Console Tleane visits Aha-Thuto Secondary, based in Orange Farm – a school defying the odds The indisputable observation made by education analysts is that schools from poor communities produce poor results. This is largely due to inhibiting factors such as lack of resources, lack of adequate training for teachers, and the sheer poverty of the […]
Northern Province is appealing for help after an arson attack caused extensive damage at Mphuma High School. NOMSA SHONGWE reports THE education department in the Northern province is appealing for help for Mphuma High School, where arson last week caused damage of R250 000, African Eye News Service reports. Spokesman Rapule Matsane said the province […]
A new bridge in Mpumalanga means that children will be able to attend school in all weather. NOMSA SHONGWE reports THE recent floods in Mpumalanga cut at least 1 200 children off from their school when a stream they can usually walk across flooded its banks. Children from Mandlesive High School live in Msogwaba tribal […]
<img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/140506/shaik_icon_new.gif" align=left>"As all rivers must reach the sea, we have reached the sea," Judge Hillary Squires noted as state and defence counsel closed their arguments at the end of the marathon Schabir Shaik corruption trial. But it’s not quite over: the case must still traverse the flats of an acquittal or the roaring rapids of a conviction. No date for judgement has been set.
The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) forum launched in February this year by Minister of Education Kader Asmal continues to gain momentum, with a further conference due to be held later this month. President Thabo Mbeki underlined the importance of making a meaningful ICT intervention: “We must succeed within our own borders to bridge the […]
Mathematics is the key to unlocking both the natural and economic wealth of this world, said Deputy Minister of Education Mosibudi Mangena at the Sowetan, Telkom, Protec Mathematics and Science Teacher of the Year Awards. He said strategies to attract pupils to maths and science were crucial to the country’s success in developing its human […]
Teachers have a social and moral obligation to reclaim their profession and restore its dignity, according to Professor Jakes Gerwel, former academic and chairman of the Human Sciences Research Council Jakes Gerwel said that teachers need to reclaim their professional dignity in an address at a national teacher education conference in Midrand last month, pointing […]
Damelin gives learners a head start with In-school IT training When learners at Die Hoerskool Menlopark in Pretoria complete their studies they will leave the school with not one but two qualifications. Damelin Education Group has set up a computer centre which has been a resounding success, says Kobus Momberg, director of IT Training Solutions. […]
A new telescope opens up distant galaxies The new Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), rising from a Karoo koppie as a symbol of the new South Africa’s commitment to science and progress, has passed its first anniversary since groundbreaking. It will take South African scientists into realms they could only dream about before, starting the […]
Burundi’s political leadership heads for Pretoria this week to consult with facilitator Deputy President Jacob Zuma over a constitutional logjam that has the major rebel group boycotting the interim government. The rift has got loud and nasty. Rebel leader-turned-politician Pierre Nkurunziza has accused interim President Domitien Ndayizeye of being "the biggest threat to peace in Burundi".
Get the best of African science Science in Africa is Africa’s first online science magazine, dedicated to showcasing African science. The magazine was started in response to a need by the public for a deeper understanding of scientific issues of relevance to all Africans. The magazine is edited by South African scientists Janice Limson, a […]
A range of electronic services set to improve communication The Western Cape Education Department launched a new website, WCED Online, last month, in time for the start of the fourth term. “Electronic communication has opened a window to whole, new world in education,” said the Western Cape’s MEC for Education, Helen Zille. “The WCED is […]
When historian Dr Rob Turrell stuck his hand in the lens of an SABC team outside the Richtersveld land claim hearing last week, the manne set about mooting explanations for his pique. Vrot Snoek reckoned Turrell had been watching Indiana Jones flieks and just wanted to butch up his mousy profession a little. Dok Rabie put his money on agoraphobia.
Coca-Cola has invested R3-million in a project that will make a significant contribution towards science and technology education Moving matter: The Coca-Cola mobile science labs can be moved from classroom to classroom as they are required Recognising that schools in previously disadvantaged communities have little to no essential learning resources, particularly in mathematics, science and […]
Educators from one of the country’s poorest provinces excel in maths and science contest For the second year running, an under-resourced, rural school in Northern Province has produced the winner of the Maths and Science Teacher of the Year Award. When Nelson Mphaga collected the prize at the Sowetan/Telkom Protec Awards, he was bubbling with […]
"This is what the French money has paid for!" jokes Deputy President Jacob Zuma, waving his hand over Oliver Tambo House, his official residence. In a rare interview Zuma spoke to <i>Mail & Guardian</i> reporter Vicki Robinson about a range of issues — but refused to be drawn on the Schabir Shaik trial.
