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South African scientists explain why they make time for science festivals

Mmadifedile Mofokeng
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South African scientists explain why they make time for science festivals

Science festivals across the world attract millions of visitors every year. They are typically busy, buzzing events: visitors stroll through interactive displays, enjoy science-themed shows and popular science talks and take part in hands-on workshops.

These events appeal to different groups of people for different reasons. For adults, they provide rare – and valued – opportunities to talk directly to scientists while learning in a leisure context. For students visiting with their schools, there is often a focus on science learning, inspiration and sometimes getting advice about science careers.

Science festivals form part of an expanding global range of events designed for public engagement with science. This science engagement format has been adopted in South Africa with support from pan-African and South African  science policies.

But what is the appeal for the scientists whose participation is key to festivals’ success? Some studies have examined scientists’ willingness to engage with public audiences, but this research was done almost exclusively in the developed world. For example, one study found that scientists who participated in the Madrid Science Fair wanted to improve public interest in and appreciation of science. They also hoped to promote a general culture of science in society. A Swedish study, meanwhile, found that scientists participated in science festivals primarily for personal reasons such as improving their communication skills.

We wanted to understand what motivates scientists in South Africa to participate in science festivals – or deters them. This is important for two reasons. First, because science communication of the sort that happens at these festivals benefits society by bridging the gap between scientists and non-experts. It brings science to people and demonstrates how science can be a positive force for change.

Second, scientists usually participate at festivals as volunteers and have to invest significant time in preparing and contributing. It is vital to understand the factors that encourage or deter scientists’ participation, as well as the perceived benefits and risks that may affect their future involvement. That’s what our new study, the first of its kind to explore the participation of scientists in an African science festival, set out to do.

We found, among other things, that scientists enjoyed informing, exciting and inspiring the public. They also recognised the value of being role models, getting school children and students interested in science. Some of the barriers they identified included time constraints and a lack of institutional support and recognition for public engagement.

Driving factors

Our study focused on Scifest Africa, which has been held annually in South Africa since 1996. In 2020, it moved online, as did many other science festivals around the world, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Forty scientists who participated in the festival in 2019 took part in an online survey.

One key finding was that scientists are mainly motivated by the objectives of informing, exciting and inspiring the public. As one respondent said: “Normally, the public does not know the science that we do. Scifest Africa is a good platform to make your science known to the public”.

Scientists also said they were driven by a sense of duty, given that they work with public funding. A respondent suggested that since “research is paid using taxpayers’ money, the public has a right to know how their money is being used”.

Another finding was that South Africa’s apartheid legacy inspires a strong moral obligation among scientists to give something back to society. One of the respondents told us: “Today, science communication can also be done by black people, e.g., we can be the ones who are explaining, teaching and demonstrating science to white people.”

Black women scientists in particular identified being role models as a key motivating factor for taking part in the festivals. A respondent suggested that “many black girls are afraid of studying science because they think it’s too difficult”, and that her engagement as a role model may help.

Other motivating factors included improving their own communication skills and finding it rewarding to engage with the public.

Barriers

When it came to barriers or deterrents, many respondents mentioned time constraints. Others were concerned that their institutions neither recognised nor supported public engagement work. A respondent said: “It is time-consuming and demanding to man an exhibition, but we are not paid for this and no one accounts for the productive time lost.”

Some respondents complained that institutions didn’t generally provide training opportunities to equip scientists with effective public dialogue skills.

Our findings offer practical insights to help festival funders and organisers to sustain and expand scientists’ participation.

They highlight the need for universities, research institutions and other science engagement entities to build expertise and provide continuous support to improve scientists’ participation.

BREAKING: Schools to shut down from Wednesday

Mmadifedile Mofokeng
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0
BREAKING: Schools to shut down from Wednesday

Schools across the country and contact classes at tertiary institutions will start shutting down from this Wednesday 30 June.

This is according to President Cyril Ramaphosa who on Sunday evening addressed the country on the government’s efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

Ramaphosa said the closure of schools and other educational institutions for the winter holidays will be brought forward. He said all schools – including private schools – will be expected to be closed by the end of the week – on Friday; and that only limited access to tertiary institutions will be allowed. Ramaphosa said tertiary residences will, however, remain open.

Ramaphosa was addressing the nation following the reporting of sharp increases in the average number of daily new Covid-19 infections across the country.

He said the number of daily new infections was more than doubling, and that hospital admissions were rising. Ramaphosa said the deaths from Covid-19 were increasing by nearly 50%.

“The situation has gotten worse. In addition, we now have the Delta variant. The Delta variant has now been detected in five of our provinces, namely the Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape.

