Category: Education

The President of the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa (SCA), Justice Mandisa Maya, will officially be installed as the Chancellor of the University of Mpumalanga (UMP) on Tuesday.

 

This follows Maya’s appointment by the UMP Council in July.

 

Maya is the second Chancellor of the university and takes over from President Cyril Ramaphosa.

 

“Justice Mandisa Maya is the first woman in South Africa to hold the position as President of the SCA and is a candidate for Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa,” the statement read.

 

According to the UMP, her contribution to the country’s democratic institutions and jurisprudence dates back to 1994 when she served as a case investigator for the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) during the first democratic South African elections.

 

She then proceeded to practice as an advocate until she was appointed as a judge in 1999.

 

“The Chancellor acts as a role model and reflects the university’s values to its stakeholders and is a focal point to ensure the high standing of the university in the wider community. The Chancellor serves as titular head of the university with no executive powers and confers degrees and awards diplomas, certificates, and other distinctions on behalf of the university,” the UMP explained.

 

The university said this historic event coincides with remarkable accomplishments the institution has made since it was established in 2013 and enrolled its first 169 students the following year.

 

Over the years, the higher learning institution has grown from offering three undergraduate programmes in 2014 to 32 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in 2021 with 5 392 registered.

 

This year, the university said it received accreditation from the Council on Higher Education (CHE) to offer its first three PhDs, also known as the Doctor of Philosophy, Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and 13 other new programmes.

 

In 2022, the UMP will be offering 49 programmes from Higher Certificate to PhD.

 

“This positive development is in line with the strategic objectives of the university to conceptualise, develop and launch new qualifications that will both stand-alone and support articulation within UMP and between institutions as outlined in the strategic plan.”

 

Source: South African Government News Agency

The Nelson Mandela University (NMU) has officially launched its medical school, a move the Department of Higher Education, Science and Innovation has described as the realisation of a long-held dream.

 

To mark the occasion on Tuesday, Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, extended his congratulations to the university for this landmark achievement of becoming the tenth medical school in the country.

 

“I would like to commend the university for the continued role that it plays in this region, through its excellent teaching and learning, research and community engagement programmes.”

 

According to the Minister, the establishment will promote local economic development within the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, South Africa’s fifth-largest municipality.

 

He told the delegates that the country should be proud of the excellent teaching and learning facility dedicated to the training of future health professionals.

 

Nzimande also took the time to pay tribute to the late Professor Lungile Pepeta who died of COVID-19 last year for his enormous contribution in laying a strong foundation for this medical school. “I hear you may name this after Prof Pepeta. I certainly think it would be highly appreciated.”

 

Although the school was launched today, Nzimande said the first cohort of students is nearing the end of their first year of study.

 

According to the Minister, the NMU Medical School, located at the Missionvale campus, aims to position health education to be more responsive to South Africa’s health needs by widening access to healthcare programmes.

 

“The school will generally add to the much-needed health professionals that our country so needs to improve our health system as a country.”

 

He said the establishment of the school has been long coming, dating back to 2013 when a business plan was first developed. The National Skills Fund subsequently pumped R73 million into it with the backing from the department.

 

“I am pleased that this new medical degree focuses on comprehensive primary health care from the first year of study.”

 

Nzimande said he was pleased that the school is planning to use global technological innovations to support interactive education.

 

“I also fully subscribe to the ethos of this medical school, which are firmly based on community and primary health care provision by developing health care professionals who are committed to providing accessible and affordable healthcare services.”

 

In addition, he announced that in the current financial year, the department has allocated R644.7 million for the clinical training of health professionals in the sector, of which R19 million will go to NMU.

 

“As you are aware, the country’s public hospitals are overstretched due to the scarcity of health professionals.”

 

In addressing these shortages, the department has been working closely with the Department of Health to equip the universities and clinical training platforms. “We are committed to continuing with this important work to strengthen our health training and education in South Africa.”

 

Source: South African Government News Agency

Cameroonian officials say a suspected separatist attack on a school this week, which left four students and a teacher dead, has scared hundreds of teachers and students from going to school.

