South Africa’s Best Teacher of the Year 2023 Gugu Qwabe’s mantra is ‘the best resource for any school is a motivated educator’. 

The English teacher and departmental head of languages at Mandla Mthethwa School of Excellence in Umkhanyakude in KwaZulu Natal should know. She walks the talk.

Qwabe is passionate about educating and grooming future leaders, so much so that she has authored “Applying Ubuntu Principles to Think, Learn and Succeed”, which is expected to come out in six weeks. 

The book focuses on practical applications of African values to corporate aims, merging progressive thinking with sustainability models. Qwabe supports using indigenous languages as instruction tools: “It has long been due for Africans to enjoy the fruits of their existence. 

“I believe that it is time as a country that we deserve everything others have,” she says while stressing the importance of uBuntu in developing a robust moral code and sense of social responsibility.

“One important value is exhibiting resilience in the process, believing in what you’re doing, and meeting with policymakers,” she says.

Qwabe was named the best South African Teacher at the 23rd National Teacher Awards by Deputy President Paul Mashatile at a ceremony in Pretoria last week.

The National Teacher Awards (NTA) were launched in 2000 and have become one of how the Department of Basic Education (DBE) acknowledges the extraordinary efforts made by excellent teachers, often in harsh conditions.

Qwabe, who’s been teaching for 15 years, expressed her gratitude at being awarded the prize and an appreciation for her seniors for recognising her vision of the humanising transformation of education for learners, especially for marginalised learners within the rural context.

Raised by a single mother who was also a teacher, Qwabe, who has three other siblings, says when she was 12 years old, her mother’s resourcefulness in the face of struggles and their low-income household inspired her.

“My mother did not want me to teach since she was a teacher. She faced so many struggles, and being as innovative and different as I am in a system of conformity, she experienced a lot of resistance,” Qwabe says in an exclusive interview with Inside Education.

After completing her basic education, interrupted by a transfer from a former Model C school to a local public school because of financial constraints, she graduated with a Degree in Psychology and English from UKZN. Then, she transferred to the School of Education, graduating in 2007.

Her teaching career started in one of the poorest schools in the Jozini, uMhlathuze area. She says she taught Life Sciences and English without any formal teaching qualifications simply because of her ‘good English’  in her Grade 12 results.

One of the primary reasons which motivated her to teach in Jozini was that both learners and teachers were making great strides despite the school being heavily under-resourced with poor provision for sanitation.

However, their resilience in facing challenges strengthened Qwabe’s resolve that only passionate educators should be recruited into teaching.

She took the great lessons and inspiration and, in 2009, moved to another school  – Amandla Awethu until 2017; she acquired a Postgraduate Certificate in Education before being recruited by a circuit manager who recognised her potential to join the newly formed Mandla Mthethwa School of Excellence (MMSE) in 2018.

The school has its roots in an initiative dating back to 2001 when members of the private sector and the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education collaborated to improve the quality of the lives of the people of Ndumo, one of the poorest and under-resourced communities of KwaZulu-Natal.

MMSE Headmaster Dr B.H Mthabela has described the school’s mission as instilling in learners the values such as respect for self and others, level-headedness, self-control and self-discipline, compassion, and embracing others and the environment.

Mthabela said the school was designed primarily to offer the best possible education to learners of Umkhanyakude in particular and those of other parts of KZN and other provinces in general, and Qwabe was a natural fit in the equation at the school that has secured more than 200 distinctions in its existence.

Qwabe’s clarion call is for more teachers who are emotionally, morally and ideologically invested in ensuring equal and quality education for all children.

“We need more good people in our society; we need more people to stand up for the right things. Our learners need to grow up in healthy spaces”.

Qwabe, as an award winner, has been automatically entered into the African Union Continental Teachers Award of 2023/2024.

Mashatile, in his keynote address, acknowledged that teaching is a labour of love and passion and highlighted the importance of ensuring that all learners in the country have effective and adequate access to education.

“Acknowledging that teaching is a labour of love and passion, as Government, we are committed to reinforcing teacher support and prioritising the professional growth of the women and men who are key drivers of basic education,” Mashatile said.

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TVET college curriculum reform has the potential to contribute in various ways to improve the employability, productivity and success rates of TVET college graduates.

To be successful in bringing these changes, there is a need for change in the management strategies to prepare for current and future TVET curriculum challenges, said Dr Blade Nzimande, the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, at the TVET Curriculum Transformation and Innovation Summit in Midrand last week.

“This summit brings together more substantial industry involvement in the TVET curriculum review process needed to enhance stakeholders in the TVET sector under one roof, aiming to collectively address and elevate the challenges of curriculum transformation and innovation within the sector. The Summit also brings together the key stakeholders to respond to the need to adjust and reposition TVET curricula in light of new technological developments,” said Nzimande.

He said it was critical for more substantial industry involvement in the TVET curriculum review process to enhance responsiveness to industry needs and requirements.

“Furthermore, we need to develop leadership programmes to help leaders within the TVET sector to bring about the necessary curriculum change,” he added.

Another important consideration is the deliberate decision to relook at the funding model of colleges to fulfil their mandate of expanding student numbers, meeting the need for adequate resources, and delivering the quality of teaching needed to develop South Africa’s skills workforce.

“We know by now that our funding model for our institution is skewed towards university or university-centric. This has to change if we are to create the jobs we need in our economy,” he added.

Reflecting on the progress towards shaping a sustainable TVET sector, the Minister said the National Development Plan commits to growing technical and vocational training with specific emphasis on its size and shape, differentiation, articulation, efficiency and functional effectiveness in response to the broader national development challenges.

Currently, South Africa is producing, on average 20 000 qualified artisans annually.

He said the goal remains to ensure that the number increases significantly to meet the National Development Plan (NDP) target to produce 30 000 qualified artisans annually by 2030.

“We have expanded our Centres of Specialisation to thirty-four (34) Centres at twenty-seven (27) TVET Colleges to enhance workplace-linked training of artisans and related occupations, with a further investment of R68 million in sixteen (16) of our Colleges who now have thirty-three (33) Trade Test Centres,” he added.
So far, these trade test centres have tested over 600 apprentices, of which over 500 have qualified as artisans.

