Category: Educationn

South Africa’s Higher Education and Training Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, has warned prospective students, who want to register at institutions of higher learning, not to fall for bogus colleges.

These institutions, also known as “fly by night” colleges, are not registered with the Sector Education and Training Authorities (Setas), the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) or other relevant bodies as learning institutions.

The Minister warned that these institutions offer qualifications that are not recognised.

“These institutions lure and mislead future students into believing that these colleges offer qualifications that are recognised by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). These illegal colleges offer compromised qualifications that are not recognised for employment purposes or for further studying,” he said.

Nzimande said the department, together with law enforcement, has been hard at work to shut down these bogus colleges.

“The number of colleges that are operating illegally has decreased tremendously over the years. The decrease can be attributed to our monitoring and awareness campaigns, and our collaboration with both print and electronic media,” he said.

Source: Nam News Network

The KwaZulu-Natal provincial government has denied reports that it spent R50 million on the funeral of Kwaito and Gqom musician, Mandla “Mampintsha” Maphumulo.

The KZN based musician passed away last week after suffering a stroke.

“The KwaZulu-Natal provincial government is regrettably forced to respond to the false rumours being spread on social media regarding its financial support to the [family].

“Our regret arises from the fact that the family is still in a period of mourning, and in line with ubuntu, this period requires of us to support and respect the family as they come to terms with the loss of their flesh and blood.

“However, as a transparent and accountable government, we wish to clarify that the support provided by the provincial government to the bereaved families did not exceed R220 000. There is simply no truth to the insinuation that the province may have used R50 million,” the provincial government said in a statement.

The statement explained that some R170 000 was contributed by the Office of the Premier, while a further R50 000 was spent by the KZN Department of Sport Arts and Culture.

According to the provincial government, the allegations regarding the R50 million stem from a statement made in the name of former KZN Premier, Dr Sbusiso Ndebele – a statement he has since denounced.

“Fortunately, this statement, which was meant for confusion purposes, has also been rejected outright as fake news by [the] former Premier. We welcome the [new] statement from former Premier Ndebele, which settles the matter once and for all.

“This was clearly the work of wedge drivers who want to sow division between the ANC, government on one hand, and artists and society on the other, for their own nefarious intentions,” the statement read.

The provincial government appealed to the public to “be circumspect, and not to abuse the power of social media by spreading false information”.

“Similarly, we urge the people of our province not to take everything that is published in social media at face value. There are credible and reputable sources of news and media houses that are obliged to subject their news content to professional and ethical checks and balances, and which can be held accountable.

“For the record, the KZN government has over many years been supporting artists in KZN, including Big NUZ and many others. There is demonstrable evidence to this fact. This reality has been attested to by the artists themselves on various platforms,” the statement said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Eskom has delayed the start of the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station’s maintenance outage to next week Saturday to allow the strained national power grid to stabilise and recover some generation capacity.

This after the power utility implemented Stage 6 power cuts until Friday morning – leaving some neighbourhoods without any power for up to four hours per rotation.

Eskom Acting Chief Nuclear Officer, Sadika Touffie, said the decision to delay the refuelling and maintenance outage is necessary.

“While Eskom is ready to commence with the outage, with the contractors and all the requisite resources on standby, grid stability is an important consideration prior to shutting down the Unit 1 reactor to commence the maintenance and refuelling outage.

“This is going to be a long but necessary outage – the first of its kind for Koeberg. Eskom has taken care to ensure no undue delays are experienced once the project gets under way,” Touffie said.

Eskom warned that outage of the unit will create some pressure on the grid as it is the power utility’s biggest and most reliable unit.

“The [Unit one] outage will be for a duration of approximately six months. The extended unavailability of the unit is due to the planned long outages which does mean the electricity supply system may be under additional strain during the outage.

“Koeberg Nuclear Power Station is an important part of the Eskom generating fleet due to its reliable operation, low primary energy costs, its strategic location in the Western Cape to stabilise the national electricity grid and the fact that it is a clean source of energy.

“The Koeberg units, at 920MW each, are the largest generating units on the African continent. Their safe and reliable operation is a significant contributor to meeting the country’s electricity demand. The Koeberg outages are planned at times of the year when the impact on the overall electricity supply is minimised as far as possible,” the power utility said.

