I was 14 years old when my dearest mother left me. It was the festive season, when many families get together and exchange gifts. For me this time was like a dark cloud. My mother was very sick and I didn’t know why she was so sick. My mother used to do many things for […]
Slimy blobs of DNA extracted from an onion and floating in a test tube like tiny drifts of cloud evoke exclamations of delight from the group of 33 biology and natural science teachers – reminding them just why they had chosen the field of science. ‘It’s beautiful,” repeats Thomas Jafta, a biology teacher at Newlands […]
The struggle for free, quality, basic education continues, despite the Cabinet’s endorsement this month of a comprehensive action plan to address cost-related barriers that still hinder full access to basic education. The action plan is the product of the government’s review of school education costs, which Minister of Education Kader Asmal released in March. ‘Sixty […]
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 […]
Several months ago, KwaZulu-Natal pupil Pumla Mlondo (20) didn’t think twice when her father told her to dispose of old oil and batteries in the nearby Tugela river. When her mother told her to throw the dirty laundry water into the river – she went straight ahead. When her fellow pupil, Elvis Xaba (18), told […]
Learners at many Mpumalanga township schools are resorting to boycotts and vandalism to express their concerns. In just the last four weeks, three high schools have embarked on mass action for issues ranging from accusing a principal of witchcraft to not liking an acting principal. Seven pupils are facing criminal charges and 11 have been […]
A recent head count undertaken by the Eastern Cape education department points to rampant truancy amongst its approximate 74 000 teachers. On any given day in Eastern Cape schools, as many as 17 000 teachers are reported absent. The estimated cost to the department amounts to a loss of R5,3-million daily, adding up to about […]
Racial representivity among teaching staff is lacking in most Gauteng public schools. And close to half of formerly whites-only schools have less than 20% black learner enrolment, probably because of language and fees policies at these schools. At the same time, deracialisation in schools is increasing – but not in former Department of Education and […]
Learners who have to walk several kilometres to school in the most rural parts of the former Transkei are to benefit from a pilot project to provide bicycles as a means of transport. The Eastern Cape education department, in conjunction with the provincial Department of Transport, is engaged in a pilot project aimed at supplying […]
The lucky winner of the cricket pitch in the Teacher/ Stumped Competition is Makopale 1 Secondary School in Limpopo province. About 400 learners will soon have the opportunity to play a sport they have to date only seen on television. ‘We have always wanted to introduce cricket,” says sports teacher Mahlare Masha. ‘We encouraged our […]