Education

Service SETA, UCT launch skin care hub

The Services Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) and the University of Cape Town (UCT) have launched a one-of-a-kind facility aimed at strengthening African-led scientific capacity in skin health. The Africa Research Institute for Skin Health (ARISE) Building is a pioneering African-led, multidisciplinary hub for research, training, and skills development within UCT’s Division of Dermatology. […]

Mother-tongue education is failing

Mother-tongue education is failing

The numbers tell a politically uncomfortable truth. A survey of all Grade 4 children in Makhanda’s no-fee public schools this year found that 51% of isiXhosa learners taught in English can read for meaning.  However, for those taught in isiXhosa — despite it being their mother tongue and despite decades of policy emphasising the value […]

The politics of literacy

The politics of literacy

In November 2025, the R50 million Funda Uphumelele National Survey (FUNS) delivered the first comprehensive measurement of early-grade reading in all official languages. The findings confirmed what researchers suspected: only 31% of Grade 1 learners can identify 40 letter-sounds per minute — the minimum threshold for reading readiness. By Grade 3, 15% cannot read a […]