“We are concerned about the rapid spread of this variant. “Reports from some countries, including on our continent, also suggest that infections and clinical illness in children may be more common with the delta variant, even as the overall rate of infection remains substantially lower than in adults,” said Ramaphosa.

Just two weeks ago, parents raised their concerns about Department of Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga gazetting that on 26 July learners in Grade R to seven, as well as grade R to 12 learners are special needs schools are to return to class daily.

The minister said the current rotational system in place was no longer working.

“It really worries me that we are going to erode the foundations of learning,” said Motshekga two weeks ago.

She said learners were missing out on a lot of work because they would come in one week and skip the next.

The minister’s decision was supported by the DBE portfolio committee.

READ: DBE Portfolio Committee supports return to class full-time for primary and special education learners

Motshekga said: “We continue to monitor the trajectory of the pandemic and make all necessary regulations and directions in line with the Covid-19 risk-adjusted differentiated strategy.

“I realise that there is anxiety about sending all primary school children back to school at once. There’s no need to panic. Our decision making is supported by empirical evidence.”

Her decision came under fierce criticism from some unions and political parties.

The Educators Union of South Africa (EUSA) called on teachers across the country to not go to work from Monday 21 June.

Julius Malema, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) president also called for the shut down of schools and crèches as the country inched closer to the third wave of the pandemic. 

Malema said it was so painful to lose elderly people in the first and second wave.

Imagine now when we are going to have to bury kids, he said.

“Our children are going to die. We give the minister seven days to close schools. Failure to do so we will have to close schools ourselves as the EFF because we are not going to allow our children to die. We are not going to allow that.

“Can you imagine now when we are going to have to go and bury kids the way we were burying old people,” said Malema.

Malema said it was becoming clearer now that children are affected by the virus as more and more were testing positive for the virus. 

READ: Malema gives Motshekga seven days to shut down schools as Covid-19 cases rise in children

On Sunday, Ramaphosa said what South Africa is seeing is that the existing containment measures in place are not enough to cope with the speed and scale of new infections.

He said government has drawn on international best practice and scientific data from studies across the world when it considered what new measures to take.

“Our priority is to break the chain of transmission by reducing person-to-person contact and thereby help to flatten the curve.

“Based on scientific advice we received from the Ministerial Advisory Committee and further consultation with our provinces and metros and traditional leaders, and on the recommendation of the National Coronavirus Command Council, Cabinet has decided that the country should move to Adjusted Alert Level 4,” said Ramaphosa.

Adding that these additional restrictions will be in place for the next 14 days.

The president said the ministers of basic education and the minister of higher education, science and innovation will provide further details on arrangements.

What provincial departments of education will focus on in the 2021/2022 financial year

Mmadifedile Mofokeng
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0
What provincial departments of education will focus on in the 2021/2022 financial year

NALEDI SHOTA|

Provincial departments of education have in recently outlined their plans and what they will be prioritising in this financial year through budget vote speeches. 

This week, Inside Education brings you some of the highlights that came out of the budget votes by MECs of education.  

Eastern Cape 

The province received a budget allocation of R35.076 billion for the 2021/22 financial year. 

In his budget speech MEC Fundile Gade outlined the priorities of his department in this financial year including improving literacy and numeracy skills at foundation phase.

Gade said part of this programme will be to provide reading plans to learners in grades R and three. He said the department would also make available guidelines on how parents can assist children to read for meaning. 

“This Reading Academy teacher training is an online course where the department will be able to reach out and train many teachers at a time. The Moodle platform has already been set and is ready to roll out the training,” said Gade. 

Adding that the Foundation Phase teachers will be trained on the methodologies of teaching reading in 2021. 

The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces that has major infrastructure backlogs.

READ: DBE Budget vote debate: Eastern Cape Education MEC says corruption by officials is rife in his province

Gade said there were 228 projects in various stages of construction. Of the 228 projects, five major school projects are scheduled for completion in the current financial year. They include a hostel for a special needs school at a cost of R199-million.

He also said that 69 schools would receive sanitation infrastructure support and that the department had budgeted R20-million for sanitation in this financial year.  

Again on infrastructure, Gade said R40-million had been set aside for the rehabilitation, renovation and refurbishments of special schools. 

The other priority for the department is the establishment of special schools in all districts. In this financial year six special schools are set to be opened including an Autism school in Buffalo City Metro. 

Limpopo 

In her presentation of the R32.568 billion for the 2021/22 financial year, MEC Poppy Boshielo said one of the things her province will prioritise is e-learning.

