Basic education portfolio committee has appealed for safety at several Khayelitsha schools in the Western Cape after teachers and learners were attacked by criminals.

Chairperson Bongiwe Mbinqo-Gigaba said the committee’s urgent intervention was requested by the Khayelitsha Development Forum on a matter between the Western Cape Department of Education and KDF and all the Khayelitsha schools.
 
The committee was made aware that the MEC for Education in the Western Cape had promised to deploy security guards to all the Khayelitsha schools after ‘the devastating criminal attacks on educators at schools’.

According to the KDF, between January 2020 and today, more than six schools have already fallen victim to violent crime by armed assailants.
 
“I have taken the matter up with the National Department of Basic Education (DBE) to ask for assistance in liaising with the relevant provincial education department. As a committee we take the question of the safety of our learners and educators very seriously. Whilst these discussions by the education authorities are underway, I appeal for calm at our schools,” said Mbinqo-Gigaba.
 
“Furthermore, I appeal to communities to help us keep all our schools violence-free. If you know or are aware of such thugs in your community, report them to the authorities. The safety of our learners and educators is paramount as education ensures a better future for all learners. They need an environment that is conducive to teaching and learning.”
 
She said the committee will also monitor the progress made by the DBE and the provincial department in resolving this matter expeditiously.

Government has published its Draft National Youth policy for 2020 – 2030, outlining its plans to get more young South Africans into education and employment opportunities over the next 10 years.

The document states that youth unemployment has reached ‘crisis proportions’ in South Africa and remains one of the major challenges facing the country today.

“South Africa’s unemployment rate is high for both youth and adults; though, the unemployment rate among the youth currently stands at an alarming 56.4% and is considered to be one of the highest globally,” it said.

“Against this background, it is clear that the major contributor to poverty, inequality, and unemployment amongst the youth in South Africa is the low level of educational attainment and skills.

“The latest national data from Stats SA (2018) shows that of the 10.3 million persons aged 15-24 years, 32.4% (approximately 3.3 million) were not in employment, education or training, with females constituting 35.3% and males 29.6%.”

Other statistics that point to a failure in the education system include:

• About 52% of 24-year-olds in the country have completed Grade 12, compared to 70% in most developing countries;
• A million young people exit the schooling system annually, of whom 65% leave without achieving a Grade 12 certificate;
• Half of those who exit the schooling system do so after Grade 11, either because they do not enrol in Grade 12 or they fail Grade 11.

 Plans to fix the problem

To address the issues in South Africa’s education sector, the policy document outlines a number of proposals which should be introduced by 2030.

Below are the proposals for each sector.

Schools 

• The Department of Basic Education, in partnership with private providers, should support learners who need a ‘second chance’ to pass matric. The Department of Higher Education, Science and Technology should also provide young people who have left school with the opportunity to complete their education to enable them to compete in the open labour market;
• All schools should be encouraged to have an anti-racism policy that supports small freedoms such as allowing African children to wear natural Afros to schools;
• All South African learners must learn an indigenous language. Sign language should also be progressively introduced in all schools;
• Basic computer literacy should be included in the school curriculum;
• Practical subjects such as entrepreneurship, technical skills and handwork (art) need to be introduced to the curriculum help those who are not inclined to proceed to higher education;
• Schools in rural areas should be able to use local farming land for practical or experiential learning in agriculture. Local farmers can mentor learners;
• Existing incentives to attract young people to the teaching profession should continue until at least 2020. This means that teacher salaries should be competitive.

Post-school

• The number of TVET colleges should be expanded to increase the participation rate to 25% and the graduation rate 75% by 2030;
• Government should introduce a new community college framework designed for youth who did not complete their schooling or who never attended school and thus do not qualify to study at TVET colleges or universities. This will offer tailor-made qualifications to meet the needs of the youth;
• The government should progressively introduce free education for poor learners until undergraduate level and increase the funding options available to support students at the post-secondary level who are academically successful but unable to complete their study programmes due to financial hardships;
• All higher education institutions (colleges, universities) must introduce foundation programmes for learners in transition from the basic to higher education learning environment. These foundation courses should include soft skills development to help students cope with university demands;
• All government departments including municipalities should have internship programmes, which should be monitored in terms of numbers and quality;
• Every qualification at university should be coupled with an experiential component to ensure graduates have experience when they qualify;
• The BRICS virtual university must be established to facilitate the use of ICT for educational purposes and promote access to education, particularly for females;
• Based on feasibility studies, agricultural colleges and schools of excellence must be established in each province and agriculture faculties must be introduced and/or strengthened in universities and TVET colleges.
• SOURCE: BUSINESSTECH

Millions more are in classrooms but don’t get a quality education – here we look at some of the causes of a global learning crisis.

