INSIDE EDUCATION REPORTER

THE direction to be considered in transforming the landscape of education in Africa, especially the need for innovative strategies such as integrating technology into education and revising curricula, is imperative said the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, when sharing her insights at a high-level conference on decolonisation in Johannesburg.

“These strategies can help bridge gaps exposed by recent crises and align with broader Sustainable Development Goals. It is a call to action to rethink and restructure educational frameworks in an equitable, inclusive and forward-thinking manner. By standing together and
pooling our resources and expertise, we can recover from current setbacks and build stronger, more enduring educational foundations for future generations in Africa,” she said.

Motshekga added that the journey towards building resilient education systems begins with a focus on Early Childhood Education (ECE). “According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), investing in Early Childhood Development (ECD) is highly efficient and effective for achieving equitable, sustainable growth,” she said.

Motshekga was speaking at the 10th Education International Africa Regional (EIRAF) Conference held at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg last month.

The Conference, which is a platform for the South African Government to share recent developments in the Basic Education Sector, as well as future plans around education reform, was attended by President Cyril Ramaphosa, accompanied by Basic Education Deputy Minister, Dr
Reginah Mhaule, with delegates from across the African continent.

Also present were Gauteng MEC for Education, Matome Chiloane; Executive Mayor of Johannesburg, Cllr Kabelo Gwamanda; Education International President, Susan Hopgood; Education International General-Secretary, Dr David Edwards; Education International African
Region Chairperson, Dr Christian Addai-Poku; Education International Africa Director, Dr Dennis Sinyolo; the President of the South African Democratic Teacher Union (SADTU), Magope Maphila; and SADTU General-Secretary, Mungwena Maluleka.

During the Conference, participants were afforded an opportunity to share common goals in terms of transforming and strengthening education systems in Africa under the theme, “Standing Together for Resilient Education Systems in Times of Crisis”.

Deputy Minister Mhaule stated that education systems should be robust enough to maintain continuity of learning in the face of adversity, yet sufficiently agile to evolve in response to new challenges and opportunities.

“This balance between steadfastness and adaptability is crucial in ensuring that our education systems can survive and thrive in times of crises.

In our deliberations, we must factor the educational aspirations that are articulated as guiding pillars of UNESCO’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030; as well as the African Union’s Continental Education Strategy for Africa, 2016-2025. These two frameworks are intended to reorient education systems of the world to meet the knowledge; competencies; skills; innovations; and creativity for a changing world, whilst promoting sustainable development.”

In his address, President Ramaphosa said that the decolonisation of education on the African continent has been long overdue. “The discussions at this Conference, focusing on tackling racism; decolonising education and promoting democracy; human rights; and trade union rights, are vital. We must challenge colonial theories and practices to build resilient education systems that are centred on African perspectives and experiences.

This requires a shift away from a Eurocentric worldview to embrace a more diverse and inclusive perspective. We must acknowledge and value the knowledge systems of all people and integrate them into our curricula and knowledge selection processes. The responsibility to nurture and defend the right to education extends to all spheres of society.”

President Ramaphosa considers education as the cornerstone upon which societies build their future. “Through education, we cultivate respect for human rights, the rule of law and the principles of democracy. As the work of the UN High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession demonstrates, the adaptation of education systems to a rapidly changing world is one of the most important tasks facing us. This panel draws expertise from diverse stakeholders, including

ministers of education; labour representatives; teacher unions; and civil society organisations. It underscores the importance of educators’ voices in finding solutions to educational challenges.”

The President added that educators play a fundamental and irreplaceable role in shaping societies, and their insights are invaluable in the quest for sustainable solutions. Curriculum reform that responds to the changing world of work is another vital task.

“In South Africa, we are on the brink of significant educational reform with the implementation of the Coding and Robotics curriculum from Grade R to Grade 9. This initiative is part of our broader strategy to integrate STEM subjects into our education system. By doing so, we aim to equip our learners with the digital skills necessary to thrive in a fast-paced world. Labour movements, civil society organisations and non-governmental organisations in the educational sphere must collaborate to protect this critical space. Through such partnerships, we can prepare our learners to be active, informed citizens in democratic societies. The role of organisations such as Education International are vital. As advocates for quality education, your mission is to ensure inclusive and equitable learning opportunities for all,” concluded the President.