Currently, twenty-six (26) of colleges are engaged in entrepreneurial training through Entrepreneurship Hubs with plans to, through the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), introduce innovation hubs in TVET colleges.

To date, the Department has opened up 14 954 TVET placement opportunities to the value of R726 Million and committed to achieving a target of 20,000 placements of TVET graduates as per the President’s commitment at this year’s State of the Nation Address.

“We have subsidised our colleges to meet their developmental goals, and we also provided TVET college students with financial support through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS),” he said.

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Teachers are set to be vaccinated within the next few weeks.

Inside Education has seen a letter by the Head of Health in KwaZulu-Natal, Dr Sandile Tshabalala, addressed to the Head of Education Enock Nzama asking that he makes departmental coordinators available for planning meetings today. 

Inside Education has confirmed the authenticity of the letter from two independent sources. 

In the letter written on Thursday titled: Vaccination of educators, Tshabalala said the national department of education has confirmed that the J&J vaccines would be made available in the next week and that “ most of which should be used for educators”

“The target group is basic education (all staff members of primary and secondary schools). It is expected that the dedicated vaccination sites for educators will be ready by Wednesday, 9th June 2021, and the vaccination period will be for two week,”  reads the letter.

Inside Education also understands that teacher unions are meeting with the Department of Basic Education today and the agenda is teacher vaccination. 

Inside Education reported on Tuesday that teacher unions had written to the national departments of health and education asking that teachers be prioritised for vaccination this month. 

READ: Teacher unions push to have teachers vaccinated in June

The teacher union leaders that spoke to Inside Education said ideally they wanted their members to be vaccinated before 26 July when all primary school learners and learners in special education needs schools are expected back in class daily. 

Basil Manuel, Naptosa Executive Director said, at the time, teachers must also be regarded as frontline workers because they come  into contact with large groups of people compared to the police, for example. 

While General Secretary of Sadtu, Mugwena Maluleke, also told Inside Education on Tuesday that a delay in vaccinating teachers may lead to education of learners being disrupted. 

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Last week, at the school’s annual fund-raising golf day at the Pretoria Country Club, parents held a peaceful protest against the racism experienced by their children at the school as well as the lack of diversity and the slow pace of transformation.

Parents and learners also gathered at the school this morning. They handed a memorandum against racism and the lack of transformation at the school to the school management and to Lesufi.

Parents also called on the school’s principal to resign for what they say is his failure to ensure an anti-discriminatory and non-racial environment at the school.

Learners at the school shared their traumatic experiences on video. Some said their teachers told them that black people come from apes.

Others said they have been referred to as “bloody k*ffirs”.

The learners also said they are not allowed to speak their mother tongues at the school and their natural hair is often called messy and dirty.

Singo Ravele, a learner at the school, shared how racism at the school has affected her.

Singo shared her first and most vivid memory when she was only in the fourth grade.

I was so happy to he accepted into the school, she said.

“And as a child I began to imagine a fairy-tale for myself. And that didn’t happen. Very soon that dream died,” said the girl.

“It died when a community that I loved did not love me back.

“And although I managed to find friends,” she said and began to cry, covering her face with her hand.

At this point, another girl walked to Singo at the podium holding the placard: “Racists must leave Cornwall Hill College”. The words “racists” and “leave” boldened and highlighted in red. The girl stood at Singo’s side, silent.

Singo’s father walked to her at the podium and held her.

Other learners screamed words of encouragement and began to clap.

“… and although I managed to find friends,” Singo said, her voice breaking, “I didn’t manage to escape the discrimination.”

“And that is not a dream at all. It is a nightmare,” she said.

This is not the first time that Cornwall Hill College is In the news because of racism.

Former Cornwall Hill College learner Kholofelo Mashitisho said, “I went to Cornwall Hill College, I am so glad these kids are doing what we were scared to do. I am proud.”

She added that at the high school, “you raise your voice, you get expelled”.

Another former pupil and head boy said: “I stand and fully support the class of 2021 calling out racism and standing up for a fully inclusive CHC (sic). Why has the school’s leadership ignored such accounts of racism for so long? Racists are not welcome, they must leave,” he said.

Addressing parents, media and learners this morning, Gauteng education MEC said: “I am worried about time, we committed that we will conclude this session by 07:30 so that we can demonstrate to those that think we are not human beings that we can adhere to time as well.

Lesufi said they, “these people”, may have oppressed our grandparents and succeeded. They may have oppressed our parents and succeeded, but they will not oppress our children and our children’s children, said Lesufi.

“It ends here, and it stops here,” said Lesufi.

He said his discussion with the school leadership was clear in that the school management had to go back to the negotiating table and make it clear everyone is very welcome in the school.

This was met with applause.

He added that the school management must stop “with the obsession with the hair of our children”.

In his address, Lesufi declared “racism ends here and goes no further”. The MEC made commitments that the school will have teachers that represent everyone.

He said all the policies will be reviewed so that they become accommodative.

The South African Reserve Bank Governor, Lesetja Kganyago, also took part in the morning protest.

Kganyago said his protest was done in his capacity as a parent and not as the SARB governor.

Kganyago held a placard with the words: “We stand by our children. No to racism”.

Kganyago ‘s daughter is a learner at the school.

He said there is systemic racism at Cornwall Hill College.

“The number of black learners has never been more than 25%. Secondly, the school has 66 educators and five of them are black and three of those black educators are concentrated in the Sepedi department,” Kganyago said.

Learners at the school also said there were incidents of racism including being separated at the tuckshop lines based on race. White learners would have their own line, while black learners had their own line.

Lesufi said that no one was out for revenge for what had happened in the past but he was pleading for inclusivity.

“We will have teachers that represent all of us and all the policies will be reviewed, so I urge you to protect this school. But in protecting this school, we must not protect the wrong things. Even those that hate non-racialism, this is the future and no one can stop it,” Lesufi said.

Singo penned three testimonies into the addendum that was later handed to Lesufi and the school’s management.

Singo said her first and very vivid memory of racism happened when she was only in the fourth grade. She said she was  happily on my way to break when a teacher stopped her.

“She had this big frown that swallowed me whole.