She said this will be prioritised because when schools were closed during hard lockdown and while some learners continued to study online, most learners in Limpopo could not continue with online lessons.

“In order to address this, the department will be rolling out its e- learning strategy,” said Boshielo. 

Boshielo said premier Stanley Mathabatha allocated the department funding of R100 million to start with the rolling out of e-learning. She said the department also made available R128 million for the project.

The total budget for the e-learning programme would be R 228 million. Adding that the department will also provide tablets for learners and laptops to educators. 

“Given the available budget, the department will be implementing e-learning in two grades, grade 1 and grade 8.

“In Grade 1, there are 142 123 learners in the province while in Grade 8 there are 125 645 learners.

“To provide tablets for the Grade 1 learners, it will cost R 355 million and R 314 million for the Grade 8 learners,” said Boshielo. 

The MEC said the department would stagger the provision of tablets and that the programme will start at no-fee schools.

READ: #2020BudgetVote: Limpopo Education MEC Sets Aside R3.4 billion For School Infrastructure

Boshielo said technical schools in the province will partner with mining companies in order to prepare learners with relevant skills needed in the province. A province where mining is one of the major economic activities.  

“An example of such collaboration was launched in Mogalakwena, Phaladingoe Technical School between the department and Anglo-American Platinum, where learners are studying light and heavy electrical engineering courses. 

“These learners are taught from time to time by operations managers from the mine. The equipment and machines that they use have been donated by Anglo Platinum Mine. What is pleasing is that during the weekends, learners make money by fixing electrical appliances like irons, hot plates and kettles in the village. We call on all other mining houses to also come on board to assist the department as we build up this capacity that they need to remain globally competitive while utilising local labour and skills,” she said.

The department has also set aside R34 million for the roll out of the sanitary dignity program and it will be used to provide about 2.3 million packs to 190 000 girl children.

Gauteng 

The Gauteng department of education has a budget of R53,4-billion for the 2021/22 financial year. 

In his speech MEC for Education Panyaza Lesufi said one of his department’s priority in this financial year is to increase learner enrolment in technical high schools, and as such the department has approved applications to offer  technical subjects and technical fields of specialisation to several schools. 

Lesufi said the department will introduce nine specialisation subjects in the technology pathway and those subjects include: construction, woodworking, digital systems, power systems, electronics, fitting and machining, welding and metal work. 

In this financial year, Lesufi said the department is looking to add 400 refurbished Smart Classrooms, where it will roll out smart technologies to township high schools.

He added that the province was on track in eradicating asbestos schools in the province having demolished four last year. 

Northern Cape 

The Northern Cape department of education received a budget allocation of R7.14 billion. 

MEC for Education Zolile Monakeli said the department has allocated R14 million for about 32 000 learners who will be conditionally, partially or fully exempted from paying school fees.

The learners come from 119 schools out of 138 fee paying schools that applied for compensation for fee exemptions.

Monakeli said the department had set aside R17.56 million to support the Class of 2021 through a matric intervention and turnaround strategy. The strategy includes Saturday classes. 

He also said the department was in the process of finalising the learner transport tender for the province.

The process would be completed before the end of the financial year and will secure a safe and reliable learner transport for the Department at a cost of R168.49 million, he said.

“This is significant as this is one of the mechanisms through which we secure general and universal access to education. The Department is currently transporting 24 559 learners to their respective schools with various modes of transport,” he said.

Monakeli said the department has set aside R633.3 million for the maintenance of and renovation of 49 schools. 

KwaZulu-Natal 

MEC Kwazi Mshengu presented a budget allocation of R 53.184 billion.

Mshengu said the department had commissioned a feasibility study to explore the establishment of schools of mining and arts in the province. This is as part of the department’s programme on specialised schools, he said.

“KwaZulu-Natal is endowed with unmatched talent which most of it remains unprofitable because of the lack of support and nurturing of this talent. 

“Equally, extraction and exporting raw mineral resources is counter-productive as it amounts to exporting jobs. The failure to beneficiate on the mineral resources is an anomaly that must be confronted urgently – hence the need for a School of Mining.  The final decision will be informed by the outcomes of the feasibility studies,” said Mshengu. 

Mshengu also said the department has from this year piloted the occupational stream at 10 mainstream schools in the province. This is in response to the introduction of the three-stream model introduced by the department of basic education where the focus is on academic, technical-vocational and occupational streams.  

“The focus for the occupational stream is on low-intensity occupational skills which individuals can master to start small-scale businesses and to assist them to earn a living straight from school,” he said.

