rankings this year – Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo, Mozambique and the University of Namibia.

Others in the group included four Egyptian universities, Benha, Fayoum, Mansoura and Minia universities, as well as three South African institutions, namely, the University of Johannesburg, North-West University and the University of the Western Cape.

Ethiopia’s University of Addis Ababa, as well as Covenant University in Nigeria and Kenya’s University of Nairobi are also in the top 800 group.

The list of Africa’s top 1,000 universities globally was completed by some of the well-known Egyptian universities, such as the universities of Al-Azhar, Cairo, Alexandria and Suez Canal, as well as the American University in Cairo.

More Egyptian universities in the group were Beni-Suef, Tanta, Zagazig and Zewail City of Science, Technology and Innovation.

Three South African universities, the University of Pretoria, Rhodes University and newcomer the University of the Free State, as well as Makerere University of Uganda were also included in that cohort.

Ranked institutions not evenly spread

Although Africa’s footprint on the quality of higher education seemed to be rising, the crux of the matter is that it is not evenly spread across the continent, as almost 70% of the universities that were ranked by researchers in this round were from only four countries.

In this regard, Egypt had 26 universities, or about 27% of the total number of the universities, while South Africa was second with 15 universities, Algeria 13 and Nigeria 12.

Morocco and Tunisia each had eight universities, while Ghana had three, as well as Ethiopia and Tanzania two universities each on the overall ranking index. Eight other countries, Botswana, Kenya, Uganda and the five newcomers, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe all had one university each on the list.

Further, about 60% of the universities in Africa that have been classified are in the lower rankings – as 18 of them are in the group band of 1,001-1,200 while 23 others are in the category of 1,201-1,500 and another 16 are listed in the last category of 1,500+.

But the good news is that, of 25 universities that made it into the competitive rankings and scored pretty well, eight of them, led by Muhimbili, have been ranked among the world’s top 1,000 and four others made it to the top 1,200 universities.

That group included two Nigerian universities, University of Bayero and Federal University of Technology Akure, that were joined by the University of Mauritius and the University of Zimbabwe.

In approval of the performance of the African universities this year, Baty was optimistic that the emerging academic visibility on the world stage will inevitably increase competitiveness of the universities, a move that was likely to arrest the brain drain from the continent.

“This would also ensure that international research collaborations around some of the world’s shared challenges are placed on a much more equal footing, with institutions from the Global North entering into much more truly collaborative partnerships with their African academic peers,” Baty told University world News.

Largest ranking edition up to date

According to Claire Baumforth, the marketing director at Times Higher Education, the rankings were based on five indicators that included teaching, research, citations, international outlook and industry income.

This year, the researchers evaluated 1,799 universities from 104 countries and regions, effectively making it the largest edition in the 19-year history of the THE’s rankings.

“Our researchers provided a rigorous overview of a university’s quality, drawing on an analysis of 15.5 million research publications and 121 million citations and over 40,000 responses to an annual academic reputation survey,” Baumforth told University World News.

She also noted that researchers took into account additional data points covering a university’s teaching environment, core mission, knowledge transfer, reputation, international outlook and industry links, among other academic performance indicators.

Globally, the University of Oxford was at the top of the World University Rankings 2023 while Harvard University was placed second.

The University of Cambridge was third, followed by Stanford, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, California Institute of Technology, Princeton, University of California, Berkeley, and Yale – in that order.

University World News 

WENDY MOTHATA

WITH just less than two weeks before class 2022 matric sit for their final examinations, MEC for Education in Mpumalanga, Bonakele Majuba, says the 2022 academic year is about to bear the fruits that will attest to all the hard work, the stresses and the strains that always accompany the work of teaching and learning.

The Department of Basic Education (DBE) currently has 923 460 learners enrolled for the National Senior Certificate exams.
This number comprises full-time and part-time scholars.

Majuba said that the Class of 2022 must help the Mpumalanga Department of Education soar with wings like eagles.

“Like others before them, the Class of 2022 must help the Mpumalanga Department of Education soar with wings like eagles, they must complete this race without getting weary or fainting and they must leave a mark as they exit the secondary school class shining bright for the whole world to see,” said Majuba.

The department has since 2010 been able to manage incident-free examinations.

“The 2022 Grade 12 Examination will be the biggest in the history of writing such an examination process and for this reason, we will need to be extra vigilant and more meticulous in all material aspects of managing these examinations,” Majuba said.

In total, 71 582 full time candidates have registered to write the 2022 National Senior Certificate Examination in Mpumalanga.

It is the first time that the Province has registered such a high number and Majuba said he is extremely encouraged and happy about it because it confirms that the majority of learners that enters the system in Grade R do make it to Grade 12.

Bohlabela District has registered 16 812 learners; Ehlanzeni District has registered 19 722 learners; Gert Sibande District has registered 16 403 learners and Nkangala District has registered 18 645 learners.