Theirworld’s vision is to end the global education crisis and unleash the potential of the next generation. Despite the Sustainable Development Goal to have every child in school and learning by 2030, there are still 260 million children who don’t go to primary or secondary school.

Without urgent action, in a decade 825 million children – half of all young people in the world – will not have the most basic skills necessary for jobs of the future.

Theirworld’s #WriteTheWrong campaign is about raising awareness of the issue and advocating for big change to tackle the global education crisis.

Here we look at some of the reasons why so many young people are out of school or being denied a quality education. Each obstacle is huge to the children trying to overcome them – so we’ve listed 20 reasons in purely alphabetical order.

Attacks on education

Hundreds of schools around the world have been attacked – disrupting or ending the education of many children. A shocking report last year revealed more than 14,000 attacks on education – including about 10,000 directly on schools – in 34 countries over a five-year period.

The Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack said: “Buildings were bombed, damaged or used by armed forces or groups, sometimes making them inaccessible to students. Nine countries each suffered more than 500 attacks on schools.”

Schools were occupied for military purposes in at last 30 countries. Female students and teachers in particular were targeted – including through the bombings of girls’ schools, abduction, rape and harassment at school and on the routes students take to school.

The Safe Schools Declaration – a commitment to protect schools from attack and military occupation – was launched in 2015 and has now been signed by 101 countries.

Child labour

More than 150 million children aged five to 17 – half of them under 11 – are victims of forced labour and often miss out on education. Of those, 73 million work in hazardous jobs, according to the International Labour Organization.

Child labour is classed as work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children – and interferes with their schooling.

Child labourers work in a variety of roles including in homes, mines, fields and factories. They can carry heavy loads, work long hours and suffer exposure to pesticides and other toxic substances.

Many girls begin working as young as five, mainly in agriculture or in homes as domestic servants. Child domestic workers are particularly vulnerable to trafficking, forced labour, sexual violence and many health issues.

Child marriage

There has been progress, with 25 million child marriages prevented in the past decade. But there is still a long way to go.

Each year, around 12 million girls a year are married before the age of 18 – including 38% of girls in sub-Saharan Africa – often with devastating consequences for their health and education. Too often marriage is seen as a higher priority for girls than going to school.

“Child marriage violates girls’ rights to health, education and opportunity. It exposes girls to violence throughout their lives and traps them in a cycle of poverty,” says the charity Girls Not Brides.

Boys can be affected but most victims of child marriage are girls. There are child marriages in every part of the world, including Europe and north America. But the highest rates of girls under 18 getting married are in Niger (76%), Central African Republic and Chad (both 68%).

Climate change

This can impact children’s education in many ways. The obvious one is an increase in extreme weather such as flooding or typhoons, which leaves schools damaged, destroyed or being used as shelters.

Around 37 million children have their education disrupted each year because of environmental threats. In South Asia, 18,000 schools were shut in 2017 following damage or destruction in the region’s worst flooding in years.

Academic research published last year by the US National Academy of Sciences found that extreme climate changes in the global tropics can make it hard for children to attain a secondary school education.

Families affected by droughts, heat waves and crop failures often remove their children from school to work at home or because they cannot afford fees.

Conflict

Almost one in five children live in countries affected by conflict – and many of them are denied an education as a result.

The long-term effects of growing up in a conflict zone are devastating and UNICEF estimates that 48.5 million children worldwide are missing school because of wars and conflicts.

Children in conflict-affected countries are 30% less likely to complete primary school and half as likely to complete lower-secondary school.

Girls are almost two and a half times more likely to be out of primary school and 90% more likely to miss secondary schooling if they live in conflict-affected countries, according to the emergencies fund Education Cannot Wait.

Disabilities

Children with disabilities are more likely to miss out on school than other children. Even if they go to school, they are more likely to leave before finishing their primary education. For children who are already marginalised, such as girls and children living in rural areas, a disability creates an additional barrier to accessing education.

Of the 100 million or so children around the world with a disability, 80% of them are in developing countries. In these countries, 40% of children with disabilities don’t go to primary school and 55% are not in secondary education.

Beyond those stark facts are millions of other children with disabilities who are in classrooms but are left feeling excluded, intimidated and unvalued by the failings of school systems.