“She looked me dead in the eyes and said, ‘Your hair’s unpresentable, it is messy and it’s not the Cornwall way.’ She also proceeded to tell me that I would look better if I chemically straightened my hair.

“When I got older, I became angry. I was stripped from my African identity. And that was one time, one moment, one person,” she said.

Leon Kunneke, Executive Principal at Cornwall Hill College said the school was aware at the peaceful protest action around diversity and transformation of the school. He said the school acknowledges the parents’ pleas and recognise the importance of active and inclusive engagement.

He said the school’s board is unequivocally committed to transformation.

“Matters relating to diversity are being revisited,” he said.

“They include hair policy, anti-discriminatory policy and a framework where matters of concern raised by pupils, past and present, could be addressed,” said Kunneke.

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This comes after 15-year-old grade 10 pupil from Xolani High School in the Eastern Cape Avethandwa Nokhangela drowned while attending a leadership camp at Palm Springs Resort outside East last month.

Makaneta said the teaching community is extremely disturbed by the news of the untimely death of Avethandwa passing.

Makaneta asked that the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education institute an enquiry into Avethandwa’s death “with a view to ensure that the NGO is held accountable for the incident that has caused trauma and shock to the entire country”, he said.

“It should be clear from preliminary reports that Equal Education failed to protect the life of Avethandwa, and they should therefore take full responsibility and apologise to the nation.

“Equally they should offer to appear before the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education even before they are called to explain themselves,” said Makaneta.

Equal Education has since released a statement that its law centre is leading an independent investigation and will conclude a fact-finding process.

The NGO said its national council has appointed an independent panel to review the process and make finding on the circumstances surrounding learner’s passing.

“It has not been easy to respond to some criticism in the media around the immediate disclosure of what happened on 29 April.

“We believe that the compassionate approach – which was to prioritise support to the grieving family, learners and our staff – was the correct one in the circumstances. We also chose to respect Avethandwa’s family’s request for space after laying her to rest. Not only would divulging details in these circumstances have been insensitive and uncaring, it would prejudice the Equal Education Law Centre’s fact finding inquiry and the work of the independent panel,” said the Equal Education’s board.

Last week Department of Basic Education spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga also criticised the NGO.

“So many unanswered questions yet Equal Education is nowhere to take responsibility and shed light publicly on what really happened regarding Avethandwa’s death,” said Mhlanga.

In response, Equal Education’s Professor Mary Metcalfe said the loss of Avethandwa is terrible – and in such tragic circumstances for the family.

“But it is unfair to take such a hostile attitude to Equal Education. Let the enquiry inform us of what can all learn from this incident,” said Metcalfe.

Adding that she regards the NGO as an asset to the country.

Mhlanga, Like Makaneta, said the department has not taken a hostile attitude against the NGO but that Equal Education must account like everyone else.

Makaneta said Equal Education as an NGO should not only fight for equality, but they must also obey the laws of the country by ensuring that the lives of the children under their care are protected.

“It cannot be correct that such a young life was lost whilst under the care of the NGO,” he said.

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SIU said it has been granted a preservation order to the value of R40.7 million by the Special Tribunal to freeze bank accounts and assets belonging to 14 service providers that were contracted by Gauteng Education to decontaminate schools to the tune of R431 million.

SIU Spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said the investigation by SIU revealed that the Gauteng Education Department did not follow due process in the procurement of services to decontaminate schools during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The SIU approached the Special Tribunal for preservation order to freeze accounts with the sum of R6 million and assets with an estimated value of over R4.7 million belonging to seven companies, five individuals and two family trusts.

“Some of the names of companies who were appointed to decontaminate schools were supplied to the provincial education department via WhatsApp by the department’s own officials,” said Kganyago.

Adding that the majority of the companies whose assets have now been frozen were not only unaccredited but were not even based in the province.

Kganyago said the order includes assets such as two Mercedes Benz V Class, Landrover, Range Rover Sport, Haval H6 and Toyota Avanza.

He added that the collaboration with the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) was very effective.

“The FIC assisted – and based on the information presented by the investigating team, issued intervention directions to place a hold on R30 million of the funds received from the Education Department,” said Kganyago.

He added that the action was pursued after seven service providers started withdrawing the funds received from the department.

“A portion of the funds were transferred to multiple beneficiaries who have, in turn, disposed of them,” he said.

Between June and August 2020, the Gauteng Department of Education spent more than R431-million on sanitising schools.

The money was paid to hundreds of companies, many of which appeared to have no expertise or prior involvement in the cleaning industry.

At the time, departmental spokesperson Steve Mabona said the large expense could be justified in that it was necessary to allay fears of teachers, unions, SGBs and parents.

Kganyago said the procurement process followed by GDE was “haphazard, unfair and littered with procurement irregularities”.

He said the department obtained a deviation under Treasury regulations to conduct the procurement process without inviting competitive bids.

“The department did so on the basis that emergency procurement was warranted, given the urgent and pressing need to appoint service providers to decontaminate schools exposed to Covid-19,” said Kganyago.

Adding that the Treasury expressly stated that the request for the deviation appoint accredited service providers from the Central Supplier Database.

However, this was not done. The SIU investigation revealed that the department failed to comply with the express requirement of the deviation.

Kganyago said the vast majority of service providers that were appointed,173 out of 280, were not accredited and were not on the CSD.

“On this basis alone, the SIU will argue before the Special Tribunal that the procurement process was unlawful and falls to be reviewed and set aside,” he said.

Adding that the investigation also revealed that the procurement process was not cost-effective.

“The service providers were not paid per square meter of the area cleaned. Rather, a senior official in the department appears to have arbitrarily decided to offer a fee of R250 000 to R270 000 for the decontamination of primary schools; R250 000 to R290 000 for secondary schools; and R250 000 to R300 000 for district offices.

“The fees bear no relation to the work done by service providers or the cost of material used. The selection and appointment of suppliers was done in a haphazard, unfair and inequitable manner,” said Kganyago.