The pilot started in grade eight with subjects including consumer and hospitality studies, mechanical and civil technology as well as agricultural studies.

Mshengu said in this financial year his department would deliver six new schools at different districts as part of the infrastructure development. He also proper sanitation facilities were under construction. 

Mshengu said over the years, the department had lost over R500 million from staff debt staff debt because of the “weaknesses in internal control measures and the outdated operations of the department”.  

“Whilst we need to recover this money from both the ex and current employees of the department, we have to close the tap.

“In addition to the appointed debt collectors, we are also exploring an electronic system for leave management and timeous termination of the employees who have resigned or retired from the service,”  he said.

Mpumalanga

MEC for Education Bonakele Majuba said his department had received a budget allocation of R22.3-billion for the 2021/22 financial year. 

Majuba said part of the money would be spent on infrastructure development.

This includes building schools and additional classrooms in fast growing towns in the province which are eMalahleni, Govan Mbeki, Mbombela, Middelburg and Lydenburg.

He said R46 million had been set aside to build three schools in these towns and will also add additional classrooms. Majuba also said R350 million had been set aside to address 426 remaining sanitation projects and this project would ensure the eradication of pit latrines in the province. 

The MEC said that in this financial year the department will supply Information and Communication Technology resources to 132 schools and deliver equipment and consumables to 40 technical high schools.

He also said that there are 128 schools which will receive laboratory equipment and consumables and ten agricultural schools will be supplied with equipment, tools and consumables.

Adding that his department had set aside R201 million to maintain the current provincial 1 650 bursary holders, of this number 311 are studying in Russia.
 
“There are 20 students who graduated in 2020 and 17 of them have already been placed in the Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport in a programme for professional registration,” he said. 

Western Cape

The Western Cape Department of Education received R24.5 billion for the 2021/22 financial year. 

In her budget speech MEC for Education Debbie Schäfer said the province planned to build new high schools in  Sir Lowry’s Pass, Hout Bay and Mfuleni in the Cape Town metro, along with Moorreesburg in the West Coast district and Hermanus in the Overberg district. 

She also said in line with the province’s economic needs and strategic priorities of expanding access to STEAMAC [Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics] subjects, the province plans to complete an aeronautical sciences school in the Cape Winelands and is  currently planning an agriculture school in the same district. Schäfer said the department is also  planning to open a School of Skills in Manenberg to ensure that learners in that area are able to access more inclusive learning opportunities. The school is  scheduled for completion in the 2023/24 financial year.

Some schools in the Western Cape have been victims of gang-related-fights. In order to ensure schools are safe, Schäfer  said there is a commitment to build 30 high-security fences in schools each year, including in hotspots. 

“As part of the Western Cape Recovery Plan, 20 fences scheduled for delivery by the end of the 2021/22 financial year have been fast tracked, for delivery by July this year instead. An amount of R30 million has been allocated for fencing in this financial year,”  she said. 

North West

The Department received a budget allocation of R18 billion.

MEC Mmaphefo Matsemela said Covid-19 gave the department an opportunity to fast-track its ICT roll-out to schools. The department is going to spend R12 million to connect 75% of schools through WIFI and broadband for learning in this financial year, according to Matsemela.

“It will be a significant leap from the current 25%, and we hope to reach 100% in the 2022 financial year,”she said. She said this initiative is going to benefit 638 801 learners at no-fee schools in the province. 

Matsemela also said the department provided 30 292 tablets to grade 12 learners for interactive learning during the pandemic. 

The department is also in the process of procuring security services for 11 farm schools and 32 special needs schools and the offices of the department. 

“ Owing to financial constraints the department is unable to offer security services at all our schools, but will strive towards universal provision of security service in the near future,”  she said.

The department has also set aside R614-million for the construction of 33 schools and the replacement of school’s projects. It has also budgeted R42-million for repairs and renovations of schools that have been damaged by storms. 

OPINION: The value of education and inclusion

Mmadifedile Mofokeng
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0
OPINION: The value of education and inclusion

SIZI BOTSIME| 

Every child is born with an ability and the onus lies with us – parents, teachers and community members – to invest in the child and unleash their talents so that we can develop them to their maximum potential.

My name is SIzi Botsime. I am an educationist, an education activist and an inclusive education enthusiast.  I work in a full-service school, and I have established networks with different stakeholders across the globe including those in NGOs, in the education professions, and companies in order to help our education institutions become inclusive.

I have been teaching for over 10 years.

I have taught in South Africa, the Kingdom of Bahrain, in the Middle East and in Egypt.

I am the founder and director of the Sizi Botsime Foundation

The Sizi Botsime Foundation (SFB) primarily advocates and promotes the rights of children living with a disability.