The UN’s 2018 Disability and Development Report said: “Among the countries with data, persons with disabilities … are less likely to attend school, they are more likely to be out of school, they are less likely to complete primary or secondary education, they have fewer years of schooling and they are less likely to possess basic literacy skills.”

Funding

Lack of funding at a local, national and international level has a huge effect on the numbers of children who are in school – and on the quality of education.

Some of the poorest countries in the world struggle to finance an education system for all their children. Some systems have to charge fees to survive, which leads to families unable to afford education.

Three-quarters of the world’s out-of-school population are in over 70 developing nations, which need to increase their own spending on education while continuing to receive help from the international community.

Until recently, funding for education during humanitarian crises was less than 2% of the aid total. Things are changing thanks to the 2016 launch of the Education Cannot Wait fund, which is reaching millions of children in emergencies.

Gender

The UN estimates that 130 million girls between the age of six and 17 are out of school and 15 million girls of primary-school age – half of them in sub-Saharan Africa – will never enter a classroom.

Girls are four times more likely to be out of school than boys from the same background. Often, girls are marginalised and are out of school simply because they are girls and it is not the cultural norm for them to be educated. Their chances of getting a quality education are even smaller if they come from a poor family, live in a rural area or have a disability.

Between 2000 and 2015, the gender gap in literacy narrowed dramatically and the number of girls going to primary school rose significantly. But it hasn’t been enough.

Fewer than two in three girls in low-income countries complete primary school and only a third finish lower secondary school. Only about 40% of girls in sub-Saharan Africa complete lower secondary school.

Hunger

Lack of daily, nutritious meals can mean children dropping out of school or not being able to concentrate in the classroom.

“Every day, countless children across the globe turn up for school on an empty stomach, which makes it hard to focus on lessons,” says the UN’s World Food Programme. “Many simply do not go, as their families need them to help in the fields or around the house.”

The offer of a daily meal is a strong incentive for families to consistently send their children to school.

Lack of food has been a major driver behind three million children in Venezuela dropping out of school during the economic and hunger crisis.

Journey to school

A simple walk to school can be extremely unsafe or intimidating for some children. Many parents refuse to send their children – particularly girls – to school in case they are harassed, exploited or sexually abused.

Many children in remote communities also have to make the most unimaginable and dangerous journeys every day to access education.

Some walk along treacherous cliff edges. Others trek into the mountains for miles or cross broken bridges to be at school on time. For children living in rural or poverty-ridden areas there is no quick solution and often it is easier to quit school.

During violent conflicts, girls are deliberately targeted by armed groups and government forces. They often suffer sexual violence, abduction, intimidation and harassment. A study in India in 2016 found that half of all girls were sexually harassed on the way to school – including being leered at, pinched or groped.

Lack of teachers

When the Sustainable Development Goals were launched in 2015, the UN said the world would need 25.8 million additional primary school teachers by 2030.

But that isn’t the only issue. Too many teachers don’t have the training or qualifications needed to deliver a quality education. Only 85% of primary school teachers globally have been properly trained – in sub-Saharan Africa it’s just 64% (and only 50% of secondary teachers).

Many existing teachers, especially in the least developed countries, are untrained, underpaid and working with scarce resources. Some drop out because they are poorly paid or spend too much of their time on non-teaching duties. In many countries affected by conflict, there can be a lack of teachers because they have been become targets for attacks and intimidation.

The lack of female teachers can make school a daunting experience for girls. In many African countries, such as Liberia and the Central African Republic, only about one in five primary teachers are women.

Language

Millions of children, particularly in rural locations, are much more likely to drop out of school if they are not being taught in their mother tongue.

About 500 million children get school lessons in a language they don’t speak at home with their families.

In the developing world, children are more likely to enrol and succeed in school if they are taught in their own language.

In particular, girls and rural children with less exposure to a dominant language stay in school longer and repeat grades less often if they learn in their native tongue.

Natural disasters

The South Asia floods of 2017 destroyed or damaged 18,000 schools and put 1.8 million children out of school – but natural disasters are happening all the time and disrupting education around the world.

Natural events such as earthquakes, cyclones, floods and landslides can derail schooling for millions of children. They can damage or destroy schools or force them to be used as temporary shelters.

Even if the schools survive, it can take months or even years for them to be repaired and for education to return to normal. Families whose livelihoods have been destroyed may no longer be able to afford to send their children to school.

