STAFF REPORTER

The Ridge School, renowned for its commitment to holistic education and instilling values of responsibility and leadership in its learners, took part in World Environment Day earlier this month.

The school’s young boys have taken a resolute pledge for the environment, vowing to reduce pollution and positively impact Earth’s conservation through tangible actions in their everyday lives.

Under the guidance of their dedicated teachers, the boys have enthusiastically embraced the ideals of sustainability, recognising the urgent need to protect and preserve our planet for future generations. Their pledge demonstrates a remarkable level of awareness and commitment to creating a greener and healthier world.

Headmaster, Frank Rumboll, expressed his admiration for the boys’ dedication and sense of responsibility, stating, “I am immensely proud of our boys for taking this important step in safeguarding our environment. By committing themselves to make a positive impact, they are setting an inspiring example for their peers and future generations.”

Felipe Robert, a Grade 1 learner at the school, said in his pledge: “I’m going to switch off the lights when I leave the room.”

Zaeem Thokan, Grade 2, committed to recycling paper, plastic, and glass and picking up litter when walking around.

Grade 5 learner James Olivier said: “I pledge to use reusable shopping bags instead of plastic bags, to use lunch boxes instead of plastic packaging, to turn off the water while I brush my teeth, and to take shorter showers.”

World Environment Day on 5 June is a global platform to raise awareness and encourage action for environmental protection.

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STAFF REPORTER

According to Prof Francis Petersen, the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the Free State, many South African universities are making the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Instead of profiling their intellectual breakthroughs and recent innovations, Prof Petersen said stories of intimidation, nepotism, financial maladministration, fractious governance, and even worse – assassination attempts and actual murders – dominate the media.

Not surprisingly, he argues, that there is a prevailing perception of universities ‘becoming a law unto themselves’, which is beginning to take hold in the public imagination.

“And that often, the reason for universities not being held to the same standards of public scrutiny is that universities hide behind academic freedom and institutional autonomy.”

But not so, says Prof Petersen, insisting that academic freedom and institutional autonomy are there to promote the well-being of society as a whole and are not to be used as a shield to cover up unethical behaviour.

He said that around the world, universities are regarded as important institutions for the development of individuals, societies, and economies.

Academic freedom is one of the key characteristics that set them apart, constituting a vital prerequisite for fulfilling their society-focused role.

This refers to the space provided to academics and researchers to explore new ideas, engage in rigorous research, share their findings, and express fact- and evidence-based opinions without fear of censorship or reprisal.

Another cornerstone of a university’s role and function – one that goes together with academic freedom – is institutional autonomy which grants universities the authority to govern themselves. This occurs through their leadership structures, usually in the form of councils and senates made up of democratically elected members of staff, alums, members of the student representative council, and other stakeholders.

The concept of institutional autonomy also allows universities to define their own academic programmes, curricula, and admission criteria.

Although universities can heed the advice of the government, the private sector, and industry when making their educational decisions, this advice should never be seen as taking instruction. Its autonomy allows individual universities to develop their own unique institutional culture based on the values it subscribes to, underpinned by excellence, inclusivity, fairness, and integrity.

“If we do not uphold the strictest standards of ethical conduct, specifically in university leaderships, we erode the very fabric of our being and cast doubt on our right of existence. Universities should be microcosms of an ideal society, embracing values such as diversity, equity, fairness, and social justice,” Petersen said.

“Academic freedom and institutional autonomy remain important cornerstones of universities’ identity and are vital for their effective operation. But it is important to note that they are counter-balanced by an equally rigorous emphasis on accountability – enabling universities to fulfil their important role of impactfully supporting societal development. They must be the antithesis of corruption, exposing unethical behaviour and strengthening democracy, the pursuit of social justice, and commitment to academic excellence for the public good of all of society.”

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STAFF REPORTER

Dr Blade Nzimande, the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, said he was deeply troubled by the wide range of problems facing several institutions beset recently by governance, administration, leadership and business continuity challenges.

“The only feasible way to resolve difficult challenges is by an inclusive stakeholder model of governance which allows for voices of dissent, disagreement and dialogue in a peaceful manner inviolable of the rights of all stakeholders,” he said.

Several institutions, including the University of South Africa, the University of Cape Town, Mangosuthu University of Technology, the Vaal University of Technology, the University of KwaZulu Natal and Fort Hare, have been dogged by ongoing challenges.

Nzimande said he had robust discussions with the Council of the University of Fort Hare last Friday as a follow-up meeting on issues raised with him by stakeholders, including Council members.