The order prohibits Fikile Mpofana Pty Ltd, Insimu Projects Pty Ltd, Insimu Consulting Pty Ltd, Insimu Medical Group, Mangaliso Pty Ltd, Lisondalo Pty Ltd, Zenaldo Consulting Pty Ltd, Sigwile Bright Mhlongo, Fikile Eugenia Mpofana, Lindokuhle Bridget Mkhize, Njabulo Mabaso, Richard Mweli, Shuphula Family Trust, and Madangu Family Trust from dealing with the funds held in the bank accounts and assets.

Kganyago said the SIU would in the next month launch review proceedings in the Special Tribunal, and also seek an order against the service providers to pay back all profits as consequence of their appointment.

He added that evidence pointing to criminal conduct will be referred to the National Prosecuting Authority, as well as the Hawks in the South African Police Service for further action.

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This comes after one of the screeners at the educator’s school tested positive for Covid-19.

The teacher said they were told to come back to school only two days after the incident even though the screener had been in contact with everyone at the school.

“On Monday the school had to close down because one of the screeners tested positive. The shocking part is that they only gave the schools two days to fumigate and do everything.

“My main concern is how are they allowing us to come back after two days when that lady was in contact with everyone at school,” said the teacher who cannot be named for fear of victimisation.

Just yesterday, Free State Education MEC Tate Makgoe reported that a learner from Lephola Secondary School in Thabong, Welkom has died from Covid-19 complications.

Makgoe said the school was closed on Wednesday following the incident and will re-open on Monday.

The MEC said eight learners have also tested positive for the virus and eight more are awaiting the results.

One learner succumbed to the Covid 19 related complications, said Makgoe.

The Free State province has been hard hit by the pandemic.

Covid-19 numbers have in recent weeks been rising in the Free State, leading some to fear that the province might be at the beginning of a third wave of infections.

Questions are also being asked about the ability of the healthcare system to cope with a potential third wave and its ability to rapidly roll out vaccines.

According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), at a provincial level, the Free State province is currently experiencing a third wave. As of Thursday, 102 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported with four deaths Eastern Cape, six in the Free State, 24 in Gauteng, four KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo five, Mpumalanga four, North West 45, Northern Cape 0 and Western Cape nine which brings the total deaths in the country to 56 077.

NICD said in the past week, the Northern Cape Province reported the highest weekly incidence risk at 170.3 cases per 100 000 persons. This is followed by the Free State Province with 83.2 cases per 100 000 persons and the North West Province at 41.4 cases per 100 000 persons.

The Free State teacher said, “We are at risk but we were told we are going to have to come back with a stringent plan in terms of how we are going to have to make up for the time lost.”

“This is when we realised that these people are saying no to our request to stay for a week at home and self isolate. We may as well go back to school after those two days,” said the educator.

The educator added: “Sometimes the sad reality is that as much as Covid-19 is killing people, we are being requested to be at school and apply all these rules. In the end, they don’t really care.”

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Yonwabo Manyanya died of hunger and fatigue at the age of 26.

It is alleged that after NSFAS failed to pay her allowance and tuition fees, Manyanya was evicted from her college residence. She allegedly died of hunger and fatigue after spending three days sleeping outside campus.

Manyanya was studying towards a diploma in electrical and infrastructure construction at eThekwini TVET College

The delays in NSFAS funding have caused much outrage across institutions of higher education.

Earlier this month students from the University of South Africa (Unisa) took to twitter this weekend stating that they have not received their NSFAS allowances.

One student said he has been surviving just on water alone. Another said they cannot afford to pay for transport and are forced to walk about 30 minutes to an hour to reach university campus ground. Another said they do not have money to buy data to access coursework material placed online.

In an interview, Unisa Vice-Chancellor Puleng LenkaBula said I truly regretted the situation currently faced by her students saying that NSFAS payments were a structural issue out of the university’s hands.

“Our challenges and complexities derive from the centralisation of NSFAS.

“We depend on NSFAS sending information and also transferring funding  to students that are registered with Unisa.  So even to confirm whether a student is registered or not, we have to engage with NSFAS,” said LenkaBula.

On Monday, Inside Education reported that NSFAS board chairperson, Ernest Khosa, said the funding scheme’s student-centred model is one of the reasons for delays in funding decisions including appeals processing and disbursements.

Khosa said because of the student-centred model, the time it takes for appeals processing, disbursements, weak queries resolution mechanism, policy issues such as the N+ 2 rule, absentee parents, postgraduate funding, and student accommodation takes longer than it should.

The NSFAS board chairperson said the funding scheme’s organisational structure is not aligned to the student-centred model.

NSFAS CEO Andile Nongogo said NSFAS is continuing to receive registration data from institutions to process which will allow the funding scheme to be able to make more payments for students.

“The processing and disbursement of allowances to institutions to ensure that students do not sleep hungry has already commenced.

“However, we are aware of some delays in payments as a result of system integration challenges and delayed registration data that needs to be submitted by institutions,” said Nongogo.

Some students have taken to social media to demand answers and voice their concerns.

One student said they think NSFAS is overwhelmed and need better administration of student funding. “For started we need to get SETAs that administer student bursaries out of NSFAS otherwise the problem will persist.”

“The one thing we do not speak of is the poor administration and communication between NSFAS and institutions of higher learning. It is all just messy. We deserve better,” said the student.

Student leader Mthobisi Magudulela said there were many students at the TVET college who had been evicted from their dwellings and had resorted to camping outside the campus hoping for assistance.

Magudulela said the student leadership at the college has received reports of students committing suicide because of the anxiety arising from financial exclusion.

“The tragic death of Yonwabo highlights the neglect and harsh realities faced by poor students at eThekwini college. Her death should not go unpunished. NSFAS, together with the management of the college, must be held to account,” said Magudulela.

He added that for weeks now students have been sleeping outside the campus and some are squatting with friends because landlords have evicted them for non-payment.

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The fake news poster comes after calls made by unions in the country to shut down schools following the acceleration of Covid-19 infection rates across schools in South Africa.

This also follows the department’s decision to immediately suspend all contact sport at schools last week.

DBE Spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said the national department was aware of a manipulated image doing rounds purporting to be an announcement from DBE Minister Angie Motshekga.

Mhlanga said the department wished to dismiss the poster and image as fake news.

“We continue to urge members of the public to be vigilant and verify sources of information they read before sharing it on social media.