Only a strong education and training system with committed and excellent teachers can ensure South Africa becomes a caring society, with a thriving economy, according to President Thabo Mbeki. He was addressing finalists and guests at the National Teaching Awards late in October. Mbeki said the legacy of apartheid had created a number of social […]
Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio has called morning rush-hour traffic on a heavily used highway leading into Lisbon a "daily tragedy" after he braved the motorway without his usual police escort, reports said on Thursday. It took the president 40 minutes to travel just 13km on the IC19 highway.
Bidding for Pope Benedict XVI’s old Volkswagen, on offer on eBay Germany, topped €100 000 (R772 000) on Thursday, 10 times the price the current owner paid for it. A few hours before the sale was set to close, the page on the internet auction website had registered 6,3-million hits.
The fashion-conscious owner of a burgled clothes shop said on Wednesday he helped to catch the man who robbed him after spotting the thief dressed in a criminally uncouth mix of stolen trousers and tops. "I couldn’t believe that this guy was wearing all the pinched stuff," said Neil Primett, who owns the Planet Clothing store in Bedford.
Cellphones may be the fastest-growing technology seen to date in South Africa, yet more than 10 years after the cellular revolution began, full mobile commerce has not touched the lives of most cellphone users. A new study has found that consumer mobile commerce as a mature industry is still three to five years away.
Nedcor announced on Thursday that assuming exchange rates remain at current levels, the directors expect headline earnings per share for the six months to 30 June 2005 to be between 15% and 30% higher than the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) restated 245 cents per share.
Minister of Education Kader Asmal has welcomed the report of the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) into initiation practices at education institutions. Asmal says his department will work together with provincial colleagues and education role players to develop the necessary policy to give effect to the recommendations in the report. The minister believes that […]
Gava Kassiem recalls the ups and downs of her life as a teacher Learners are unaware of the tapestry they weave into an educator’s life. There are some who by their very nature embody the earnestness and nobility of a once-revered profession. My teaching career started in a township school in Athlone, a derelict building […]
Name: Neil Naidoo Age: 41 Occupation: Project manager What is project management? In today’s dynamic global business environment, organisations are forced to deliver fast, low-cost, high-quality products and services to their customers. To meet these demands, unique undertakings initiated in organisations have to be handled as projects. As the awareness of project management spreads, an […]
Refugees made to feel welcome Educators, learners and parents at Clareville Primary School in Clare Estate, Durban, are still abuzz over the visit to the school by Nene Annan, wife of Kofi Annan, secretary-general of the United Nations. Annan, accompanied by former President of the Netherlands Rudd Lubbers and Bemma Donkoh of the United Nation […]
Name: Vukile Mathabela Age: 24 Occupation: Promotions, events and marketing assistant Describe a typical workday. I communicate with the promotions co-ordinator on a daily basis with regard to departmental needs and tasks; Iiaise with sales people, presenters and producers concerning competitions; collect and file competition-winner information and check prizes received against contracts; and maintain and […]
The “bland and meaningless” National Plan on Higher Education underestimated what it would take to build a strong institutional research culture in South African universities and technikons, according to Jonathan Jansen, dean of education at the University of Pretoria. Jansen says that to build a strong research culture, expertise in each institution is necessary, good […]
Deputy Minister of Education Mosibudi Mangena addressed the national conference of the South African Principals Association recently. This is an excerpt from his speech One of my worst concerns is how we are collectively going to manage effectively and efficiently the scourge of the HIV/Aids pandemic. The latest estimates claim that around 4,7-million South Africans […]
The future of distance learning should become more clear as moves to merge the University of South Africa, Technikon South Africa (TSA) and the distance learning campus of Vista University get underway. Franklin Sonn, former South African ambassador to the United States, is chairing the group of academics exploring the proposed merger between the Unisa, […]
Award-winning academic Marie Muller, who has been the chairperson of Rand Afrikaans University’s nursing department since 1996, has been appointed as dean of the faculty of education and nursing. Muller, a recipient of a Women in Research Award by the South African Association of Women Graduates earlier this year, has had a chequered career since […]
Janine Orderson made headlines with her obscene behaviour and cucumber-sucking antics as a contestant on the reality television programme Big Brother. Speaking after her eviction last month, Janine Orderson said she would like to return to the classroom. But her antics have provoked an outcry from Minister of Education Kader Asmal, Western Cape MEC for […]