Amid the secularisation of education, there are still schools that hold on to religious practices. This is the story of one such school where faith is taking on new dimensions. Fifteen minutes before the bell goes for the start of another school day, the teachers in the staff room pray together for the children, the parents and the town’s folk.
The government has set aside R500-million to attract and reward qualified teachers for working in schools where few want to go: remote, poor and harsh rural and urban areas.
When University of Pretoria vice-chancellor Callie Pistorius visited a male residence a few years ago, he came across a wall adorned with pictures of Boer generals. ”I asked them: Where are the pictures of other South African heroes — like King Cetshwayo who beat the British at Isandlwana?” he told the Mail & Guardian.
As controversy simmers over the draft pledge for schools released by Education Minister Naledi Pandor, a much older oath of allegiance emerged from the South African archive of ideas.
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/ 29 February 2008
The Freedom Front Plus (FF+) has been accused of creating a conducive climate for the production of a video by white University of the Free State students protesting against the university’s decision to re-integrate its residences. On Thursday FF+ deputy leader Corne Mulder claimed that he “knew nothing of this mess”.
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With live video
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/ 18 February 2008
Public universities are expected to ask the government on Monday to exempt them from Eskom’s load-shedding, which has gripped the country in the past few weeks. The national outages have undermined the smooth running of university administrations, disrupted lectures and placed millions of rands’ worth of research at risk.
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/ 13 February 2008
"My first year was accompanied by excitement — finally I reached what I had wanted. But I was aware that I was in an environment riddled with turbulence and had to address issues without causing too much resistance. As a new person I knew I would be faced with decision-making traps. It was a humbling experience," Professor Irene Moutlana tells Cornia Pretorius.
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/ 22 December 2007
In many respects Desmond Makhanya (72) is the living memory of Adams College. When he attended the school in the late 1940s and early 1950s he was the fourth generation in his family to be educated at the mission school. His great grandfather, his grandmother and his mother were all alumni.
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/ 16 November 2007
With the 2007 matric examination ending in most provinces next week, the final “time-is-up, put-down-your-pens signal” will mark the end of an era. From 2008 the Senior Certificate, better known as matric, will be replaced by a new school-leaving qualification for full-time candidates. It will be called the National Senior Certificate. Part-timers can still obtain the old certificate until June 2011.