However, Nzimande noted that universities were given powers of self-governance through the Higher Education Act (1997), which offers capabilities to Councils accountable for the daily administration of universities.

To ensure that Government exercises its proper role, Nzimande said he had tasked the Department to put all these institutions under a watching brief, using all the available instruments provided for in the Higher Education Act.

“This entails close and regular monitoring and all interventions required,” said Nzimande.

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Edwin Naidu

Celebrating the 150th anniversary of the University of South Africa yesterday, Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande, on Monday urged the world’s oldest distance learning institution to draw on its inspiring former student heroes to reclaim its greatness.

Founded in 1873, Nzimande said UNISA occupies a unique place in the annals of higher education history as the oldest university in the country, birthing the university system in South Africa.

Stalwarts of the struggle against oppression and Apartheid, ZK Matthews and John Langalibalele Dube were amongst the first Africans to receive degrees from Unisa since Simon-Peter Mihlali, the first black student to matriculate in 1879.

The Minister reminded guests, including former president Thabo Mbeki, Deputy President Paul Mashatile; Ambassadors and High Commissioners representing various Countries in South Africa; several ministers, and academics, that UNISA boasts among its million and more alum community, the likes Youth League President Anton Lembede, Former President Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Emeritus Demond Tutu, Anti-apartheid activists and Rivonia Trialists Ahmed Kathrada and Denis Goldberg, former Chief Justices of South Africa, among others.

“UNISA is also the alma mater of our very own President Cyril Ramaphosa,” he added.

In the 1940s, he said notable figures such as Oliver Tambo, Getrude Nhlabati, Sir Seretse Khama and Robert Mugabe, amongst others, received their degrees from the University of Fort Hare, registered as external Unisa students.

“Those who study with Unisa today should thus be proud that they share an alma mater with such distinguished personalities,” he added.

Nzimande urged Unisa to take advantage of its added leverage of having Mbeki as Chancellor, whom he described as an inspirational leader who has distinguished himself as a philosopher and leading thinker known for his ground-breaking revitalisation of the African Renaissance, the repositioning of Africa and South Africa as prominent international economic and political role players,” he added.

With enrolment projected at 370 000 plus students across 130 countries in the world, Unisa is one the mega-universities in the world today.

Despite the august nature of the occasion, Nzimande expressed concern about the current developments at the institution regarding its strategic direction, quality of administration and academic outcomes, governance and leadership problems which had been facing several administrations and Councils over the past decade.

A report has been tabled to his Ministry, and I shared this with the UNISA Council. This was followed in 2022 by the appointment of an Assessor, Professor Temba Mosiua, to probe specific matters for further investigation. This report has also now been handed to the Ministry, and the next steps will be announced shortly.

Nzimande said he wants UNISA to be restored to its foundational mandate. It must accelerate the modernisation of its technology platforms to fully manage and apply for promising use innovations such as Generative AI (for example, ChatGPT) as tools to assist it in carrying out its operations efficiently across vast geographical distances and, of course regulating its applications in teaching and learning, and research settings.

Celebrating the 150th anniversary of the University of South Africa, Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande, urged the oldest distance-learning institution in the world to fix its problems by drawing on the inspiration from the likes of elder statesmen as Thabo Mbeki in “service of humanity”.

“The revolution in massive online technology providers – many offering free online courses – pose serious challenges to our universities, and UNISA has to compete in this unpredictable, innovation-intensive space successfully,” he said.

“I urge Unisa to take advantage of its added leverage of having as your Chancellor, Former President Thabo Mbeki, an inspirational leader who has distinguished himself as a philosopher and leading thinker, known for his ground-breaking revitalisation of the African Renaissance, the repositioning of Africa and South Africa as prominent international economic and political role players,” he added.

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PHUTI MOSOMANE

Deputy President Paul Mashatile will deliver a keynote address at the 150th anniversary of the University of South Africa on Monday.

The event, which will mark a century and a half of the celebrated University’s existence, will take place at the ZK Mathews Hall in Pretoria.

Mashatile is expected to use the occasion to reflect on how the university has shaped Africa’s intellectual futures over the past 150 years.

As the Chairperson of the Human Resources Development Council, his office said he would congratulate Unisa and its leadership on its continued commitment to providing quality education to students across the African continent and providing much-needed skills for the development of Africa.

The Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande, will also be addressing the University of South Africa (Unisa) 150th Anniversary Celebration on Monday under the theme “Reclaiming Africa’s Intellectual Futures”.

Since its establishment on 26 June 1873, Unisa has been at the forefront of the growth and development of South Africa’s higher education system.