INSIDE EDUCATION

Staff Reporter

THE Graduate Institute of Financial Sciences (GIFS) is leading the charge to save South Africa’s financial services sector from state capture, and possible long-term collapse. GIFS is challenging the Insurance Sector Education and Training Authority (INSETA), which appears to be ignoring its mandate to ‘grow the pool and quality of critical and scarce skills within the insurance sector.’

The work of thousands of professionals is now under threat, with the INSETA holding back 192 GIFS students’ full completion certificates, and those of 555 others who have completed skills programmes or achieved part-qualifications, some dating back to 2020. Hundreds more learners from other institutions are similarly affected.

Despite numerous requests, the training authority has failed to produce the certification, putting peoples’ jobs at risk. Worse still, it often unfairly blames the institutions when students complain.

A wider concern within the financial services sector is that the Skills Development Levy (which companies pay towards upskilling their staff) is growing annually, yet learnership funding has been reduced year-on-year. Employers who raise questions around the reduced funding and INSETA’s poor service delivery are seemingly victimised by having their funding further cut.

On 17 October 2023, GIFS wrote to the Public Protector to intervene, expressing concern that the INSETA was riddled with corruption. Despite it being framed as a neutral regulatory body, GIFS had also uncovered evidence that the INSETA was deliberately streaming prospective learners to one favoured learning institution whose educational practices have been called into question.

GIFS’ decision to tackle these issues head-on, has resulted in the INSETA launching a brazen public campaign to discredit GIFS, and drive it out of business, despite the educational institution’s crucial role in training the majority of South Africa’s insurance professionals. After the institute had closed its offices for the end-of-year holiday on 14 December 2023, the INSETA sent GIFS a letter at 5:38pm,
informing it of its immediate de-accreditation as a Skills Development Provider.

The move came as a shock to the respected, international award-winning educational institution, which has trained thousands of students from corporate South Africa in the last 18-years. GIFS programmes form part of the National Qualifications Framework and are approved by the South African Qualifications Authority.

In addition, the INSETA itself had awarded GIFS Full Accreditation status up to June 2024 in line with its practice of awarding certification annually.

But GIFS has risen to the INSETA’s challenge, turning to the courts to restore its accreditation. In an urgent High Court interdict on Thursday, 4 January 2024, GIFS’ legal counsel accused the INSETA of corporate bullying and victimisation. They argued that the INSETA’s withdrawal of GIFS’ accreditation was based on a GIFS fraud investigation report it compiled just over 2-years-ago, now under review in the courts. GIFS maintains the report is fraught with trumped-up allegations, overt bias, glaring irregularities and multiple procedural flaws, and has only held off on its legal review as the INSETA had renewed its accreditation after the report was finalised in 2021.

In view of this, the court ordered the INSETA:
To reinstate GIFS’ full accreditation within 24-hours;
To immediately withdraw all unlawful notifications the INSETA had distributed to industry stakeholders informing them of GIFS’s de-accreditation;
To reassure the public on its INSETA website and via e-mail of the full restoration of GIFS’
accreditation, and;
To pay the costs of GIFS’ legal counsel.

Unfortunately, the INSETA has ignored the court order.GIFS lists this as an example of the INSETA’s bad faith and says it cannot rule out that its December 14th de-accreditation stems from having reported the INSETA to the Public Protector, and to oversight body, the Quality Council for Trade and Occupations (QCTO), for incompetence over the certification delays. By December, the Public Protector had already confirmed to GIFS that it had asked INSETA for its response to the GIFS corruption allegations.

Still, GIFS CEO, Kershen Pillay, says the court’s finding is not just a victory for GIFS, but the entire financial services sector. “The impact of the INSETA’s conduct extends well beyond the effects on one educational institution and its learners. Thousands of accredited students have been left without proof of their qualifications and risk losing their livelihoods, while the unqualified, in possession of their fraudulent certificates, are allowed to dole out dodgy financial advice.”

