Ajith Bridgraj
Guest Author
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/ 13 May 2005

Aids threat to higher education

AS the HIV/Aids pandemic continues its rampant path through the social structures of South Africa, the system of higher education in the country faces complete decimation. This warning was issued by Michael Gibbons, secretary-general of the Association of Commonwealth Universities. Gibbons was addressing an Aids seminar at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Durban […]

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/ 13 May 2005

Deaf, not dumb

A SCHOOL for the deaf on the outskirts of KwaMashu township north of Durban is making its mark as a place of excellence. VN Naik, where the medium of instruction is sign language, has achieved a matric pass rate of 100% for the past four years in a row. School principal Thinacarunagran Govender hails his […]

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/ 22 April 2005

The smelly frontiers of good health

It’s a case of the sky’s the limit – no matter which country you’re in – for those qualified in the healing arts of aromaptherapy and reflexology. So says founder of the Yaraka School of Holistic Therapies in Durban, Yavanee Singh. In a world abuzz with stress and anxiety, the healing powers of aromatic plant […]

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/ 22 April 2005

Let the children play

Providing the world’s youngest with the best possible foundation to help them reach their potential – and to safeguard the future of every society – was the theme at the annual World Congress on Early Childhood Development (ECD), held in Durban last month. The 750 delegates from 34 countries that are members of the world […]

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/ 21 April 2005

From pariah to Aids messiah

Her life took a shocking turn for the worse two years ago when a blood test confirmed that she was HIV-positive. Her initial reaction was to run – from her work and from her husband. ‘I was furious because I didn’t know how I became HIV-positive. I knew that I had never cheated on my […]

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/ 21 April 2005

Union withstands division

Re-elected president, Willie Madisha, told the 1 050 delegates representing Sadtu’s 515 branches across 51 regions nationwide, that the congress had taken place while the country’s labour movement was ‘under attack from sinister anti-working class forces and smear campaigns by faceless people through the media”. Thulas Nxesi, who retained his position as Sadtu’s general secretary, […]

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/ 21 April 2005

Queen of the classroom

In the dust bowl of rural Nongoma, deep in the heart of Zululand, the Grade 5s and 6s at Kamsweli Primary School have an unusual dignitary as their teacher: the youngest of the five wives of Zulu monarch, King Goodwill Zwelithini Ka Bhekuzulu. An educator since 1997, Queen Nompumelelo (28) describes some of the more […]

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/ 20 April 2005

A peace of India in Africa

Located in one of Durban’s plushest suburbs, the Westville Hindu Primary School is one of a kind in KwaZulu-Natal. From the greeting of ‘namaste” (a traditional Hindu greeting) on the school telephone to the syllabus, the emphasis on Hindu and Indian disciplines is clear. In addition to its core curriculum, subjects pertaining to Indian culture […]