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Flawed: Young people are not equipped for the fourth industrial revolution and adding computers to the classroom isn’t a solution. They need to start their education at the age of three.
EDUCATION

The classroom is an ecosystem, not a one-person job

As South Africa faces rising educator resignations and high rates of burnout, building collaborative support networks and mentorship programmes is crucial to keeping teachers in…

  • Sarah Koopman
6 min read
Recognition: The author strives to make each learner feel they are seen and heard in her classroom. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy
EDUCATION

The subject I teach without a syllabus

There is no curriculum or rubric for belonging, yet fostering connection and individuality is the most vital lesson an educator can deliver in the classroom.

  • Cebolakhe Zondo
5 min read
Gauteng MEC Lebogang Maile’s State of Education address reflects a department under pressure but attempting to demonstrate responsiveness.
EDUCATION

Overcrowding, infrastructure failures and school safety dominate Gauteng education MEC’s agenda — but deeper structural pressures remain unresolved

Lebogang Maile warns that the province’s school system faces growing strain

  • Edwin Naidu
4 min read
On the right page: Children’s book author and executive director of Nal’ibali, Lorato Trok. Photo: Supplied
AFRIKAANS

Lorato Trok: Writing our languages back into the story

Author speaks of her dedication to keeping indigenous languages alive through children’s books and her hopes for the growth of South African languages

  • Rolland Simpi Motaung
8 min read
Partnership: Schools and parents need to work together to give children the future they need, argues the author, who adds developing resilience and ‘flexpertise’ independently is important for students. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy
EDUCATION

There’s a quiet crisis in our schools

At the heart of every successful school is a thoughtfully designed educational journey, supported by a respectful partnership between school and home

  • Stuart West
7 min read
Children in areas such as Lavender Hill on Cape Town are exposed to gang violence and poverty. Photo: David Harrison/M&G
EDUCATION

Investing in school principals pays off, particularly in impoverished areas

The Principals Academy Trust and UCT’s Graduate School of Business have teamed up to help principals, who in turn assist teachers, resulting in them being retained and children…

  • Jodie Martin
5 min read
A record 98.31% of Grade 12 learners passed the 2025 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations administered by the Independent Examinations Board
DEPARTMENT OF BASIC EDUCATION

‘Good’ matric results do not tell the whole picture of SA education

While education authorities celebrate the 87.3% pass rate for 2024, only 50% of pupils made it from grade 1 to grade 12. And young people also struggle to get jobs regardless of…

  • Ian Russell
5 min read
Ministers will assess progress since the Africa Foundational Learning Exchange (FLEX 2024) commitment to end learning poverty within a decade, alongside the declarations from last year’s Continental Conference on Education in Mauritania. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
CLASSROOMS

Education department failed to build or renovate schools in four provinces in 2023-24 financial year

Education department failed to build or renovate schools in four provinces in 2023-44 financial year

  • Umamah Bakharia
3 min read
Fifty-nine learners in Giyani were taken to hospital when they fell ill after eating food provided under their primary school’s nutrition programme as well as snacks. (Limpopo Health Department)
DZUMERI PRIMARY SCHOOL

59 learners in Giyani taken to hospital after eating food at school

The pupils fell ill after consuming a meal provided under the school’s nutrition programme and snacks

  • Aarti Bhana
2 min read
The Western Cape education department says it has filled 477 teacher posts despite announcing last year that 2 407 contract teachers would not be reappointed as a result of severe budget cuts.(Photo by Gallo Images / Sunday Times / Thuli Dlamini)
EDITORIAL

Good teachers are undone by bad politics

While political parties bicker over who is to blame, the reality is that millions of pupils in public schools will find themselves crammed into even larger classes, vying for the…

  • Editorial
2 min read
New modes of digital literacy are just as important as traditional literacy. Photo: File
ARTICLE

Building the next generation: How coding and robotics can transform SA classrooms

The basic education department has announced the addition of coding and robotics to the school curricula but many have questioned whether under-resourced schools can effectively…

  • Jonathan du Plessis
4 min read
This is one of the broken ablution blocks at Durban Deep Primary near Roodepoort. The Gauteng education department had promised that a new school would be built years ago, but this has not yet happened, and children are forced to learn in decaying classrooms. Photos: Silver Sibiya
DURBAN DEEP PRIMARY SCHOOL

Anger at Panyaza Lesufi for failing to fix Roodepoort school for years

The department committed to replacing the school with a brick-and-mortar structure more than five years ago

  • Silver Sibiya
3 min read
Emergency services have reported multiple accidents and injuries on wet and flooded roads. Photo supplied
EDUCATION

Emergency services in overdrive as rain batters already flood-hit Durban

The South African Weather Service has issued a level 5 warning for KwaZulu-Natal as flooding leaves the province at a standstill, and schools close early

  • Umamah Bakharia
3 min read
Pit latrine toilets at a school.
GRADE R

Why Limpopo’s schools still have pit toilets

Nine years after grade R learner Michael Komape drowned in a pit toilet, 2 334 schools in the province still have these structures on their premises

  • Christina Pitt
7 min read
A campaign lorry, featuring Emmerson Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe’s president, dives onto the field during a Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANUPF) rally at the National Stadium in Harare, Zimbabwe. (Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
POLITICAL CAMPAIGN

On the frontline: Protecting children’s rights in Zimbabwe’s electoral climate

Despite the high court ruling against using schools during rallies and elections, political parties continue to use students and campuses

  • Nyasha Mcbride Mpani
  • Opal Masocha Sibanda
6 min read