No image available
/ 5 May 2005

Schools’ computer deals turn sour

Several schools in Gauteng have fallen prey to a computer company whose promises have left them offline and in debt, writes Julia Grey Debt amounting to millions has been added to the burdens of at least four Gauteng schools which found out too late that their trust in a computer firm was misplaced. On the […]

No image available
/ 5 May 2005

Delmas denies racism

Julia Grey finds that when cultures clash, tempers run high Hoerskool Delmas in Mpumalanga displays its cultural heritage most dramatically: an authentic ox wagon, reminiscent of those used by the Voortrekkers, is mounted proudly in front of the school buildings. Principal Jurie de Jongh doesn’t believe this symbol of Boer history shows a bias in […]

No image available
/ 5 May 2005

Studying OBE from a distance

The University of Fort Hare is helping teachers to embrace change in the new curriculum, writes Julia Grey When the University of Fort Hare started its distance education project (UFHDEP) in 1997, a staggering 40% of 60 000 teachers in the Eastern Cape were not adequately qualified. Mark Evans of the UFHDEP believes the project […]

No image available
/ 5 May 2005

Bursaries for sex allegation dismissed

Teacher warned to stop hugging or touching girls, writes Julia Grey A private school in the Northern Province has been rocked by allegations of misconduct, including a claim that bursaries are being granted in exchange for sex. Teaching staff at St Marks College made the allegations against deputy principal Frank Lebotsa and acting head Simon […]

No image available
/ 5 May 2005

Soccer ‘rebels’ with a cause?

The boys compete and make new friends, while the organisers battle efforts to stop the tournament. Julia Grey reports Opportunities for youngsters mad about soccer may be cut down because of a political wrangle between rival organisers. At stake is the future of a 30-year-old football tournament, the Bill Stewart Invitation Tournament. This interprovincial tournament […]

No image available
/ 5 May 2005

Plans to stop the rot

The Eastern Cape finally seems to have come up with measures to improve education delivery. Julia Grey reports The steep learning curve that the Eastern Cape Department of Education has been struggling along may at last be leading to some stability, as weaknesses in the system are tackled in earnest. Efforts to weed out corruption […]

No image available
/ 5 May 2005

A long march to equality

Forty-five years after thousands marched in protest against pass laws, women are still second class citizens, write Julia Grey and Edwin Naidu South African women are still fighting to be accepted as equals and given the same opportunities as males in the workplace, including in the teaching profession. Discrimination continues to undermine the status of […]

No image available
/ 5 May 2005

History alive

Julia Grey spoke to learners who unearthed history in their own backyard Forced removals: The implementation of the apartheid principle of ”separate development”, in accordance with legislation such as the Group Areas Act (1950). Communities of different races were forceably relocated to areas designated for people classified as being of the same race. This is […]

No image available
/ 28 April 2005

Ecowas slams Togo ‘president’

The West African regional group Ecowas and Nigeria have denounced Togolese opposition leader Bob Akitani declaring himself president despite losing to Faure Gnassingbe, who polled 60% of the vote in results announced on Tuesday. Nigeria, the biggest regional power, had pinned its hopes on Togo forming a government of national unity.

No image available
/ 26 April 2005

The long, hard walk to school

Julia Grey visited a desolate school that is barely limping along Setting up in the morning for a day’s work can be a mission even for those with all the creature comforts of modern life – not least access to some kind of transport. So just imagine that simply getting to work involves walking for […]