Eskom said that the outage for the power station is unavoidable and critical to ensure that it continues to run safely.

“Unlike other types of power stations, where fuel can be added to continue generating power, the fuel at a nuclear power station is sealed inside a reactor vessel, which is opened for refuelling every 15 to 18 months. This is also a time when the station will perform certain required inspections on equipment and perform more intrusive maintenance that cannot be performed when the unit is online.

“The rigorous maintenance, inspection and testing programmes are some of the critical activities that ensures that the plant remains safe and able to deliver this reliable level of performance,” Eskom said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The Northern Cape Department of Education on Thursday officially opened three marking centres in Kimberley.

According to the provincial department, the province has reached the final stage of the 2022 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations.

This is after the department successfully administered this year’s examinations, free of any irregularities.

The writing of the NSC exams is set to conclude this week, with rewrite opportunities arising from disruptions in some parts of the country.

The exams will conclude on 8 December 2022, with Economics Paper 1 written in Gauteng only by 53 learners from Phandimfundo Secondary School.

The Northern Cape MEC for Education, Zolile Monakali, accompanied by the Director-General of Basic Education, Hubert Mweli, and the Head of the Department, Moira Marais, opened the centres.

According to the department, marking is considered one stage in an integrated, collaborative process of teaching and learning, requiring awareness of the teacher’s dual role as a coach and assessor.

Monakali told the markers that a greater responsibility lies on them to carefully, with precision and a high level of accuracy, mark all scripts to ensure that the outcome is a true reflection of the candidates’ academic achievement.

“We rely on your experience and expertise to fast-track and identify mistakes during the marking process. The marks you award must be fair and should not favour or prejudice any learner,” he said.

Mweli thanked the provincial department for the exceptional work conducted by the officials to administer the NSC examinations free of any irregularities.

He also conveyed a special word of appreciation to all the markers for sacrificing their time to perform the national duty of marking.

Mweli further reminded all officials that the COVID-19 pandemic is still among us and the responsibility is upon all to adhere to the preventative measures.

The provincial department has written 88 different question papers, which translates to 197 843 answer scripts that needed to be marked by 766 markers. Of these markers, 164 are senior markers, 21 deputy chief markers, 82 chief markers and 82 internal moderators.

In addition, the department said the administrative duties will also be dealt with by 150 examination assistants at the examination marking centres in Kimberley.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Cookery skills to enhance tourism experience in NC

As part of welcoming summer, the Department of Tourism today hosted the graduation of the Professional Cookery Programme in the Northern Cape and welcomes the new cohort of graduates to populate the talent pool in the tourism value chain. As we are in the festive season and tourism peak-period, the sector has been bolstered by this addition of 41 graduates.

Tourism is a vital contributor to the South African economy. With its extensive value chain and labour absorption capacity, it is acknowledged as a tool for economic development, playing a significant role in responding to the country’s socio-economic challenges. It is a sector that is people driven and we as a Department aim to create an environment for sustainable employment and economic growth.

The Professional Cookery Programme was a one-year programme targeting unemployed youth in the Northern Cape which aims to upskill and ensure employability within the hospitality industry. This programme commenced in 2021 and entails 30% theory and 70% workplace experiential training with graduates receiving a National Certificate in Professional Cookery accredited by Culture, Art, Tourism, Hospitality and Sports sector education and Training Authority (Cathsseta). Collaborative partnerships with industry stakeholders offering in-house practical training for learners, has contributed to the success of the initiative.

Graduates were excited to share their experiences about the programme. Bohlokoa Ntsau, 20 from Kimberly said: “I have grown in character and I’m more determined in pushing forward with my cookery career and I have a clear vision of my future.”

Modiegi Mmankgeli, 30 from Kimberly stated: “This programme gave me the chance to write my story again and have a new beginning as I was unemployed and impacted by the pandemic. I am thankful to the Department of Tourism for making my dreams come true.”

As we are entering the holiday period, we focus on excellent service and creating memorable experiences to meet and exceed the expectations of visitors. This talent boost enhances the Northern Cape’s tourism experience. The Department continues to advance the tourism and hospitality experience and reaffirms its commitment to training and development which will yield many happy returns and that will contribute to the tourism recovery plan. This intervention plays a major role in the tourism value chain.

Source: Government of South Africa