 

Cameroon’s military said it launched a search Thursday for the suspected rebels, who it says were disguised as government troops when they opened fire on the school.

 

Cameroon’s ministry of secondary education said in a statement Friday several hundred students and teachers have not been to school in Ekondo Titi, an English-speaking western town, since the attack.

 

Thirty-nine-year-old driver Humphrey Ngum is among the parents who have withdrawn their children from schools in Ekondo Titi. Ngum says he is relocating his son to a school in Douala, a French-speaking commercial town due to insecurity in schools in the English-speaking western regions.

 

Speaking by telephone from Douala, Ngum said in 2018, he escaped fighting between separatists and government troops in his home town Ekondo Titi and fled to Douala. He said he returned to Ekondo Titi in September when the government assured civilians of their safety and reopened some schools that were closed by separatist fighters in the English-speaking western regions.

 

The government reported this week that armed attacks on schools scare teachers and students. In Ekondo Titi three students and a 58-year-old French language teacher were shot dead. Another student died a day after he was rushed to a hospital in Buea, a nearby English-speaking town, to be treated for gunshot wounds. All the dead students were between 12 and 17 years of age. Seven students who were wounded are receiving treatment in hospitals in Buea.

 

The military said explosives were planted by fighters in the school.

 

Aboloa Timothe is the top government official in Ekondo Titi. He says enough security measures have been taken to protect schools, teachers and students from any further attack. Speaking via WhatsApp, Aboloa pleaded with parents to send their children to school and to the fleeing teachers to return.

 

“We have deployed our security forces to see if they can get {arrest} the authors of this barbaric act,” said Aboloa. “I have had a crisis meeting with my defence and security staff. I have reassured the education stakeholders on the vided so that teaching activities should not be interrupted.”

 

In a release on Thursday, the military accused separatists for the attack on the school at EkondoTiti . The military said more than 10 fighters led by Ten Kobo, a self-proclaimed separatist general, masterminded the attack.

 

Ten Kobo has on social media platforms, including WhatsApp and Facebook, denied involvement in the attack. He said the military committed the atrocity and is blaming fighters to give separatists a bad name to the international community.

 

The military maintains that the attack was carried out by fighters.

 

Cameroon says at least 11 attacks have been reported on schools in the English-speaking western regions within the past month. At least 10 children have died in the attacks.

 

The United Nations and International Rights groups have strongly condemned what they call merciless attacks on schools in Cameroon.

 

Source: Nam News Network

The Minister for the Public Service and Administration, Ms Ayanda Dlodlo will officially open the 22nd Public Sector Trainers Forum (PSTF) hosted by the National School of Government on 29-30 November 2021 in Kempton Park, as part of improving the capacity of the state to deliver services that improve the quality of life.

The PSTF, which is supported by the European Union in partnership with the NSG, will bring together the trainers and human resource development (HRD) practitioners in the national, provincial and local government spheres to share their experiences. The goal is to improve the capacity and functioning of the state and to build a caring, citizen-centred and professional public sector. Minister Dlodlo will open the session on 29 November 2021, at the Radisson Hotel and Convention Centre in OR Tambo, Kempton Park.

The PSTF was established in 1997 as a non-statutory body to advocate for Human Resource Development (HRD) within the Public Sector. The Forum provides a platform for public sector trainers to co-operate across national, provincial, and local government departments.

“The NSG’s mandate has been expanded to include education, training, and development (ETD) intervention in the three spheres of government, State Owned Entities (SOEs) and organs of state. This expanded mandate necessitates that the NSG positions itself for greater outreach and impact. Within this context, it needs to focus on building capacity to deliver ETD interventions using knowledgeable and experienced trainers who have been exposed to the Art of Facilitation, which is the theme of the 22nd PSTF”, explained the Principal of the NSG, Professor Busani Ngcaweni.

Under the theme of Art of Facilitation and Trainer Professionalisation, the conference will focus on building trainer capacity at all performer levels with a specific objective of immersing trainers in the Art of Facilitation. It will target three main groups of facilitators, namely: NSG internal staff who conduct training interventions, the Panel of Experts (formerly known as Individual Independent Consultants (IICs); and trainers in government departments who expressed an interest to train on behalf of the NSG.