In the Asia Pacific region, it is estimated that climate change will lead to around 200 million children a year will have their lives severely disrupted by natural disasters over the coming decades.

Periods

Periods are a natural part of life for girls – but also a major reason for them missing out on education.

They often don’t have access to sanitary products or separate toilets. They face discrimination, stigma and bullying during their periods, sometimes even from their teachers.

In many parts of the world, girls simply drop out of school for several days every month. That can lead to them quitting education altogether.

UNICEF estimates that one in 10 girls in Africa miss school because of their periods each year. In India, as many as one in five girls drop out of school after their periods start.

Pregnancy

In many countries, girls who are pregnant – regardless of their circumstances – can be excluded from school and not allowed back even after they give birth.

That picture is improving, especially since 26 African countries adopted policies by 2018 to ensure girls can return to school after having their baby.

But even where they are allowed to return, many young mothers stay away due to stigma, fees, lack of childcare and the unavailability of flexible school programmes.

About 16 million girls aged 15 to 19 and one million girls under 15 give birth every year – most in low- and middle-income countries, according to the World Health Organization.

Recruitment

There are an estimated 250,000 child soldiers in the world today in at least 20 countries About 40% of child soldiers are girls, who are often used as sex slaves and taken as “wives” by male fighters.

Recruitment forces children to miss out on education for years or to drop out of school for ever.

In the past five years, children have been recruited by armed groups in the vicinity of schools in at least 15 countries, according to the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack.

Despite efforts to free child recruits, there are still about 19,000 child soldiers in South Sudan alone.

Refugee crises

Conflicts like those in Syria, South Sudan and Yemen have led to the biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War.

More than half the world’s school-age refugees are excluded from education as host nations struggle under the weight of growing humanitarian emergencies.

Of the 7.1 million refugee children of school age, 3.7 million do not go to school, according to the UN refugee agency UNHCR last year.

Only 63% of refugee children are at primary school – compared to 91% of all children across the world. Just 24% of adolescent refugees attend secondary school, compared to 84% globally.

Sanitation

Basic drinking water and sanitation is taken for granted in high-income parts of the world. But nearly half the world’s schools lack clean drinking water, toilets or handwashing facilities.

Almost 900 million children have to contend with a lack of basic hygiene facilities during their education, putting their health at risk and meaning some have to miss school.

In poorer countries only 53% of upper secondary schools have drinking water. Globally, only 66% of primary schools have handwashing facilities but the average across the poorest countries is 43% – and much lower in some nations.

In the least developed countries, only 57% of schools have single-sex toilets, which can lead to problems particularly for girls such as period stigma and sexual harassment.

Violence

Conflict and military occupation aren’t the only violence that children face at school or on the way there.

Gang violence, bullying and various forms of discrimination can lead to students dropping out of school.

An estimated 246 million girls and boys are harassed and abused on their way to and at school every year – with girls particularly vulnerable. In Africa, half of all children said they had been bullied at school.

18 million girls aged 15 to 19 are victims of sexual violence – often leading to them leaving school and reinforcing cultural practices such as early marriage.

And that’s not all…

These are just 20 reasons why children drop out of school or miss out on quality education. We haven’t even included overcrowded classrooms, a lack of learning materials, no schools nearby – sadly the list goes on and on.

SOURCE: THEIRWORLD

NYAKALLO TEFU

Dozens of excited pupils from Chivirikani Primary School in Katlehong, Ekurhuleni, received free shoes made from used hospital drip bags this week, thanks to Adcock Ingram and Netcare’s shoe project, My Walk Made with Soul.

“It’s as if we were pregnant for 24 months with this idea and today, we finally give birth”, Dr Nceba Ndzwayiba, director of transformation at Netcare.

Chivirikani Primary School is the first school to receive a donation of 1 300 school shoes made from used non-hazardous PVC drip bags, oxygen masks and associated tubing from Netcare hospitals .

This through an innovative partnership between Netcare and Adcock Ingram Critical Care, where they have come up with a way to make school shoes while recycling.

According to My Walk Made with Soul, 20 drip bags make 1 pair of school shoes.

The project started over a year ago, where the shoes were tried and tested at 3 schools to see if they will have any health implications because they were made from plastic.

Chivirikani School principal, Christopher Maluleke, has thanked My Walk, saying this will make a vast difference in the school as many children have been without school shoes.

At the launch, Grade 2 pupils were given the first few pairs donated to the school, with the children beaming with excitement as they walked to the stage to collect their shoes.