All the candidates will write in 566 schools, which for the purposes of the examinations are now called examination centres and 39 for these examination centres are independent schools.

The Department has granted approval to 24 Schools with limited space to use alternative venues like churches and community halls to write the examinations.

“We would like to express our outmost gratitude to all pastors who have availed their places of worship so that our learners can sit for their examinations,” said Majuba.

The examinations will commence in full scale on October 31 and then proceed until December 7, 2022.

The marking of scripts will start on 9th to the 22nd of December 2022 in 19 Marking Centres spread throughout the province.
The Department will announce the Grade 12 Examination Results on Friday January 20, 2023 at the University of Mpumalanga.

INSIDE EDUCATION

THE matric class of 2022 will sit for their final examinations towards the end of the month, faced with the prospect of load shedding, and following countless disruptions dating back to March 2020, when ​South African president Cyril Ramaphosa announced the country’s first lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19.

Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga has visited learners in a provincial prayer service in the Free State as part of the last push to get students mentally and emotionally prepared to write.

The minister said that the current matric class would have had to go through a storm over the last three years – “it made them the most disadvantaged cohort of learners”.

The impact of disrupted education following the Covid-19 outbreak was devastating, with learners between 75% and a full school year behind where they should be, according to a 2021 report by humanitarian organisation, UNICEF. Rotational attendance, sporadic school closures, and days off for specific grades, resulted in school children losing 54% of learning time.

Students have also had to deal with damaged property, and school closures following unrest which resulted in more than 140 schools being vandalized in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

And with two weeks to go before exams begin, students are faced with South Africa’s worst-ever electricity crisis, which has included up to eight hours of load shedding over the past several months, and a record number of days for power cuts ever.

“As a sector, we will have to swim with the tide,” said Motshekga on Sunday.

“I can’t say that a sector we are immune.”

However, the minister said that the department does communicate with the energy department.

“When we write exams we really do communicate a lot with the Department of energy to say during this period if possible we could just suspend power cuts, but I can’t guarantee that we will be able to fully do away with power cuts when there power cuts in the country. So we will have to navigate our way like everybody else navigates their way.”

Business Tech

Almost two-thirds of South Africa’s children are facing their mental health problems alone; avoiding help or treatment when they need it most. And experts believe the only way to address this worrying trend is to become more vigilant about their children’s behaviour.

Bongani Ndlovu, a 15-year-old from Soweto, knows what it’s like to feel all alone.

“What breaks me is the fact that no one in my family noticed that I wasn’t okay. This means that I’m alone and have no one to turn to during this time,” said the teen. He said he never healed after he was mugged and his cellphone taken away for months.

Michel’le Donnelly, Project Leader for Advocacy & Awareness at the South African Federation for Mental Health (SAFMH), said that 10% of children and adolescents worldwide experience a mental disorder, but most don’t seek help or the care that they require.

Promoting children’s mental health

“In South Africa, 65% of young people reported having some form of a mental health problem but did not seek any help. Experts warn that not addressing mental health for children and adolescents can extend into adulthood and limit opportunities for leading fulfilling lives. Children and adolescents in our country are facing an uncertain future, so we must find ways to promote children’s mental health and resilience and ensure that they have the requisite skills to cope with life’s challenges,” said Donnelly.

“According to the South African Child Gauge 2022, children and adolescents “feel afraid, angry and anxious because their routines, education, recreation, and family finances have been disrupted”. COVID-19 also threatened the stability of homes. It reduced the mental health and capacity of parents and other supporters to maintain a stable, emotionally regulated, and secure environment. This environmental disruption significantly impacted the mental health of children. We, as SAFMH, believe that the same strategies we use to tackle external threats like climate change can also be applied to tackle the aftermath of COVID-19,” she added.

The Better Health Channel said teenagers who experience a distressing or frightening event are often concerned by these strong emotions. “Even though these reactions usually subside as a part of the body’s natural healing and recovery process, it is important for parents or carers to understand how a teenager manages distress and trauma so they can support and help the young person.”

Teens spill their hearts out

Ndlovu says he was triggered by a discussion during a Life Orientation lesson in school when the teacher asked them to share traumatic experiences they went through. “It was there and then that I realised that I am suffering from mental health problems because I had flashbacks of the day I was mugged. I was shaking, and up until this day, a simple walk down the street freaks me out.”

Siphelele Magudulela, 19, also based in Soweto, said even though he received help after being kidnapped, he still struggles with focusing on school, using public transport, and feels insecure.

Magudulela, whose kidnappers demanded a ransom from his family in February 2021, said his family and community were all very supportive.

“A detective who was dealing with my case referred me to a clinic that is based in a court, where I received counselling sessions. I only attended a few, and my older sister always accompanied me,” said Magudulela.

How kids respond to trauma

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5 defines trauma as ‘exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violation. When a child experiences a deeply distressing, life-threatening or stressful event such as violence or injury (traumatic event), acute and chronic stress responses such as fear, anxiety, panic, and shock commonly ensue’.

