When does the duty to protect children become a violation of their rights, asks Console Tleane The thorny issue of random drug testing at schools, publicised in media reports earlier this year, highlights the widespread use of narcotics and has raised several human rights issues. Were schools operating within their rights to test pupils for […]
After a long silence due to a busy schedule, Minister of Education Kader Asmal went online for the first time last month since November. His chat over the Web focused on racism and the proposed renaming of schools carrying the names of apartheid-era leaders. “You only abolish racism by attacking racism. This idea that in […]
Ephraim Enock Jende discovers that men can be made to feel like pieces of meat Last year on the 24th, 25th and 26th of March, the Gauteng Department of Education organised a workshop on learning support materials (LSM) in Warmbaths in the North West Province. I was part of that workshop. We were working in […]
Academics must use their skills outside of the lecture rooms, Deputy President Jacob Zuma said at his installation as chancellor of the University of Zululand last month. He also urged local business to get more involved with the university in projects designed to imbue professionals with various kinds of skills. “Business has the social responsibility […]
Despite having human rights-friendly laws relating to the protection of the youth, South Africa has failed to nurture its children, according to AndrŽ Keet of the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC). Unfortunately, Keet says, South Africa is still described as a nation that fails to nurture its children, particularly in a recent report issued […]
Deputy Minister of Education Mosibudi Mangena is leading the campaign to help South African learners and educators get to grips with maths, science and technology. This is an excerpt from his speech at the launch of the initiative Figures relating to the participation and attainment of our learners in maths and science are both alarming […]
Name: Wilma Rennet Wessels Occupation: Occupation: Financial Systems and Procedures Manager Describe a typical workday. The day starts by replying to e-mails and meeting with staff members to obtain specifications for the website being designed. When that is completed and documented in a work flow diagram, I record all the processes and actions that will […]
The success of every school rests on the shoulders of its headmaster, according to Deputy Minister of Education Mosibudi Mangena Speaking at the national conference of the South African School Principals’ Association, Deputy Minister of Education Mosibudi Mangena said principals assume the role of parents once children enter the school premises and should be responsible […]
The blueprint to instil a strong sense of patriotism in the educators and learners of today, in order for them to become better citizens of tomorrow, was released late last month. Entitled Manifesto on Values, Education and Democracy, the document encourages all South Africans to embrace the spirit of a democratic, non-racial and non-sexist South […]
Important agreements reached last month in the Education Labour Relations Council promise to bring more stability to a profession that has long been plagued by insecurity. The four resolutions will have major implications for the most vulnerable in the teaching force, including temporary teachers and underqualified teachers. The main implications for the teaching profession are: […]
The ever-present threat of a sudden spike in global oil prices, and the resulting impact on slow-growing and struggling economies such as Japan, Germany and France, poses a significant risk to local exporters who rely on those markets for much of their business, says a senior South African economist.
The Labour Court on Wednesday postponed judgement on the interdict brought by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) against gold miner Harmony Gold with regards to the laying-off of about 5 000 mineworkers. NUM said that the court had indicated that it would make an announcement at 10am on Friday.
The strong trend in new vehicle sales growth continued last month, with the industry recording its best-ever figures for the month of April. New vehicle sales for April 2005 amounted to 40 477 units — an improvement of 11 796 vehicles or 41,1%, compared with the 28 681 new vehicles sold during the corresponding month last year.
The Zimbabwe government has "little in reserve" to fight off the country’s domestic economic problems and President Robert Mugabe is effectively a rugby fullback facing a front line of opposition, said the Movement for Democratic Change on Tuesday in a post-mortem of the March 31 parliamentary election.
I’m going to use a couple of words that you might have been trained to switch off at and back away from: "culture" and "art". Don’t panic. Locally, "culture" and "art" tend to be rather primitive, grim and at best just a creative reaction to the various past and present oppressions in this society — regardless of the ethnic origins of whoever is doing it. Here’s some art that actually has a brain and is rather cool.
This week, let’s look at current events and oddities that perhaps indicate where we are heading as a gadget- and convenience-loving species. Despite the myths of humankind being "hard working", the truth is that throughout history, all the big leaps forward in technology seem to have happened because we are actually lazy as hell, and always looking for an easier way of doing things.
In a fishy tale with a different ending, an Australian angler on Tuesday described how a 1,5m mackerel jumped into his boat, knocked him down and injured him — and then got away. Glen Hopper said he suffered bruised ribs and cuts to his face and arms when the mackerel flattened him.