My advocacy is aligned with frameworks including the White Paper 6 of 2001, the paper titled the Screening Identification Assessment and Support (SIAS) of 2014 and the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #4 – Quality Education of the United Nations.

READ: Ramaphosa: ‘We Need To Tackle Discrimination Against Persons With Disabilities’

The SFB notion of inclusive education encompasses the idea and belief of equal and quality education for all.

Just to give a brief background about the frameworks mentioned above, the two policies are in place in the South African education system.

The 2001 White Paper 6 document outlines how the education and training system must transform itself to contribute to establishing a caring and humane society, how it must change to accommodate the full range of learning needs and the mechanism that should be put in place.

The SIAS 2014 ‘s purpose is to provide a framework for the standardisation of the procedures to identify, assess and provide programmes for all learners who require additional support to improve their participation and inclusion in school.

Lastly, the Sustainable Development Goal 4, which is part of the United Nations plan of action for people, planet, and prosperity, is the education goal. Its objective is to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

SDG Target 4A refers to the importance of building and upgrading education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive, and effective learning.

This is why it is saddening that even with these policies that have been put in place in different countries across the African continent, policies that speak to “inclusion for all” are yet to be found.  Children living with a disability or with disabilities continue to be failed and marginalised in Africa.

In South Africa for instance, some children have never experienced being inside a classroom as a result of their disability.

This is particularly true for children from downtrodden communities.

According to the 2017 Disability Africa Changing Children’s Lives, an overwhelming majority of children in Africa are being deprived of access to education. Furthermore, only around 2% of the children living with a disability are attending schools.

This suggests that current measures put in place are not good enough and this situation must change, reads the document.

I share the same sentiments that this has to change.

This is in accordance with the policies that are put in place and promote inclusive education, as well as the adoption of the United Nation’s Convention on Disability Rights by the African governments.

Our foundation believes that the plausible solution lies in the realisation of inclusive education; the understanding that the education of the children goes beyond the four walls of the classroom.

We are all responsible for the education of the children and thus we need to involve the stakeholders to capacitate the education systems across Africa and ensure that no child is left behind.

SIzi Botsime is an Educationist, Education Activist and Inclusive Education Enthusiast.

Counting the cost of lost schooling in South Africa

Mmadifedile Mofokeng
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0
Counting the cost of lost schooling in South Africa

VIJAY REDDY|

A year ago, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we predicted that school closures in South Africa would result in learning losses. A loss of contact learning time would lead to lower educational outcomes, and the losses would be higher in no-fee schools (serving children from low income families) than in fee-paying schools.

Now we can update how much contact teaching time was lost in 2020 and make an “informed speculation” on the amount of learning loss based on changes in test scores between 2019 and 2020.

Globally, the literature on the impact of the pandemic on education highlights learning losses and decreased attainment scores as a result of school closures, widening of pre-existing education disparities and wiping out of learning gains made over time.

In South Africa, the March 2020 hard lockdown led to school closures and the expectation that teaching and learning would continue from homes. Schools and households with resources were better able to sustain learning by going online.

Schools closed on 14 March 2020 and returned in a staggered manner from 8 June 2020. The first 46 days of the school year, pre-shutdown, could be categorised as normal schooling. Grade 12 (final year of secondary school) and grade 7 (final year of primary school) learners, after not attending school for 28 and 33 days respectively, were the first to return. Grades 5 and 8 were the last to return after learners had been away from school for 81 days.

Following social distancing protocols, learners attended school on a rotational basis, some on alternate days.

Education economist Martin Gustafsson estimated that the majority of learners could have lost almost 60% of their contact school days – or 65% for children in the lower socioeconomic groups.

The curriculum had to be reduced and reorganised for completion in 2020. In January 2021, 40% of school principals reported that they had not completed most of the trimmed curriculum for most subjects.

The research

I co-authored a comparative study of the short term educational impact of COVID-19 – a book chapter which discusses the impact on the education system and on the individual schools. The goal was to examine the effects of school closures on loss of learning time and educational outcomes.

The loss of contact learning time can be quantified but it’s harder to quantify the effect of school closures on learning outcomes, like achievement scores. Many countries have resorted to predictions extrapolating from other studies.

In Belgium, however, researchers were able to calculate the effects of school closures on mathematics scores for grade 6 learners using six years (2015 to 2020) of standardised test score data. They found that mathematics school averages in the 2020 cohort dropped by between 0.19 and 0.25 of a standard deviation when compared to the averages in the five previous years. The standard deviation, a statistical value, tells us about the dispersion of test scores around the mean.