“This kind of malicious content is created with the express intent to cause confusion and mislead the public,” said Mhlanga.

Mhlanga added that the department will use credible media platforms to communicate should there be developments in the sector.

The Educators’ Union of South Africa (EUSA) last week called for the immediate shutdown of all South African schools.

EUSA said this is because some provinces are experiencing the beginnings of the third wave coronavirus outbreak. The union said public schools still lacked PPEs and this was the cause of the increased cases of infected learners and teachers.

Scelo Bhengu, EUSA President, said with Gauteng, Free State and the Eastern Cape having declared that they have reached a third wave, it is inevitable the whole country will be in third wave soon.

Bhengu said Kwazulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, the North West and the Western Cape have been reported to also be experiencing sustained increases over the last few weeks.

“Schools are central to the contribution of the resurgence as safety protocols are being ignored mostly by principals,” said Bhengu.

South Africa is seeing a resurgence in Covid-19 cases.

Last week the Council of Education Ministers took a decision to suspend all contact sports in schools with immediate effect. DBE spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said the cancellation of contact sports comes after provinces such as Gauteng, North West and the Free State saw a rise in Covid-19 cases among learners. 

“It is evident that despite following the protocols as guided by the directions on extramural activities and standard operating procedure on the prevention, containment and management of Covid-19 in schools, contact sports events still contribute to the spread of Covid-19,” said Mhlanga.

Cabinet is set to meet on Wednesday to discuss recommendations from the national coronavirus command centre on how to address the virus threat.

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The Democratic Alliance (DA) has condemned the behaviour of the School Governing Bodies (SGB) at Moses Kotane and Julius Sebolai Primary Schools in Braamfischer, Soweto for disrupting learning this week. 

On Monday, there were reports that the two schools governing bodies were picketing outside the schools and prohibiting learners from entering the schools’ premises.

Khume Ramulifho, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education said the newly elected SGB wants power to control the school finances and so, they decided to picket and disrupt learning and teaching at the school. 

The school governing bodies were recently appointed in schools across the country, in what was deemed the largest public elections after national, provincial, and local elections. This is because more than five million people usually cast their votes for the SGBs.

Basil Manuel, executive manager the National Professional Teachers Organisation of South Africa said schools SBGs should not think they are school managers.

“The SGB is in charge of governance and we must make it very clear that there is a clear distinction between the governance of the school and the management of the school,” said Manuel. 

“The governing body cannot disrupt schooling. They in fact have the exact opposite mandate and their mandate must be to ensure that schooling happens,” he added.

The DA called on the Gauteng Education Department to intervene on the issue with both schools. 

Ramulufho said the DA spoke to the head of department at Gauteng education who said they would send their district team to intervene. Adding that the SGB needs to find better ways to solve issues and not disrupt teaching and learning at school. 

“The SGB is the voice of the parents, if they are unhappy with things, they need to draw the attention of management to the issue but can’t act without having involved the education department and principal,” said Manuel. 

Ramulifho said learners cannot afford to lose days as they are on a rotational basis which means they do not attend class every day. 

“We need to ensure that we protect the time afforded to learners at school, parents can contact the department for other issues,” said Ramulifho. 

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The Department of education in Limpopo has welcomed the resignation of the 50-year-old teacher accused of raping an 18-year-old from Mbilwi Secondary school. 

The 50-year-old was arrested after a case was opened against him, accusing him of raping the learner back in 2018.

He allegedly raped her at a lodge in Louis Trichardt and at his home at Ha-Makhuvha village outside Thohoyandou. 

“The resignation was accepted and processed accordingly, he has since been removed from our system,” said Limpopo education department spokesperson, Tidimalo Chuene. 

 The accused is still in custody for the alleged offence and it is being reported that he raped the learner repeatedly. 

“As indicated earlier, we deem accusations against him serious and worrying. As parents we leave our children in the care of educators to build and nurture them into responsible adults,” said Chuene.

The accused is expected to apply for bail in the Thohoyandou Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. 

“The idea of one taking advantage of children in this alleged manner is disturbing, we hope justice prevails in this case,” said Chuene.

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The court case to fight the eradication of pit toilets in Limpopo schools, originally set to be heard by the High Court of South Africa Limpopo Division on Monday has been postponed.

Dr Faranaaz Veriava, head of education rights programme at Section27 said the organisation is “extremely disappointed” that this matter is not heard in court as planned.

Veriava said the case was set to be heard before Judge Muller by the Registrar, however, the judge was not available on that date.

She said Section27 will be asking for a date at the soonest possible opportunity for this matter to be heard.

She added that the organisation is waiting to receive an alternative court hearing date from the High Court in Polokwane.

“Given the seriousness of the matter, and because learners’ rights and lives are at stake, we are requesting a preferential date. We will communicate the new dates and details with media in due course,” said Veriava.

In 2018 the court ordered the Department of Basic Education and the Limpopo Department of Education to file plans to eradicate pit toilets and provide the court with an updated audit of sanitation needs at schools in the province.

“We are saying that ‘plans’ made to eradicate pit toilets at schools in the province are not good enough. These plans are not reasonable in terms of the law and claim that pit toilets can only be eradicated from all Limpopo schools by the end of 2030. This is unconstitutional,” said Veriava.

 Adding that the organisation is requesting that the court order education authorities file a new, consolidated plan about how they will urgently replace all pit toilets at schools in the province and replace them with appropriate sanitation.

We are also calling for better oversight and monitoring of delivery, she added.

“Unless a more comprehensive, urgent and coherent plan is implemented, thousands of learners will be at risk of dying or being injured at schools with unsafe toilets for the next decade,” she said.

The order to eradicate pit toilets in the province was handed down after Michael Komape died after he fell into a pit toilet.

Veriava said it has been seven years since Michael died and three years since the structural interdict was handed down requiring that the department of basic education develop a plan for the eradication of pit toilets in Limpopo.

“The ongoing violation of the rights of poor learners because of unsafe and undignified toilets must be remedied,” she said.

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Reports say it took a protest by parents to get the department of education in Gauteng to suspend the educator who was filmed while allegedly meting out corporal punishment to a grade R pupil.

The teacher from Nchuncheko Primary School in Soshanguve trended on social media after a video of her emerged beating a grade R learner.

