Her life took a shocking turn for the worse two years ago when a blood test confirmed that she was HIV-positive. Her initial reaction was to run – from her work and from her husband. ‘I was furious because I didn’t know how I became HIV-positive. I knew that I had never cheated on my […]
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 […]
A Magaliesburg African National Congress councillor who started an independent school for underprivileged children is embroiled in a protracted legal battle after he allegedly failed to pay his teachers’ salaries. In May this year, the Teacher reported on Cornelius Cloete’s Magaliesburg Group of Schools, which has 275 learners. The 12 teachers currently employed at the […]
A KwaZulu-Natal educator has not had a school to report to since March 2001 and his salary had been frozen since last November. He blames witchcraft and the incompetence of a district manager for his problems. Duduzela Yeni started teaching in 1986 and in 1992 was promoted to deputy principal of Mkhaliphi High School in […]
Maryna de Lange, from Saldanha Bay Primary in the Western Cape and Steve Maditjane from Tsamma Secondary School in Klerksdorp, Gauteng, were the joint winners. The awards acknowledge teachers who make a difference in maths and science at disadvantaged schools. ‘I love both children and the subjects and once you pay attention to their emotional […]
Education authorities in the Eastern Cape are once again under fire for failing to deal effectively with problems besetting schooling. With the first term of the year already at an end, around 9 000 learners have had their schooling severely disrupted as the province remains short of as many as 3 000 teachers. Some 30 […]
The Congress of South African Students (Cosas) has threatened to boycott the June examinations if the Department of Education (DoE) fails to meet its demands. Addressing about 15 000 learners at a march in Pretoria last month, Cosas president Julius Molema warned that Cosas will defy Minister of Education Kader Asmal in the same way […]
Mpumalanga teenager Willie Sibuyi dreams of being a scientist one day, or an aircraft engineer. He has already wowed his neighbours in Chochocho village with working models of a helicopter and satellite telephone built from scrap. But Sibuyi (17) knows that his dream will probably never materialise. He is one of tens-of-thousands of talented township […]
Terrifying incidents at schools around the country has resulted in a call for staff to be allowed to carry guns at school. A recent incident that has highlighted the vulnerability of educators involves school principal Lucy Lushaba (47) who was shot dead over the festive season. Lushaba, of Tiboneleni primary school in Daantjie tribal trust, […]
Mohlomi Dintsho, is a youngster with no faith in life and little hope in his future.The 15-year-old from Freedom Park in Gauteng prefers to stay home, smoke dagga and sniff glue, rather than go to school. He dropped out of school when he was 13 years old in Grade 6.Mohlomi and his sister were orphaned […]