Not having a similar set of data, we posed the question: if the 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study test had been administered to grade 9 learners in October 2020, what would their mathematics achievement score have been? Grade 9 learners had taken the test in September 2019, so we could use the findings from the Belgian study to speculate how our learners could have fared in a “2020” test.

The Belgian study provides us with robust findings of the effects of school closures on standardised test scores. We applied the Belgian results to South African Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2019 data to extrapolate the South African learning losses. These results provided us with a scenario of the minimum learning losses in South Africa for 2020.

From the Belgian findings, we extrapolate a learning loss by 0.25 standard deviation in no-fee schools, 0.19 standard deviation in fee paying schools and 0.21 standard deviation nationally. Applying these values to the South African 2019 data, the table below shows the South African achievement estimates for the 2020 equivalent of the study.

Predicted Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2020 scores.

Thus, if the 2020 grade 9 cohort had answered the 2019 achievement test, the average 2020 mathematics scores would drop from a score of 389 to 373 points (learning loss of 4.1%). The decrease in fee-paying schools would be from 440 to 425 points (3.4%) and in no-fee schools from 361 to 346 points (4.2%).

Applying the Belgian methodology to the South African data shows that the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2020 scores would have regressed to the 2015 levels, when the average national, fee-paying and no-fee scores were 372 points, 430 points and 342 points respectively.

Moving backwards

Another way of describing the learning loss is by the mathematical proficiency levels. In the 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, 41% of grade 9 learners demonstrated they had acquired the basic mathematical proficiency. In “Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2020” this would decrease to 34% – the same value as in 2015.

South Africa started the post-apartheid democratic era in 1994 with very low and unequal achievement scores and slowly improved educational outcomes to the low values in 2019. The sad and uncomfortable truth is that the country will likely have ended 2020 with lower achievement scores than in 2019. The achievement gains made since 1994 will revert closer to the achievement levels in 2015 – a loss of five years of learning. The effect of the pandemic will widen existing educational inequalities that were created by apartheid policies and contemporary shortcomings.

The number of days that schools will be closed in 2021 is unknown. Neither do we know the quality of engagements when learners are in school and how individual learning recovery will occur.

If there’s no quick recovery of the learning losses, our prediction is that fewer learners will leave school with the skills and knowledge to access further opportunities for learning or to find an appropriate place in the labour market. COVID-19 will have long lasting effects on education and society broadly.

Vijay Reddy is a Distinguished Research Specialist, Human Sciences Research Council

More Johnson and Johnson vaccines earmarked for educators arrive

Mmadifedile Mofokeng
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0
More Johnson and Johnson vaccines earmarked for educators arrive

NYAKALLO TEFU|

The Department of Health announced on Friday that more Johnson and Johnson vaccine doses have arrived in the country. The department said these doses have been earmarked for educators across the country.

“The Department of Health has assured the education sector that there will be enough vaccine doses for everybody in the basic education sector as initially announced,” said DBE spokesperson Elijah Mhalnga.

Adding that on Wednesday, when the vaccination programme began, the Department of Health recorded that 49 776 educators and staff received the vaccines with another 55 444 getting inoculated on the second day.

The inoculation in the Western Cape province seems to be slightly delayed.

The province’s Head of Education Brent Walters said some educators should still be registered by their respective schools to receive the vaccine at a later stage.

No further details were given on when or how the process would go for educators who cannot be currently vaccinated. The provincial department only urged schools to still register educators and staff. 

According to the department of basic education, KwaZulu-Natal continues to lead with 32.1% of their target population vaccinated.

The national department said the Eastern Cape registered 21%, Free State at 21.9%, Mpumalanga recording 26% and North West with 22% teachers and staff.

The DBE said the Northern Cape recorded 12%, while Gauteng is at 11% as of Thursday.

The Department of Basic Education began with its vaccination drive on Wednesday. Teachers and non-teaching staff received their first jab of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

Since the beginning of the vaccination of educators across the country,  the department said105 000 people have been vaccinated.

Last week, 300 00 Johnson and Johnson vaccines arrived in the country and were earmarked for teachers and supporting staff from both the public and private sector.

Educators and staff who have tested positive for Covid-19 in the past 30 days and those who have been vaccinated using another vaccine and anyone who received a flu vaccine in the past 14 days will not be vaccinated.

The vaccination drive will take place until 8 July 2021 where 582 000 educators and supporting staff have been identified to receive the jab.

“We urge all educators and staff to follow the schedule in each district in order to ensure a smooth roll-out of the programme,” said Mhlanga.

