The attraction of free-roaming game draws thousands from afar to the Kruger National Park. But for learners at school inside the park, living with the animals is a way of life, writes Julia Grey In the heart of big five territory, Skukuza Primary School makes a mockery of what you’d expect from a school buried […]
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 […]
Julia Grey visited an exceptional little school lost in the platteland Ahe town of Verkeerdevlei, lost in the Free State, is almost as short of landmarks as it is of people. The patch of swamp after which the town is named is about the only distinguishing thing about it (it is known as “the wrong […]
Schooling is going ahead in fits and starts as provincial mismanagement makes itself felt in the classroom. Reports and photos by Julia Grey Incompetence in the Eastern Cape Province Education Department (Ecped) is taking its toll on the smooth running of many of its schools. Ntlalo-Ntle Senior Secondary in Steynsburg is just one school facing […]
Tempers are rising in some education sectors over recent decisions which are being made without proper consultation, reports Julia Grey The Department of Education (DoE) has been accused of bypassing consultative processes and simply delivering final decisions to stakeholders. Both the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) and the National Professional Teacher’s Organisation of South […]
A major national education conference held by the country’s largest teachers’ union identified the same old problems. But actions being planned promise to make it more than just a talkshop, writes Julia Grey Government and union leaders, academics, and educators from around the country gathered in their hundreds at the recent South African Democratic Teachers […]
Where and when were you at school? I completed most of my schooling in Matabeleland, Zimbabwe, from 1984 to 1994. My junior school was Rhodes Estate Preparatory School (REPS) in the Matopos situated outside Bulawayo. Strange that my schooling was in the heartland of Matabeleland, the centre of the atrocities of the early and mid-Eighties. […]
There’s a new second in command in the education ministry. Julia Grey spoke to Mosibudi Mangena about himself and what he thinks is needed in our education system Mosibudi Mangena is determined to remain close to his roots and champion things African. A look at Mangena’s background speaks volumes about why he identifies so closely […]
When the past just won’t go away Vryburg Hoërskool’s new principal believes he can heal the divided school – but not everyone agrees. Julia Grey reports February this year marked the 110th birthday of Vryburg Hoërskool. It was also the month when 15 ex-learners and parents of white schoolgoers went on trial in the local […]
A leadership crisis leaves Eastern Cape teachers in limbo, writes Julia Grey The South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) went on a day-long strike last month to demand that the ”corruption, maladministration and inefficiency” of the Eastern Cape Provincial Education Department (Ecped) be investigated. Key demands from the provincial Sadtu organisation – which boasts a […]