Children’s responses to traumatic events vary, with their responses influenced by different factors like trauma history and cultural backgrounds. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), many of the reactions displayed by children and adolescents exposed to traumatic events are similar or identical to behaviours that mental health professionals see daily in their practice.

These include:

– the development of new fears
– separation anxiety (particularly in young children)
– sleep disturbance, nightmares
– sadness
– loss of interest in normal activities
– reduced concentration
– decline in schoolwork
– anger
– somatic complaints
– irritability

The APA also reported that children and adolescents exposed to violence regularly often experience many of the same symptoms and lasting effects as children who are victims of violence themselves, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Donelly told Health-e News that half of all mental conditions start at 14. However, most of these cases remain undetected or untreated. “If we teach children to speak about their mental health and provide safe conditions for them, this proportion might not be so high,” she said.

Threats of suicide

“With regards to suicide, research shows that before trying to take their own life, a teen may have thoughts of wanting to die. This is called suicidal ideation. Threats of suicide are a cry for help, and if a teenager is having suicidal thoughts, they must know that they are not alone and that they should reach out to someone they trust and seek the necessary support. Children should be taught messages such as: “Remember, there is nothing shameful about talking about feeling like you are not coping, needing help, or talking about suicide,” said Donnelly.

Magadulela said apart from experiencing anxiety now and then, a car stopping anywhere near him makes him uncomfortable.

“I still need to deal with the emotional side, and I am even reluctant to help strangers after my traumatic experience. I am noticing things that are abnormal about me emotionally. A car stopping makes me panic, and on some days, I fear using public transport,” the teenager said.

Donelly added that not all teenagers with depression attempt suicide, but most of those who attempt suicide, are depressed. Depression affects your thoughts, moods and body and is treatable. Of those seeking help, at least 80% get better.

Warning signs of depression:

According to the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG), the following signs may be indicators of depression in teenagers:

– Loss of interest in fun activities.
– Sadness that won’t go away.
– Crying a lot.
– Irritability and/or anger.
– Having low energy, constant tiredness or being restless.
– Feelings of guilt or hopelessness.
– Worrying, anxiety and tension.
– Changes in appetite.
– Eating too little or too much.
– Changes in sleep patterns.
– Sleeping too little or too much.
– Missing school.
– School marks or performance dropping.
– Having trouble making decisions.
– Thoughts of suicide. Thinking a lot of dying or killing themselves.
– Not socially connected to their peers, loneliness and feeling out of place. Schools are crucial starting points in being equipped to deal with mental health in classrooms.

“The 2021/22 South African Child Gauge describes the current and potential roles of schools in promoting and protecting mental health in the South African context. One way is for schools to normalise good mental health as something we should all strive to achieve. Having children talk openly and understand the topic is vital. By simply starting the conversation about mental health with children, you can share as much information and create understanding before stigma can even start to settle in,” said Donelly.

Ndlovu said he hadn’t received any help after what he went through.

“I didn’t get any help because my parents couldn’t see that there was something wrong with me. They weren’t at all supportive throughout my journey. This has affected me a lot at school because this was always in my thoughts,” he said.

“Whether in the classroom or on the playground, all children must understand that they should respect and care for one another. Bullying is prevalent on the playground, so equipping children to understand that it is wrong and that they should not be scared to speak up against bullying – whether for themselves or others – is one way we can encourage children to be mindful of mental health in all environments,” Donnelly explained.

“With that said, all teachers and parents should feel empowered to answer questions that children may ask to not further stigmatise the topic of mental health. These questions can sometimes be very straightforward, such as: ‘Why is that person crying?’ Experts advise answering such questions directly and honestly. It’s also important to reassure your child about any concerns they may have about their safety or their loved one’s safety,” she added.

There is always help on hand
Help is available. For those who are suicidal and need help or are unsure how to help someone in need, contact:

The National Suicide Crisis Line on 0800 567 567. This number is free, operates 24 hours, and offers counselling in all 11 official languages.
Additional FREE hotlines for support with your mental health include:

Dr Reddy’s Mental Health Helpline on 0800 21 22 23. This number is free and operates 8AM – 8PM every day.
Cipla Mental Health Hotline on 0800 456 789. This number is free and operates 24 hours.
The Adcock Ingram Depression and Anxiety Helpline on 0800 70 80 90. This number is free, operates 24 hours, and offers counselling in all 11 official languages.
The Substance Abuse Helpline on 0800 12 13 14. This number is free, operates 24 hours, and offers counselling in all 11 official languages.
Donelly said we need to focus on creating supportive and encouraging environments that allow our children to thrive.

“Children and adolescents in our country face an uncertain future, so we must find ways to promote children’s mental health and ensure they are equipped to cope with life’s challenges. We, as SAFMH, call for these solutions to not only include medical treatment but an overhaul of our health care system that addresses all social and environmental drivers of ill health.”

– Health-e News