Ajith Bridgraj

AS the HIV/Aids pandemic continues its rampant path through the social structures of South Africa, the system of higher education in the country faces complete decimation. This warning was issued by Michael Gibbons, secretary-general of the Association of Commonwealth Universities. Gibbons was addressing an Aids seminar at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Durban […]

It’s a case of the sky’s the limit – no matter which country you’re in – for those qualified in the healing arts of aromaptherapy and reflexology. So says founder of the Yaraka School of Holistic Therapies in Durban, Yavanee Singh. In a world abuzz with stress and anxiety, the healing powers of aromatic plant […]

Providing the world’s youngest with the best possible foundation to help them reach their potential – and to safeguard the future of every society – was the theme at the annual World Congress on Early Childhood Development (ECD), held in Durban last month. The 750 delegates from 34 countries that are members of the world […]

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 […]

Re-elected president, Willie Madisha, told the 1 050 delegates representing Sadtu’s 515 branches across 51 regions nationwide, that the congress had taken place while the country’s labour movement was ‘under attack from sinister anti-working class forces and smear campaigns by faceless people through the media”. Thulas Nxesi, who retained his position as Sadtu’s general secretary, […]

In the dust bowl of rural Nongoma, deep in the heart of Zululand, the Grade 5s and 6s at Kamsweli Primary School have an unusual dignitary as their teacher: the youngest of the five wives of Zulu monarch, King Goodwill Zwelithini Ka Bhekuzulu. An educator since 1997, Queen Nompumelelo (28) describes some of the more […]

Faced with mounting pressure and financial incentives to improve matric results, government high schools with a history of a high failure rate are resorting to controversial measures to improve their averages. One tactic such schools are using is so-called ‘gate-keeping” in Grade 11. Learners who performed poorly in Grade 11 are not promoted to Grade […]

Located in one of Durban’s plushest suburbs, the Westville Hindu Primary School is one of a kind in KwaZulu-Natal. From the greeting of ‘namaste” (a traditional Hindu greeting) on the school telephone to the syllabus, the emphasis on Hindu and Indian disciplines is clear. In addition to its core curriculum, subjects pertaining to Indian culture […]