On the face of it, Morongwa Primary School in Mogwase, North West province, could be a model of inclusion. Every morning the school is flooded by learners who not only represent a variety of social backgrounds but also a range of learning abilities and special education needs. But in reality it is a case of […]

Education is widely acknowledged as a key element in alleviating poverty. It is also important, especially in developing countries, to advance the democratic transformation of society. As Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni put it, ‘It [education] expands abilities and opportunities. It is a great freedom in itself, and opens the doors to other freedoms.” The […]

Twelve-year-old Noluthando Mahlathi-Zikalala is one of them. She introduces herself as Xebisa, ‘my ancestral name”. Although she looks 10, she behaves nothing like a usual child. She spends her time with a woman in her twenties whom she trains as a sangoma. When she’s not treating patients, she spends her time beading bracelets as she […]

Clayton Sherry was having a jol with his friends, smoking dagga and sniffing glue at their usual corner, when suddenly a police van stopped in front of them. Fearing arrest, they fled in different directions, but the uniformed men caught up with them. This was the day that Clayton’s life changed forever. It was the […]

Political tempers are rising as the Democratic Alliance (DA) adds its criticism against the Department of Education’s (DoE) proposed changes to education laws. The Education Amendment Bill was released for comment in May, and was under discussion in Parliament last month. The underlying implication of several of the proposed amendments, says DA education spokesperson in […]

Recent predictions of a shortage of educators are to be reviewed by a newly appointed ministerial committee. The committee on teacher education was appointed ‘to develop a National Framework for Teacher Education, which aims to develop coherence around existing policies and strategies to sustain a continuing professional development culture among teachers,” says Michael Samuel from […]

School principal Jackson Hadebe says he has about 60 orphans at his school. ‘Most of them are children whose parents died either of Aids-related diseases or just natural deaths, while others are children whose parents left to look for work in Johannesburg and haven’t returned since,” he says. Hadebe says some of these orphans have […]

The boys, aged between nine and 13, were allegedly also selling drugs at the school. They handed over 56 mandrax tablets they’d hidden in the school toilets to police, later leading them to two dealers at a nearby train station. Although the school’s principal refused to speak to the media about the matter, he confirmed […]