Pillay goes on to say, “This represents the hollowing out of the country’s financial services industry, as has already occurred in many other South African sectors due to corruption and incompetence.”

There will be serious repercussions for those buying homes, motor vehicles, life- and short-term insurance, for pensioners and many others who will be forced to deal with individuals wholly unqualified to be advising clients on critical matters of personal finance. We, at GIFS, are therefore committed to playing our role in ensuring that ethical standards are respected and upheld in the financial services industry and that members of the public are protected.” Pillay is concerned that the QCTO has remained alarmingly silent in the face of the INSETA’s questionable conduct. “We again appeal to the QCTO to please exercise its oversight duty and intervene to help us save the
industry,” Pillay said.

INSIDE EDUCATION

Johnathan Paoli

THE national Department of Basic Education (DBE) is expected to release the results of the 2023 final matric exams later in the month.

DBE spokesperson, Elijah Mhlanga, said the department will announce the exam outcomes a day before the provisional release.

“We are on schedule. The minister will announce the pass rate for the class of 2023 on 18 January,” Mhlanga said.

The DBE noted that the 2023 exam period went off with only a few glitches, including 45 pupils who were found with crib notes in Gauteng and an impostor was caught in KwaZulu-Natal.

Mhlanga said that the department is set to meet with quality assurance body Umalusi on Friday, with preliminary meetings being held on the previous two days.

Meanwhile, the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has blamed a R790 million budget cut for its inability to build 21 new schools in the province.

WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond, said about 18,000 new learners from outside the province would need to be placed at the start of the school year.

Hammond said that the department was only able to build nine schools following the budget cuts from the national government in 2023.

“It’s nine new schools and then additional classrooms that we are placing onto existing schools and that equates to 608 additional classrooms,” Hammond said.

The department urged parents to be patient when trying to get their children placed in schools this year, as the budget cuts of June last year were heavily affecting the placement process.

Hammond said that the conditional grant for infrastructure was cut by R179 million, while a further R243 million was cut from the infrastructure budget.

INSIDE EDUCATION

Johnathan Paoli

New LoveLife Trust has welcomed the decision by the South African Council for Educators (Sace) to indefinitely strike sex-offending educators off the roll for alleged sexual misconduct, including sexual harassment of learners and having sexual relations with their learners.

The New loveLife Trust, also known as “LoveLife”, is a non-profit youth organisation  established as a joint initiative of leading non-governmental organisations, private foundations and the South African government.

Earlier this week the Education Labour Relations Council revealed that 30 teachers have been fired since April for sexual misconduct and would soon be registered with the National Child Protection Register and barred from ever teaching children again.

LoveLife spokesperson and Gauteng provincial manager Thilivhali Livhadi said the decision to deal with sex offenders would significantly improve the lives of millions of learners who are forced to spend time in the midst of known sex offenders.

“The organisation further calls for strict adherence to the National Child Protection Register so that such sex pest educators should never be allowed near learners again,” Livhadi said on Wednesday.

Livhadi said learners were exposed to appalling crimes and behaviour such as sexual assault, sharing pornographic material, assault, unwelcome behaviour, poor performance, dishonesty and theft.

“LoveLife is alarmed by the high number of misconduct cases, showing that there needs to be stringent methods in hiring the right caliber of educators who would be fit for purpose and competent in ensuring that learners are safe and not sexually exploited or abused,” Livhadi said.

In addition, professional teachers’ body, the SA Council for Educators, has also struck 31 members from its register, with the council’s spokesperson Cindy Foca confirming that the council appointed independent arbitrators to preside over cases which involved cases of sexual assault at schools.

Foca said that once a perpetrator was found guilty, they would be reported to the department of social development and effectively barred from working with children again.

The National Child Protection Register is a register maintained by the Director General in terms of section 111 of the Children’s Act 38 of 2005, consisting of a part A and a part B.

Prospective employers offering services which allow for access to children must establish from the registrar whether or not the potential employee’s name was listed on part B of the register.

INSIDE EDUCATION