Nine additional vaccination sites to be open for vaccination for educators

Mmadifedile Mofokeng
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0
Nine additional vaccination sites to be open for vaccination for educators

NYAKALLO TEFU|

The Western Cape Education Department said on Thursday that it will open nine additional vaccination sites for educators on Friday.

This as teachers and non-teaching staff across the country get their first jab of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

“Over 2700 teachers and non-teaching staff will be vaccinated at ten sites tomorrow (Friday) this number will increase to over 4 300 on Monday,” said the department’s spokesperson Bronagh Hammond.

Western Cape education said over 500 teachers received their first jab on Thursday 24 June 2021 at a metro vaccination site.

READ: More than 48 000 people vaccinated on the first day of the basic education vaccination programme

“So far, 25 387 teachers and non-teaching staff have been informed of where they will be vaccinated,” added Hammond.

Hammond said the department is notifying schools directly based on the consent confirmations received.

The department said it is hoping to get a total of 55 200 vaccines for educators for now.

The vaccination of educators come at a time when the country is facing a third wave of the coronavirus with numbers in the past 24 hours at 17 493.

At the moment Gauteng is the epicenter of the virus, with 10 806 of the cases reported in the province.

Despite the numbers constantly increasing, learners and teachers across the country will continue going to school as instructed by the Department of Basic Education.

One of the educators, Ms Sasman, who was vaccinated in the Western Cape urged all educators to get their vaccines.

“I urge everyone of our eligible basic education sector staff members to take this opportunity to contribute to getting our schools back semblance of normality,” said Sasman.

Sasman said while the vaccine cannot stop staff members from getting Covid-19, educators still need to follow safety protocols to protect them from serious illness.

Western Cape education said it is happy with the rollout of vaccines and so far, everything has been going according to plan.

“We again would like to express our sincere appreciation to the Provincial Department of Health who have accommodated our needs thus far. Their support to this important cause is unwavering,” said Hammond.

Bongiwe Msomi joins Roc Nation Sports

Mmadifedile Mofokeng
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Bongiwe Msomi joins Roc Nation Sports

Bongiwe Msomi, University of Johannesburg (UJ) netball club manager and coach and the captain of the national netball team, the SPAR Proteas, is set to join American sports agency, Roc Nation Sports.

The announcement was made last week.

Msomi joins both Siya Kolisi and Temba Bavuma as one of the South African sports stars to join their global network of mentees and ambassadors.

Msomi has played in various international competitions.

Some of her achievements in netball includerepresenting South Africa. She is the highest capped South African national netball player with 126 caps from March this year. She also represented South Africa at the Netball World Cup in 2019, 2015 and 2011. As well as the  South Africa in the Commonwealth Games in 2014 and 2018.

In 2019, she was appointed as head coach of UJ’s netball club.

Msomi was born and raised in the township of Hammarsdale near Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. She completed her matric at Luthayi High School in 2005.

Later, she would play for Wasps Netball in the Vitality Netball Super League in Australia in 2019, finishing second.

Msomi completed a national diploma in Sport Management in 2012 at the Durban University of Technology (DUT).

Over the years, she worked as an ambassador for the Girls Only Project, an initiative that empowers women and girls through sport. She also founded the Bongi Msomi Netball Project.

The netball star said she is very excited to be joining “such an amazing family at Roc Nation Sports”.

According to the Roc Nation Sports website, the sport agency focuses on elevating athletes’ careers on a global scale both on and off the field.

It is a sub-division of Roc Nation, launched in spring 2013.

The sport agency was established by business mogul and rapper Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter.

Msomi thanked the sport agency for seeing what she can offer and for changing the narrative around Netball.

More than 48 000 people vaccinated on the first day of the basic education vaccination programme

Mmadifedile Mofokeng
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More than 48 000 people vaccinated on the first day of the basic education vaccination programme

NALEDI SHOTA| 

On the first day of the basic education vaccination programme, the department said more than 48 000 teachers and education departments staff were vaccinated. 

On Wednesday the sector began its two-week vaccination programme which is expected to end on July 8.

In a statement on Wednesday evening, the department said the Western Cape and Limpopo will start their vaccination programme on Thursday and Friday respectively. 

“All other provinces started rolling out today with KZN vaccinating the largest number and the lowest number vaccinated in NC. NC has decided to send mobile teams to some of their smallest towns to kickstart the campaign,” reads the statement. 

The KwaZulu-Natal department of education said it vaccinated 21 773 teachers and support staff on the first day. 

DBE also rubbished what it called fake news that circulated on social media that the Department of Health is going to run out of vaccines.

