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/ 13 November 2007
Gauteng faces huge classroom shortages and the government does not have the resources to cope, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Tuesday. DA spokesperson David Quail said that in the next four to six years, the Gauteng department of education will require 9 566 additional classrooms.
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/ 12 November 2007
The government has failed to take necessary steps to ensure learners are protected against the escalating violence in schools, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Monday. DA spokesperson on safety and security Dianne Kohler-Barnard said violence in South African schools has reached unacceptable levels that require immediate intervention.
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/ 31 October 2007
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Businessman Cyril Ramaphosa refused to be drawn on his nomination as African National Congress president on Wednesday night at the launch of a fund-raising campaign for the University of Venda. He was hounded for an answer from the minute he set foot through the door of Gallagher Estate, in Midrand.
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/ 30 October 2007
Teachers and school staff are the responsibility of their employers, and parents are responsible for getting their children to school safely, the KwaZulu-Natal Parents’ Association (KZNPA) said on Tuesday. KZNPA chairperson Sayed Rajack said schools have become the easiest targets for criminals.
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/ 26 October 2007
With Limpopo still to be accounted for, Eastern Cape provincial government departments are leading the field when it comes to poor accounting, according to figures released by the Auditor General on Friday. Eleven of the province’s 12 departments received qualified audit reports for the 2006/7 financial year, and three of the 11 got an ”adverse” rating.
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/ 25 October 2007
An independent mediator has been appointed to facilitate talks between students and management at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), its Student Representative Council (SRC) said on Thursday, The Department of Education had on Monday appointed mediator Onkgopotse Tabane, said SRC president Mhlobo Hoyi.
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/ 23 October 2007
Students who do not attain the required mark when applying to do a BSc degree can now do so through a four-year programme with lower entrance requirements. The programme would be introduced at the University of Pretoria in 2008, the university said in a statement on Tuesday.
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/ 23 October 2007
Metrorail may suspend its KwaZulu-Natal train services if rampant train vandalism and assaults on staff members continue unchecked, said Metrorail regional manager Sisa Mtwa at a media briefing in Durban on Tuesday. The worst-affected areas are KwaMashu and Umlazi — an area that carries 80% of Metrorail’s passengers.
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/ 17 October 2007
A ruling by a full bench of the Pretoria High Court on Wednesday put another nail in the coffin of Afrikaans-only education in state schools. The court dismissed with costs a review application by Hoërskool Ermelo to set aside a decision forcing it to admit English-speaking pupils and become a parallel-medium school.
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/ 17 October 2007
Department of Education officials met University of Johannesburg (UJ) students on Wednesday, said the Student Representative Council (SRC). SRC president Mhlobo Hoyi said students met the officials but he would only know the outcome later on Wednesday.
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/ 16 October 2007
The Department of Education is looking to regulate the responsibilities of senior teaching staff during strikes, says Education Minister Naledi Pandor. ”Currently, I have no plans to declare teaching an essential service,” she said in written reply to a question in the National Council of Provinces by Motlatjo Thetjeng of the Democratic Alliance.
Those who fought against apartheid are not everyone’s heroes, the Afrikanerbond said on Tuesday. ”These heroes from the ‘struggle’ past are not the only heroes and definitely not everyone’s heroes,” said Afrikanerbond managing director Jan Bosman.
Police used water spray on University of Johannesburg (UJ) students who were shaking the entrance gate to the Kingsway Campus on Monday afternoon. Students earlier said they were going to break the gate down if they were not allowed access to the campus. They said they would resort to anarchy.
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/ 19 September 2007
The growing number of violent incidents in schools stems from problems within society and parents being too lenient, the Gauteng African National Congress’s education sub-committee said on Wednesday. ”We need good role models in society to be able to influence children,” said sub-committee chairperson Amon Msane.
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/ 18 September 2007
The mother of a schoolboy who was stabbed to death on the weekend is a senior Gauteng education official, the department confirmed on Tuesday. Mfundo Ntshangase, a grade 11 pupil at King Edward VII high school, was stabbed seven times by pupils from another school at a party on Sunday.
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/ 18 September 2007
A distraught Randburg mother determined to meet the teenagers arrested after her son was stabbed to death was advised against it by police on Tuesday. ”I want to see for myself that the culprits … were arrested and are behind bars,” Nonhlanhla Ntshangase said. Her 18-year-old son, Mfundo, was stabbed seven times by pupils from another school at a party on Sunday.
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/ 5 September 2007
The KwaZulu-Natal department of education has sent a ward manager to Manhlenga High School to investigate a report that its pupils were suspected of setting two women alight over a witchcraft claim. Police spokesperson Captain Jabulani Mdletshe said a huge group of youths had dragged the women from their home to a sports field.
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/ 4 September 2007
The matric exam season is upon us. And once again it is the fate of black children that hangs precariously in the balance; it is they who will be hardest hit by the interruption in classes earlier this year during the public-service strike. More worrying, however, is the silence of their parents on the matters that affect their children.
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/ 3 September 2007
The schooling of about 15 000 children in the Northern Cape is to be disrupted, South African Broadcasting Corporation news has reported. This follows a decision by the provincial department of education to merge several schools in the Frances Baard municipal district.
The Johannesburg High Court granted an interdict to the Gauteng education department on Wednesday forbidding the Congress of South African Students (Cosas) from intimidating pupils, the department confirmed. Spokesperson Kate Bapela said that under the interdict the organisation may not threaten, disrupt or frustrate teaching or learning.