The cries of cultural ‘purists” are horribly reminiscent of the narrow-minded dogma so readily trotted out by religious fundamentalists. In the view of these purists, on the same day the world was created, so were the traditions and expressions of their culture. Some say their cultures burst forth fully formed from a holy egg; others […]
As Kader Asmal sidles off to quieter pastures, all in education must be wondering what to expect from Naledi Pandor, the new Minister of Education. Her track record, both as an educationist and a politician working in the structures of the government, certainly inspires confidence. She would seem to have the necessary experience and ability […]
The alleged incidents of rape in a primary school classroom in the township of Kagiso in Gauteng last month are so shocking that it’s an effort not to be left speechless by them. The story is this: the Grade 3 class had allegedly been left unsupervised for a week because their teacher was on study […]
As you may recall, my last editorial was a whinge about how difficult it is to be a journalist covering education — mainly because it’s a real challenge not to repeat yourself to death because change happens so very, very, very, very slowly. But let me tell you about some perks of being a journalist. […]
The fuss and fanfare that the highstake matric exams attract from the public and education departments alike is quite hard to fathom. It’s as if we all agree to buy into the idea that the results really are a reflection of the health of our education system, despite the many sides that are masked by […]
So you dream about taking a little bit of dis and a little bit of dat and recording your groove on your very own CD? Well, you may as well dream of flying to the moon because you have to be rich or plain lucky to have that kind of technology available to you – […]
My route to work takes me past the bottom-end of Hillbrow in Johannesburg. Every morning a very disturbing sight awaits me: on an island in the middle of a busy intersection, a group of wretched children begs from motorists while sniffing from glue-filled containers. Two things always strike me. One is what future these children, […]
For most youngsters, deciding on a career path is a daunting process. With little self-knowledge and even less experience of the world, it’s no surprise that figuring out a future is a terrifying prospect. Add to this financial constraints and an education system that is yet to clearly align itself with the world of work, […]
The year is 1974. The apartheid State has just set up its free family planning programme, with one of its explicit aims to curb the population growth rate among blacks. Among other methods, the state encourages the coercive use of the injectable contraceptive Depo Provera among young black women studying for matric and black women […]
One of the interesting sides to working as an education journalist is that there is hardly anything that is not of relevance to my beat. From a hoola-hooping contest to national budgets or the onset of war in distant lands, everything has either relevance to, or influence on, the processes of learning and teaching. The […]