The little boy in the video can be heard crying in the clip while the woman hit him several times on his head.

The provincial department said the teacher was immediately removed from the school and was reported to the district office pending a disciplinary hearing on Monday.

Mabona said a disciplinary hearing held on Monday found the teacher guilty and recommended her immediate dismissal.

Mabona said the teacher was on Tuesday served with the outcome of the disciplinary hearing.

“We can confirm that the disciplinary process, which was instituted upon finding out about the video, took place on Monday. The process was concluded with the immediate dismissal verdict of the grade R practitioner,” said Mabona.

“As the GDE, we are fully behind the school’s decision to dismiss the practitioner as it sends out a strong message to everyone working with learners at our schools never to use violence as a form of disciplinary measure,” said Mabona. 

He added that the department’s psycho-social unit has been dispatched to the school to offer counselling to the affected learner.

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The Department of Basic Education (DBE) has said it is all systems go for the May/June National Senior Certificate examinations (NSC) for the 2021 academic year. 

Learners across the country will start their exams on Wednesday and finish on 7 July, said Minister Angie Motshekga. Motshekga added that the exams will take place over a 6 week period.

The May/June National Senior Certificate examinations were initially set to start on May 5 but were postponed to May 26.

Motshekga said this was recorded as the largest examination to ever be administered in the country’s history.

“Its all systems go and everything is in place,” said DBE spokesperson, Elijah Mhlanga. 

In 2020, learners across the country were not able to sit down for their May/June examinations due to the country being under a hard lockdown owing to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Instead, the DBE combined the May/June exams with the November/December ones which saw a total number of 1,058,699 learners sitting to write between 5 November until 15 December. 

The department said accountancy learners will sit for paper one of the subject.

“The measures that the DBE used in 2020 for the November examinations will be used again this year for the May/June exams,” said Mhlanga. 

Social distancing is one of the basic requirements and learners including staff following the Covid-19 regulations.

“We are confident that the exams will proceed as planned,” added Mhlanga.

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Research shows that over 3500 teachers have died from coronavirus related complications country wide.

Mugwena Maluleke, SADTU general secretary said the union is very clear about their position that all teachers have to be vaccinated. We are also encouraging all those teachers who are eligible for vaccination to register.

“We have said please allow yourself and take that particular decision as an individual to be vaccinated because we need to save lives,” said Maluleke.

Maluleke added that there has been constant communication with teachers from the union to get vaccinated.

He added: “We have communication with the department of [basic] education. The Department of Education is not responsible for vaccinations and therefore, we need to be able to send a very clear message to the National Command Council that is responsible for this as well as those responsible for the vaccine.

“We are working day and night to make sure that the message is sent through to say enough is enough, we cannot have our children not being taught because the teachers are not well,” said Maluleke.

Maluleke added that the union believed that teachers would be the next group vaccinated after healthcare workers and that the vaccine rollout has been confusing.

“We are demanding for a date for teacher vaccinations to take place and we encourage teachers to register,” he said.

The call to prioritize teachers in Covid-19 education responses is not new.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has also urged all countries to prioritize teachers in national COVID-19 vaccine rollout plans to ensure education can continue safely and schools remain open.  

As early as March 2020, the International Taskforce on Teachers for Education 2030 launched an international Call for Action on Teachers to highlight critical measures that countries should take to support teachers in the global pandemic, including the “protection of teachers’ and students’ health, safety and well-being”.

This was reaffirmed during the Extraordinary session of the Global Education Meeting, convened by UNESCO in October 2020, where Heads of State and Ministers committed to support all teachers and education personnel as frontline workers, and to prioritize their health and safety.

On 14 December 2020, UNESCO and Education International urged countries to include teachers as a priority group in national vaccination rollout plans to curb the spread of Covid-19 and protect teachers and students in an effort to ensure the continuation of learning and a safe return to in-person teaching.

However, this has still not been done in South Africa.

Maluleke said SADTU has been patient given that healthcare workers needed to be first prioritised, “but now government needs to provide clearer communication on what’s next”.

The general secretary said teachers are also front-line workers.

Professor Mary Metcalfe said anyone can register “now” for the vaccination.

“We need to push for a special registration category for teachers and to prioritize their vaccination.

“We will soon know when teachers are able get the vaccine as a group and as front-line critical workers serving the national interest,” she said.

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Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) MEC Panyaza Lesufi said any educator or official who preys on learners has no place in the education system.

Lesufi said all educators and officials have a sacrosanct duty of ensuring learners placed in their care are safe and protected.

Lesufi said this at the Tembisa Magistrate court last Thursday where the teacher suspected of rape made his first court appearance.

“We will continue to support the victim and all affected by this alleged incident.

“We can only imagine the anger and disappointment the family of the learner is going through following the betrayal of their trust by a person they trusted,” said Lesufi.

Inside Education reported last week that the teacher went on the run for several days since the alleged incident occurred on the school property. The man only handed himself over to the police on Wednesday last week.

GDE Spokesperson Steve Mabona said the department can confirm the suspect tendered a letter of resignation which will undergo all the necessary departmental processes.

At the time, GDE said the man will also be charged with absconding as he had left work without permission.

Meanwhile the South African Human Rights Commission in Limpopo conducted a three-day provincial hearing into bullying, corporal punishment and sexual assault by educators in the province.

The hearings were held following the passing of teenage Lufuno Mavhunga who committed suicide after being bullied by another pupil.

During its three-day hearing in the province this week, the commission heard how incidents of bullying, sexual assault and heavy-handed educators were often swept under the carpet by teachers or other authorities.

According to the South African Council of Educators (SACE) representative, George Moroasui, South Africa recorded 209 cases of corporal punishment and 122 cases of sexual abuse of learners by teachers in 2019.

Moroasui said SACE still finds it difficult to get information from the Department of Education of teachers practicing corporal punishment and those who have previous cases of sexual relationships with learners against them.

Adding that at times school management and school governing bodies hide such cases instead of reporting them to the police.

South Africa Principals Association’s Mashudu Ramulumo reported at the hearings that many pupil-teacher sex cases not reported by principals.

Ramulumo said only those principals who were bold enough to implement policy are the ones who come forward and report.