Consequently, Unisa has shaped the futures of many people from diverse backgrounds in South Africa, on the African continent and globally.

Not only did Unisa spawn the university system in South Africa, but it was also the first university in the world to adopt open distance education, a modality that has become even more resourceful in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and the developments in digitisation and the 4IR.

Nzimande said it is thus Unisa’s considered view that as an integral part of the university system, locally and globally, the University will use the occasion of Unisa’s birthday to celebrate this important milestone, to reflect on the past and its challenges, and to carve a strategic path towards an envisaged future Unisa, which will continue to play a central role in knowledge generation and the production of quality graduates.

Former President Thabo Mbeki, Unisa Chancellor, MJ Maboa, Chairperson of the Council and Professor Puleng LenkaBula, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, will be part of the celebrations.

Governance issues

The Unisa council has asked Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande not to disband them but to appoint an additional three members to assist them in performing their duties.

The council pleaded with Nzimande, following an explosive 309-page report by the University of Pretoria academic Themba Mosia, after investigating allegations that the council was ineffective and maladministration claims against principal and vice-chancellor Professor Puleng LenkaBula.

Mosia recommended to Nzimande that the council be disbanded, LenkaBula sacked, and an administrator appointed to run Unisa.

Nzimande is studying the report.

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STAFF REPORTER

Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane has extended the closing date for the 2024 Online Admissions application period for Grade 1 and Grade 8 to 21 July 2023 because the department has noticed that some parents still prefer submitting their applications physically.

The extended deadline will give parents and guardians an opportunity to submit documents after the school recess, which is due to commence from 23 June 2023 until 17 July 2023, said Chiloane. 

The department has also announced that the Online Admissions System has successfully processed over 400 000 applications since the start of the application period a week ago on Thursday, 15 June 2023. 

“As of Thursday, a total of 408 714 applications were processed by the System. This amounts to 176 975 Grade 1 applications and 231 739 Grade 8 applications,” the Department said in a statement. 

Despite this extension, parents and guardians are still encouraged to apply by visiting www.gdeadmissions.gov.za and register to proceed with the application process.

“We have seen it fit to give parents and guardians more time to apply and upload or submit documents at schools. We are also proud of having processed over 400 000 applications within a week, this is a testament to our system’s improvement and the demand of the quality education which Gauteng offers,” said Chiloane.

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STAFF REPORTER

Inadequate funding, inadequate teacher training and limited access to educational resources are among the numerous challenges that Africa needs to grapple with concerning education systems.
It was for these reasons that Professor Chika Sehoole, Chairperson of the Education Deans Forum (EDF), received a resounding YES from his fellow deans when he proposed a platform for deans of schools and faculties of education across the continent to meet and address these obstacles.

This, after sounding the idea of some counterparts from a few African states.

The EDF is one of 11 active communities of practice within Universities in South Africa (USAf). This group fosters research in education towards continuous improvement of teacher education; it promotes South Africa’s education interests by providing an outlet for deans to discuss matters of common concern in the delivery of teacher education, and, finally, the EDF brings to the attention of policymakers, emerging issues on Education as a discipline.

Professor Sehoole, Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Pretoria, describes the upcoming platform as one where African education deans will share experiences and best practices, discuss common challenges and collaborate on initiatives towards resolving those issues while supporting one another.

Having agreed on this pan-African forum, the EDF took the lead on the spadework towards establishing the Pan-African Deans of Education Forum(PADEF), whose focus will be in sub-Saharan Africa.

This Forum is founded on the common understanding that education is critical in the development of any society, Africans included. The deans hope to use PADEF to transform teacher education in their respective countries, by, among other activities, sharing best practices and case studies in educational leadership, management, pedagogy and research.

Through PADEF, education deans also hope to advance the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 4 objective of ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.

PADEF will be launched on 24 July 2023 at Makerere University in Uganda.

The launch has been planned to coincide with Day One of the 2023 Distance Education and Teachers’ Training in Africa (DETA) Conference, scheduled to take place from 24 to 27 July.

An initiative of the University of Pretoria, this conference is aimed, among numerous objectives, at building the capacity of teacher training programmes in Africa. Professor Sehoole, central to the DETA conference planning, says aligning the PADEF launch to the event was a deliberate and strategic move optimising the gathering in one place of all the critical stakeholders.

At the recent EDF meeting on 26 May, the terms of reference of PADEF were endorsed and agreed on for adoption at the launch event, where the collective of African deans will elect a steering committee.

Professor Sehoole explained that although they wish to attract all the education deans in the sub-Saharan Africa region, membership of PADEF is voluntary.

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