The academic year can be financially draining for most parents and guardians, with many unable to provide basic needs for their children throughout the year.

However, in an effort to assist struggling parents, this year over 25 000 school children will receive a pair of school shoes in Mzansi.

Netcare and Adcock Ingram Critical Care have also launched a newly built kitchen at Chivirikani Primary School.

“The department of education loves partnerships because we are not able to help every learner or every school”, says Department of Education spokesperson, Elijah Mhlanga.

Mhlanga says they are not only tackling one issue, they are also tackling the issue of nutrition in the school.

The kitchen is important to the school as the children receive meals on a daily.

A new fridge, stove, microwave and plates and cutlery have been also been donated.

Mhlanga toured the kitchen, thanking the team for a job well done.

• INSIDE EDUCATION

Over 200 students gathered outside the Main Hall at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) on Wednesday and sang protest songs, while calling for students to be allowed to register and get accommodation.

One student held a placard saying: “We want registration and accommodation. They are giving us POLICE #UWCSHUTDOWN!”. Campus security guards, holding riot shields, prevented students from entering the Main Hall. SAPS officers, riot police and a number of police vehicles increased throughout the day. Security eventually used red tape to cordon off the hall.

The university has suspended classes for the rest of the academic week.

Various student organisations, such as the Student Representative Council (SRC), DASO-UWC, the EFF Student Command, and SASCO-UWC, have been demanding since Monday that UWC postpone classes until all students are registered and have a place to live. Students have been sleeping in the student centre and in the TV rooms of residences.

Mandla Motyawa, the Deputy Chairperson of the EFF Student Command, said that there were still many students not registered due to not being able to pay their fees. This is one of the primary demands that students have given to the university.

“All students should start on the same footing,” said Motyawa. “The accommodation issues are tied with the registration [process]. The students cannot stay in any student accommodation if they are not yet registered.”

Gasant Abarder, spokesperson for UWC, said that the “SRC demanded bulk clearances for registration.”

“However, this can only happen on a case-by-case basis with discussions with our Student Credit Management office. There, students get individual assistance about their specific set of circumstances,” said Abarder.

Motyawa said that the university had failed to communicate with the students who were protesting, even though the students sent them their memorandum of demands.

“The only communication they’ve made is to suspend the academic program,” said Motyawa.

Abarder said: “The university has communicated with students, staff, parents and guardians via bulk SMS, email and social media.”

He also said that daily engagements between the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Student Development and Support and the SRC have been ongoing.

SOURCE: GROUNDUP (Story by Liezl Human and Ashraf Hendricks)

Police have started recording statements from teachers at Kakamega Primary School in western Kenya who were at the scene of the stampede that left 14 pupils dead and 39 others injured on Monday.

They also recorded statements from other witnesses.

In a briefing, Western region police commander Peris Kimani said detectives would focus on safety regulations in place to unravel what caused the tragedy.

She said six pupils are still admitted in hospital with two in the Intensive Care Unit. The injured pupils were reported to be in stable condition.

The police boss said there were missing gaps in the timeline of the tragedy that detectives were trying to unravel to establish what triggered the incident.

It is still unclear whether teachers on duty were at the scene at the time of the incident.

Ms Kimani said there were three teachers on duty who need to explain what happened as the learners left the classrooms and were descending the stairs from the third and second floor to go home.

Of interest to the investigators is where the teachers were when the pandemonium broke out.

Headteacher Dickson Wanyangu has recorded a statement with the police as investigations gather pace.

Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) are also involved as heartbroken parents demand answers over the death of their children.

Ms Kimani said detectives also wanted to know what safety policies and regulations had been put in place by the school to protect the learners given that the staircases were narrow and could not serve a large number of pupils.

“We have already recorded a statement from the head teacher and we are moving with speed to ensure other teachers record statements so that we can conclude the investigation fast,” she said.

She said counsellors from the Kenya Red Cross, St John’s Ambulance, County Government and Masinde Muliro University will visit homes of the affected families to offer counselling services.

SOURCE: THE EAST AFRICAN

More than 6000 financially needy learners from Ekurhuleni have benefited from the city’s Community Bursary Fund, renamed Godfrey Pitje Bursary Fund, according to Executive Mayor Mzwandile Masina.

DOWNLOAD THE EBOOK NOW to read more about City of Ekurhuleni’s R100 million Godfrey Pitje Bursary Fund, which has so far produced over 1,300 graduates and benefited 6,600 financially needy learners across the region.