“Yes, it is true. So many cases are not reported. Some principals do not have the right skills to compile a case to report to the department,” he said.

Mamahloli Masipa, the child protection manager at Save the Children SA added that corporal punishment continues to be used at these schools.

Masipa said her organisation works with a number of schools around Limpopo and they have discovered that principals choose to hide incidents of violence at their schools.

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The university team will be led by Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, Wits Vice-Chancellor and Principal, with Professor Emeritus Barry Dwolatzky (project lead), Professor Nithaya Chetty, Dean of the Faculty of Science, as the champion for scientific engagement, and Dr Roy Forbes as the engagement coordinator.

The team will lead Africa’s effort to advance artificial intelligence research and its application across the continent, said Vilakazi.

He added that the university team will work closely with the Cirrus team that was announced at AI Expo Africa in 2020.

Priorities and challenges

Wits University said it focused on two priorities – academic and government.

“The academic aspect will support the establishment of the AI Africa (AIA) Consortium which provides the mechanism for bringing together academic and research institutions with a vested interested in the success and sustainability of Cirrus as Africa’s artificial intelligence effort. While the government focus will be on the adoption of Cirrus and the support for local academic and research institutions to invigorate AI research and to further the application of AI across various academic and industrial domains,” said Vilakazi.

Vilakazi said Cirrus is the largest and most complex undertaking of its kind in Africa’s history. However, the major challenges are neither financial nor technological.

“Rather, it is rallying the academic and research institutions in Africa for there to be a critical mass of research and applications that can fully leverage the capabilities that will be established with Cirrus,” said the vice-chancellor.

Most of the institutions participating in the AIA Consortium will be publicly funded academic institutions from across the continent.

With Wits University, Cirrus now has a leading university on the continent and a competent team to spearhead this important work.

South African and numerous other African universities currently host various academic and industrial research groups.

Gregg Barrett, Founder of Cirrus said these groups are involved in activities ranging from environmental and climate change research, medical research to materials research and energy storage development and design.

“Most if not all these existing research thrusts could benefit significantly from incorporating AI methodologies in their research activities. Furthermore, in working together as opposed to working in isolated groups the impact of the research will also be improved,” said Barrett.

He added that the establishment of Cirrus is a rallying call to the academic and research institutions in Africa for there to be a critical mass of research and applications that can fully leverage the capabilities that will be established with Cirrus.

“We at Wits have been on a long journey with Cirrus to bring all of the elements of this ambitious partnership into place. We are hoping to soon begin to sign up members of the AI Africa (AIA) Consortium and to see tangible benefits flowing from our engagement with Cirrus,” said Wits project lead Dwolatzky.

Dwolatzky said Wits University’s looks extend beyond the AIA Consortium and includes catalysing necessary strategic policy engagements with government to ensure impact on important research and societal objectives.

“The critical strategic steps that need to be taken in Africa have long been spoken about and now is the time for action. As Marc Andreessen recently pointed out, a takeaway from the COVID-19 pandemic is that people need to think about their occupation and contribution to society. If you are not helping people directly, and your occupation does not lead to something being built and contributes little to society, you are failing yourself. Cirrus represents Africa’s collective opportunity to move past the talk and get building on solving real problems with significant societal impacts,” says Barrett.

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This comes after many students from different higher education institutions across the country took to social media to say they cannot afford food, pay for reading materials or attend classes because of delays in NSFAS payments.

NSFAS CEO Andile Nongogo said NSFAS is continuing to receive registration data from institutions to process which will allow the funding scheme to be able to make more payments for students.

“The processing and disbursement of allowances to institutions to ensure that students do not sleep hungry has already commenced.

“However, we are aware of some delays in payments as a result of system integration challenges and delayed registration data that needs to be submitted by institutions,” said Nongogo.

Khosa said because of the student-centred model, the time it takes for appeals processing, disbursements, weak queries resolution mechanism, policy issues such as the N+ 2 rule, absentee parents, postgraduate funding, and student accommodation takes longer than it should.

The NSFAS board chairperson said the funding scheme’s organisational structure is not aligned to the student-centred model.

Khosa was speaking at a media briefing following the NSFAS Board address to the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Science and Technology last week.

According to NSFAS, the briefing was on the important role the financial aid scheme has played in the country, as well as some of the problems encountered by the scheme.

 “We met with the portfolio committee today to discuss these issues,” said Khosa.

Khosa said it is public knowledge that in 2018, the scheme was converted into a fully bursary fund from being a provider of student loans.

He said given that there was a short time to execute this new mandate, the scheme was not appropriately designed and prepared to handle this change.

“Consequently, this led to operational challenges that are widely known, which ultimately contributed to the organisation being placed under administration,” said Khosa.

He said the lack of consequence management and the lack institutional performance management continue to mar the organisation.

He added that other challenges include negative audit outcomes as well as systems that are not fully responsive to the core business of the organisation.

“In today’s engagement with the portfolio committee, the board shared its strategies to address amongst other issues, the issues listed.

“On the student funding, we will support the work of the department of higher education and training in assessing funding mechanisms. Furthermore, the board is developing a fund-raising strategy.

“On the student-centred model, we have commissioned an application system and process that will make real time funding eligibility decisions,” said Khosa.

He added that appeals will be immediate for new students and for continuing students a new appeal portal will be introduced in the second semester which will assist in timely decision making.

However, despite these challenges, we have offered some strategies to resolve them to the portfolio committee. Adding that the scheme has also continued to grow in spite of these challenges.

He said 1 263 671 students have been assessed as eligible for funding in the current academic year.

He added that 712 428 of these students were first time higher education entry students and 551 243 were continuing students.

Of these figures, 940 226 students are at the country’s universities while 323 445 are registered with Technical and vocational education and training (TVETs).

“There were 254 826 students funded, and 40 564 graduates were produced in 2017. In 2018 these number grew by 41,84% leading to 361 449 students funded, and 59 249 graduates were produced. In the current tenure of the new board, we have higher achievements – 1 263 671 students have been assessed as eligible for funding,” said Khosa.

Khosa said the board was working with the department of higher education and training to explore some funding policy issues.