In addition, the Panel of Experts for the Ministerial Professionalisation Advisory Team will share insights into the practicalities of the implementation of the professionalisation of the public sector, as well as expectations from the trainers.

The conference is the culmination of a series of provincial PSTF Peer Learning Exchange Seminars which have taken place during the year. These seminars have provided a platform for conversations on topical issues affecting the day-to-day operations of HRD practitioners.

The conference will be hosted in a blended mode with a limited number of delegates at the venue while the delegates will join on a virtual platform.

 

 

Source: Government of South Africa

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga says that much progress has been registered in fulfilling the Education White Paper 6 directives since it was introduced in 2001 but more effort is still required to leapfrog to the next level.

 

The Minister was speaking at an Inclusive Education Summit on Monday, jointly hosted by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD).

 

The objectives of the summit are to acknowledge the progress made and the gaps that still exist in the implementation of inclusive education.

 

The Minister said that government’s commitment to inclusive education is derived from the Education White Paper 6 which calls upon it to provide quality education and support to all children with disabilities.

 

Motshekga said that the White Paper also directed the sector to mobilise out-of-school children and youth of school-going age to take up their right to basic education.

 

“I am happy to report that we did the advocacy work as required, assisted by a range of industry bodies and civil society organisations, for which we thank you. As a testament to our efforts to date, 137 332 and 121 461 learners, compared to 64 000 and 77 000 learners in 2002, are enrolled in special and ordinary schools, respectively,” Motshekga said.

 

The Minister said that they have dedicated capacity in all nine Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) to manage inclusive education guided by Basic Education experts based in Pretoria.

 

“For instance, we have established District-Based Support Teams and School-Based Support Teams to coordinate inclusive education support services for teachers and learners.

 

“As a collective, these professionals advance the ideal of inclusive education, share best practices and craft and monitor implementation plans for the sector,” she said.

 

Recently, the minister says the focus has shifted towards implementing Policy on Screening, Identification, Assessment and Support.

 

For instance, during 2020/21, she said 22 074 Individual Support Plans (ISP) were developed to address learners’ educational needs at the school level.

 

“We had to convert and designate at least 500 public ordinary primary schools as full-service schools in terms of the policy. However, by the end of 2018, we had already designated 848 full-service schools, not just in 30 education districts required in the White Paper 6, but in all education districts.

 

“It is very rare in government work to say the following, as a sector, we exceeded the target of designating 500 schools as full-service ones by 348,” the Minister said.

 

The sector had to designate or covert several special schools into resource centres in thirty designated districts as per the directives of the White Paper and to date 373 out of 435 special schools serve as resource centres, providing outreach services to full-service and ordinary schools.

 

Learners with Severe to Profound Intellectual Disability

 

A part of the sector’s work of ensuring access to education for Learners with Severe to Profound Intellectual Disability (LSPID), Minister Motshekga said that 500 special care centres have been audited.

 

She said that the department has developed and field-tested the Learning Programme for this category of learners.

 

“So far, 280 transversal itinerant team members have been trained to deliver the Learning Programme. We have at least 3 423 learners with severe to profound intellectual disabilities who now utilise the Learning Programme and access therapeutic services,” Motshekga said.

 

Diversification of curriculum offerings

 

Minister Motshekga said that great strides have been made on the diversification of curriculum offerings to cater to diverse educational needs.

 

“We now offer the South African Sign Language (SASL) as a matric subject. For instance, 44 learners in eight of the 17 schools for the Deaf that offer Grade 12 wrote the first National Senior Certificate (NCS) examination in SASL Home Language in 2018,” she said.

 

In 2019, the Minister said the number increased to 101 learners in 15 schools who wrote the National Senior Certificate examination.

 

In the year 2020, 140 candidates from five provinces, including Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape, wrote the National Senior Certificate examination.

 

Meanwhile, the sector continuously offers specialised training to teachers to meet the needs of specific disabilities such as Braille, South African Sign Language, Autism and other inclusive educational programmes.