“This led to a rush on some vaccine sites particularly in Eastern Cape, North West and Free State,” reads the statement. 

The department said there were enough doses for the targeted population. Those who will be vaccinated in this programme will receive the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said on Saturday that the sector was looking at vaccinating about 582 000 people including private school teachers, teacher union leaders and all staff at provincial departments of education as well as the national department. 

Teachers share mixed emotions about being vaccinated

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Teachers share mixed emotions about being vaccinated

NALEDI SHOTA|

Some teachers are still undecided on whether they will be vaccinated while others are excited that they will finally get the jab. 

The mixed reactions come as the basic education vaccination programme starts on Wednesday.

Inside Education spoke to a number of teachers about how they feel about being vaccinated. 

A Free State teacher said he is “nervous” about the inoculation.

“The real reason is because of the things we hear in the media that people who are vaccinated come back complaining or sick,” he said.

He added that other teachers who are older are also nervous.

“We do not know whether it is the real vaccine. There was also that one from PE (sic) that was contaminated. So, we are not sure whether this one is the right one. The whole thing about the vaccination does not sit right with us,” he said.

Adding that he received a text message two weeks ago asking whether or not I was going to take the vaccine.

“I said I would – we do not have a choice. I am sceptical but I am going to take it.

“Eish, but I’m still sceptical. I wish I could get conclusive evidence that it is going to work,” said the teacher. 

A teacher in the Eastern Cape said some of them have lost friends and colleagues through this virus, “and it would have been better if we had been vaccinated sooner. We would have not lost those people,” said the teacher. 

Another said there was an air of excitement at his school. 

“We are ready. People are excited. Let it come, we have been waiting for a long time for this vaccine,” said the teacher. 

A primary school teacher in the Eastern Cape said she has been waiting patiently for the vaccine and is ready: “I can’t wait for our turn. Let it come, we will deal with the aftereffects if there are any,” she said.  

Another said their fear of needles is making them not to be excited about the inoculation. 

 I feel nothing about being vaccinated.  I am not sure I will be vaccinated,  I’m still a bit scared,” said a young teacher at a school in KwaZulu-Natal.

“I hate needles,” she said. Adding that if there was an alternative – such as taking a pill, she would do so without a doubt.

“I’m still contemplating. I’m not saying I’m not going to be vaccinated but I’m still contemplating,” she said.

Another teacher from the Free State teacher said in order to save lives they needed to be vaccinated.

“People are saying this and that about the vaccine but if it is for our benefit as teachers and learners then we will take it,” said the teacher.

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga announced on Saturday that the sector’s vaccination programme would start on Wednesday and run until 8 July.

She said the sector is expected to vaccinate about 582 000 people and the majority of these are teachers in public schools.

According to reports, there are 395 682 teachers that will be vaccinated. Those to be vaccinated in this programme will receive the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The educators vaccination programme began amid high spikes of infection rates across the country.

READ: Limpopo education department concerned about the number of coronavirus cases at schools

Just last week, 1077 teachers and 1977 learners tested positive in Gauteng.

On Monday, the education department in Limpopo said it saw a sharp increase of reported Covid-19 cases in the at schools particularly in the Capricorn District.

In May, the South African Democratic Teachers Union said over 3500 teachers succumbed to the virus. The union called for teachers to be prioritised similar to other frontline workers.

But there is still some confusion.

Some teachers have said more clarity is needed regarding the safety of the vaccines.

A deputy principal at a school in KwaZulu-Natal told Inside Education, “We do not know whether there are side effects. I still have not made up my mind.” 

The issue of safety and contamination of the vaccines was recently realised.

Last week, pharmaceutical company Aspen said it was disappointed that specific batches of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine manufactured at its plant in Gqeberha had to be destroyed. 

READ: Unions wait in bated breath for details on the vaccination of educators

The destruction of the vaccines came after an announcement by the United States Food and Drug Administration that some batches of the Johnson & Johnson vaccines produced at the Emergent BioSolutions Plant in Baltimore in America were contaminated.


This issue was quickly resolved. In a statement, Aspen said it will provide 300 000 doses of the vaccine for South African teachers that were not impacted by the contamination. 

READ: Announcement on teacher vaccination to be made this week

On Saturday the acting Director-General for the department of basic education, Granville Whittle reiterated that people who work in schools and who are 60 and above qualify to be vaccinated in the sector’s vaccination programme even though they qualify in the programme that is currently run for the general population. 

According to the department of basic education, there will be 281 sites nationally and by the end of the two weeks 90 480 jabs would have been administered. 

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