He said the board has also established the Human Resources, Ethics and Remuneration Committee, Operations Committee, ICT Steering Committee to dedicate attention to some of the challenges faced by the organisation.

Khosa said the NSFAS board has also dedicated attention to addressing negative audit outcomes.

“While there is still a need to improve the control environment, we will be in a position to submit our financial statements within the statutory deadlines,” said Khosa.

“However,” he warned, “it should be noted that some issues can only be fully resolved over a longer period,” he said.

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Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga told parliament on Thursday that her department has prioritised the strategic implementation of a curriculum that will include fourth industrial revolution (4IR) material in all public schools.

The new curriculum will include skills material on Coding and Robotics for Grades R-3 and 7. Motshekga said the curriculum will also include a new level subject, Marine Sciences.

Motshekga was addressing the National Assembly where she presented her department’s 2021/22 budget vote.

The minister told the assembly that adjustments that were effected to the 2020 MTEF budget allocations, which changed the baseline allocations for the ensuing three to five year period, have a direct bearing on the 2021/22 budget allocation she was presenting.

“Firstly, the overall 2021/22 MTEF budget allocation R27 billion, an increase of 15.5% from the 2020/21 revised overall baseline budget allocation. Secondly, the overall allocation for Condition Grants is R20.7 billion, an increase of 20.2% from last year’s revised baseline,” said Motshekga.

Motshekga added R16.2 million was allocated as the general budget support for the department’s systematic improvement of language and numeracy in foundation phase as well as another R19.9 million allocated for technology for Grade 7-9.

“These new allocations will go a long way to ensuring the roll-out of these two strategic programmes,” she said.

Other allocations include R3.7 billion allocation for earmarked funding and transfer payments of R1.6 billion.

The Minister said a state-of-the-art digital platform had been developed for training of teachers for Coding and Robotics. 

“Orientation materials, lesson plans and coding programmes, have been uploaded onto this digital platform,” said Motshekga.

Coding is essentially written instructions that a robot or computer program can read and then execute. 

Robotics allows students to see their thinking in a real way as they go through trial and error until the task is accomplished and the robot’s motions are performed as originally intended.

She said the draft Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) documents for Grades R-9 for Coding and Robotics has been submitted to Umalusi for appraisal and quality assurance.

“Preparation for training of officials, the appointment of service providers by ETDP-SETA has been concluded, and Service Level Agreements have been signed,” said the minister. 

In March, DBE gazetted the draft Coding and Robotics curriculum for public comments. Motshekga said the Sasol Foundation funded the orientation of the Coding and Robotics National Training team held the same month.

In response to the announcement of Coding and Robotics, the Democratic Alliance’s Shadow Minister of Basic Education Baxolile Nodada said the party welcomes this announcement by the Minister. 

“The DA has been calling for a lot of advancement in basic education, we are pleased that the principle of taking innovation forward is going ahead in basic education,” said Nodada. 

Nodada said the party’s only concern is that the minister only prioritised 18 schools which means other learners will not get this opportunity. 

“This means only 2 schools per province can be piloted for this particular curriculum on Coding and Robotics,” said Nodada.

The Minister also announced the introduction of a new Further Education and Training (FET) -level subject, Marine Sciences. 

“This is a very welcome addition to the bouquet of subjects we already offer; and it is particularly relevant to our National Development Programme (NDP) goals, since the Ocean Economy contributes over $6 billion toward our country’s Gross Domestic Product,” added Motshekga. 

This year, the first cohort of 13 grade 12 learners from South Peninsula High School, will be writing Marine Sciences as part of their 2021 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination. 

“Since the 2019 pilot, we are happy to report that the intake in Marine Sciences has since increased to more than three hundred (300) Grades 10 and 11 learners,” said Motshekga. Motshekga said South Africa can be proud that the offering of Marine Sciences is a world first as other countries only provide for Marine Biology and Oceanography to tertiary level students.

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The South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) said the North West Department of Education has failed to provide schools with educators two weeks into the new term.

George Themba, SADTU’s Provincial Secretary said what concerns the union most is that schools that have submitted their snap surveys within the 10-day deadline period given, have still not been provided with educators.

“The conduct by the [North West] officials responsible for finalising the Post Provisioning Norms [PPN] is unbecoming and highly unacceptable.

“It denies the learners the opportunity to be taught and surely that is against the spirit of Quality Learning and Teaching Campaign,” said Themba.

Snap surveys are surveys conducted by schools in the province which they then submit to the national department. The Department of Basic Education (DBE) is then supposed to use these surveys to assess school needs and Post Provisioning Norms information – these are requirements used by the national department to determine the number of teachers needed at a school.

According to the Department of Basic Education Rights Handbook PPNs are a name given to the process of assigning teachers to schools across South Africa.

The department explains this process as a mechanism that aims to ensure that each school is allocated the correct number of teachers.

“Once the whole teacher-post establishment is determined for the province, posts are then allocated to schools,” reads the handbook.

But according to Themba, the North West Department of Education continues to have large numbers of learners and not enough teachers to teach them.

Themba said with the magnitude of work and tasks schools are faced with, it is not feasible for  teachers to provide learners with quality education if they are short staffed. 

This is not a problem the national department is unaware of.

In February, DBE Minister Angie Motshekga announced that there was a shortage of 24 000 teachers in schools across the country. 

Motshekga said the North West province had an allocation of 26 556 posts for the current academic year of which 433 posts were vacant. 

At the time the minister said her department together with the provincial education departments would work on redeploying teachers to schools before the end of the first term. 

Inside Education spoke to North West Education spokesperson Elias Malindi who confirmed that there was indeed a delay in terms of allocation of the teachers for schools in the province.

Malindi said there would normally be a submission of a snap survey from the schools to determine the number of teachers needed in a school.

“I can confirm that the DBE has approved the snap surveys and provided the provincial department with PPN’s. We are in the process of providing teachers to all those schools where teachers have more than the proper ratio of learners to teach,” said Malindi. 

 Malindi said a problem experienced by the provincial department is that they do not have the exact statistics on how many teachers are needed. This is despite DBE having received snap surveys from schools, said Malindi.

Malindi told Inside Education he cannot confirm the number of teachers approved by the national department to be allocated at schools in his province. 

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