Doctors in northern Thailand have removed almost three dozen fly maggots from a woman’s nose, where they were eating their way towards her brain, a report said on Tuesday. The 38-year-old pig farmer from the north-western city of Chiang Mai is believed to be the first reported case in Thailand of maggots nesting in a human’s nose.
China is dramatically expanding both economic and political involvement in Africa in a bid to secure energy supplies, access to basic commodities and new markets for its manufactured goods. African leaders looking for development models to replace the economic liberalism of the Washington Consensus are increasingly looking to China’s industrial revolution for inspiration.
"Being a bit of a drama queen and a kugel too, I burst into tears when the young black United States Customs and Immigration man at John F Kennedy airport held my hand in a tight grip and rolled my fingers round and round, every one, to allow the computer to take accurate fingerprints. Right then, the drama queen in me imagined myself in Guantanamo Bay, blindfolded and crouching," writes Ferial Haffajee.
"After a somewhat neurotic start, the local mini-series, <i>Hard Copy</i>, has settled into its scaffolding and now ranks in the very short list of worthy productions to have emanated from SABC television. It’s economically shot and scripted, The characters resolve authentically and maintain their individuality", writes Robert Kirby.
Free-to-air channel e.tv editor-in-chief Joe Thloloe will be leaving the station at the end of this week, the channel said on Friday. Thloloe was appointed to the top job in 2002. Thloloe joined e.tv as a media consultant and was instrumental in the establishment of its news and current affairs programme <i>Morning Edition</i>.
Yvonne Vera died shrouded in her own mysteries, just as she wrote them. In retrospect, it seems as if that is what she intended. But why? In one of her novels, <i>Butterfly Burning</i>, she wrote: "The fire moves over her light as a feather, smooth like oil." Fire would burn away the delicate elegance of the butterfly. A moth drawn to the naked flame.
The last rebel leader still fighting in Burundi, Agathon Rwasa, emerged from the bush this week to begin preparing for negotiations in Dar es Salaam to join the peace process. Those talks could begin as early as next week. Rwasa, leader of the Forces of National Liberation, told the <i>Mail & Guardian</i> that the time was right to join the peace process.
South African producer prices for all commodities rose by 1,9% in the 12 months to the end of March, from a 1,2% increase for the 12 months to the end of February, Statistics South Africa said on Thursday. "I think inflation going forward might not rise as much as people think," commented economist Mike Schussler.
Tax officials in Sierra Leone have infuriated Christians with the publication on Monday of newspaper advertisements saying Jesus Christ supported the paying of taxes. The half-page advertisements quoted Jesus’s reply when he was asked if he was against a law requiring the payment of taxes to the Roman emperor.
Prime Minister Tony Blair’s spin doctors mounted a novel defence on Tuesday after schoolchildren appeared to boo the premier on a pre-election visit, explaining they were actually chanting "boom", an arcane term of approval in British youth slang. Slang expert Tony Thorne said "boom" is a term signifying "approval or delight".
Britain’s state-owned postal service has found a novel cure for rampant absenteeism among staff, according to a report on Tuesday — tempting malingerers back with the chance of winning a car. Since the Royal Mail started the incentive scheme six months ago, attendance levels have risen by more than 10%.
CPIX inflation (headline inflation excluding mortgage costs) was up 3,6% year-on-year (y/y) for metro and other areas in March, compared with a record low 3,1% y/y in February, Statistics South Africa said on Tuesday. "March’s CPIX inflation rate rose mainly on the back of the petrol price hike," commented an economist.
In every province throughout South Africa, SABC Education (Radio) has an army of education activists ensuring the public in the communities they broadcast are given the opportunity to explore education in greater detail. Often, the radio programmes in rural South Africa is the only way through which educators, parents and learners can communicate about education. […]
A grant of nearly R15-million received from the Netherlands government has reached the most needy children of South Africa. Under the guidance of the Department of Education, this funding was applied to supply learning material to 48 300 teachers in the three most needy provinces of South Africa, namely KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and Northern […]
‘We are not learning to use computers – we are using computers to learn”. This is becoming one of the frequently-used phrases of the educator development projects that are currently being rolled out nationally by SchoolNet SA. Three projects are currently being run by SchoolNet SA. The Telkom Foundation is the sponsor of the Telkom […]