 

“I am happy to report that 2 295 teachers have been trained in Braille, 2 714 on South African Sign Language, and 4 724 have received training on Autism,” Motshekga said.

 

The sector has also provided inclusive education training programmes to some 35 354 teachers in the sector.

 

Source: South African Government News Agency

Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) is key to gender responsive and socially inclusive schools, says Basic Education DDG, Dr Granville Whittle.

 

The DDG was speaking on Monday during a two-day Colloquium on Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) under the theme, ‘The key to gender responsive and socially inclusive education’.

 

The colloquium is being hosted by the Department of Basic Education at the CSIR Conference Centre in Brummeria, Pretoria.

 

The CSE has been part of the curriculum since the year 2000, with the only change being that in 2015, the department developed the Scripted Lesson Plans (SLPs).

 

The core aims of the CSE and its SLPs are to ensure that learners build an understanding of concepts, content, values and attitudes related to sexuality, sexual behaviour change, as well as leading safe and healthy lives.

 

Whittle said one of the pillars in the Care and Support for Teaching and Learning Framework highlights the need for every child, irrespective of background, identity, circumstances and character, to enjoy the right to education within socially inclusive and cohesive schools.

 

The DDG emphasised that the discussions at the colloquium are anchored firmly on this pillar.

 

“As a country and the sector, we have engaged at great length over the necessity of CSE. As such, today we are not reopening those discussions because they are closed.

 

“Legislation and policy mandates of the DBE and the broader government fully endorse the delivery of CSE in Life Orientation.

 

“The purpose and vision of this colloquium is rather to comprehensively discuss the nuanced elements that are linked to CSE. These include bullying, gender-based violence (GBV), parental responses, gendered responses and practices, gender and sexuality inclusion, and responding to the CSE and SRHR [Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights] needs of children with disability,” he said.

 

The DDG expressed excitement at the presentations at the symposium focusing on learners with special education needs.

 

“All of these are elements that lie dormant within our schools and communities, yet have a significant contribution towards HIV and early unintended pregnancies,” he said.

 

Whittle said he was most certain that the correct minds were in the room to help the sector to forge forward, and provide research-based evidence to the complexities of CSE and gender responsive education practice.

 

Source: South African Government News Agency

A need for an embedded gender equality and anti-patriarchal culture is critical in families, schools, media houses, faith-based organisations, the economy and workplaces.

 

These were the remarks by Sediko Rakolote, Commissioner at the Commission for Gender Equality, during a dialogue challenging the culture of toxic masculinity in a bid to combat violence.

 

The dialogue, which was held on Tuesday by the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) in partnership with the Department of Social Development (DSD), seeks to highlight the role that the culture of toxic masculinity has in perpetuating Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF).

 

Rakolote said that some of the key drivers of toxic masculinity are some traditional, cultural, and religious practises that relegates women as the second class citizens.

 

He said that some media platforms and stories on TV often objectify women while men are given strong characters.

 

“We need to promote a Gender Equitable Curriculum and practices in schools from Early Childhood Development till post matric qualifications. We need to partner with media and use it as a tool to advance the promotion of gender equality,” he said.

 

He added that Multi-Sectoral Partnerships are important in the fight against toxic masculinity as no institution can be able to advance gender quality alone.

 

“This requires involving a whole range of stakeholders in the process: governments, multilaterals, the private sector, trade unions, civil society, religious organizations, non-governmental organizations, the army and the police, research institutes, community agencies and the media among others,” he said.

 

Rakolote emphasised on the need to campaign for a culture of recognition of human rights for all citizens, irrespective of their gender, race, and class

 

He called on the mobilisation of men and women to create conversation space to reflect on the harmful effect of toxic masculinity to inspire change amongst individuals and communities.

 

Deputy Minister in Department of Social Development, Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, said that a family structure is important when dealing with issues of toxic masculinity, among others.

 

She said that South Africa has normalised single headed households which end up contributing to women raising “angry boys”.

 

The deputy minister said that it remains a fact that toxic masculinity starts very young, and women often miss the signs when raising boy children alone.

 

She urged men and women to step in and address these issues from a young age and give children the right foundation and the right to parenting by both parents.

 

Source: South African Government News Agency