Thabo Mohlala

The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) is confident it has put the necessary contingency plans in place to avert the possible disruption of schooling in the province due to the worsening drought in the province.

The situation is so dire authorities were forced to revise a date for the dreaded Day Zero – a day on which the taps in the city of Cape Town its surrounds will run dry – and brought it forward to April.  

WCED’s spokesperson Jessica Shelver said they were working towards finalising plans for the scheduled day zero and these would be announced to the public once they have been completed. She said it is the provincial government’s intention to keep the schools open and functional when Day Zero is reached in the metro.

Shelver said Premier Helen Zille is scheduled to meet with the principals of around 1000 schools in the greater Cape Town next week. The schools rely on the water from the province’s main supply system and these include Drakenstein, Stellenbosch and West Coast municipalities. Shelver said the meeting with the leadership of these sectors will discuss in detail how to secure water supply to schools.

She said the provincial government has conducted an assessment of the approximately 400 schools with existing boreholes and that the majority of these boreholes require minimal work to operationalize for hygiene and fire safety purposes.

“We are also finalising plans for schools that require additional support to secure their water supply. A range of measures are under consideration, including additional water storage and the distribution of water to schools,” said Shelver.

“WCED also identified schools as strategic agencies to spread the message and contribute to water saving measures,” said Shelver.

Last November and early this year, the department issued guidelines to schools to notify them about Level 6 water restrictions.

“[The] schools are well placed to contribute to water saving, given the learner population in the Western Cape. They are also well placed to educate families about water saving, via their children,” said Shelver.

Some of the water management plans (focusing mainly on saving water in ablution facilities) that schools are encouraged to implement include:

• Schools need to close certain taps in ablution facilities and may procure hand sanitizers using funds allocated to them in terms of national norms and standards.
• They must attend to leaks immediately and record water meters twice a day. The department issued a programmed spread sheet to schools last year for monitoring water usage.
• Schools must prepare for water outages, including storing water on site for emergency use. The department is advising schools with swimming pools to use public facilities, including schools using water from boreholes.
• Schools must keep parents informed of their water management strategies and encourage learners and teachers to bring their own drinking water to school, for example, in 500 ml bottles.
• Schools should mobilise parent support for water saving, and should advise parents on the possible impact of the drought on teaching and learning.
• The department is encouraging every teacher to be water champions and is placing water restrictors and smart meters at schools.
• Schools with access to alternative sources of water must secure these resources. About 480 schools already have boreholes.

Thabo Mohlala

South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) Gauteng said it would intensify the demonstrations at Hoërskool Overvaal in Vereeniging until the school governing body (SGB) accedes to the demand of introducing English as a medium of instruction.

Speaking to Inside Education this morning, the union’s spokesperson, Tseliso Ledimo, said he was satisfied with the way the campaign was going saying this would culminate in a march on Thursday where they would present memoranda to the school governing body and the district offices. He said they had been part of the protest since the school re-opened last week Wednesday.

Asked how long they would demonstrate, Ledimo said this would be determined by the SGB’s willingness to engage.

“That is what is fundamental to us, we want them to come to the table to discuss the issue of turning the school into a dual medium. We believe negotiations have always been part of the culture on how, we in South Africa, resolve our differences,” said Ledimo.

He said it was at that meeting that they would agree if the 55 learners would be placed or if they would stay where they are currently enrolled until 2019. Ledimo said they would use the campaign to “knock sense” into the SGB and the Hoerskool Overvaal’s case can be used to deal with other Afrikaans single medium schools as a way of addressing the broader transformation project.

As to why their members join the demonstration during office hours, Ledimo said in terms of the law they were permitted to take time off for executive union duties. He said most of the members who were part of the protest were teachers drawn from schools in Sedibeng.

“We are aware that they are supposed to be away from their jobs indefinitely but the law does allow them to be off from work for eight days in a year. They are required to fill in leave forms and arrange with the school management to ensure the learners do not suffer while they are away. So far they have only been away for roughly two days,” said Ledimo, adding that he thought they were still within the prescribed legal requirement as we speak.

In its statement last week, the union dismissed as “nonsensical” the school’s assertion that it does not have capacity to place 55 grade 8 learners. He said the SBG met with the Gauteng education department (GDE) where it was agreed the school would start  dual-medium of instruction this year

“The school has 21 classrooms four of which are not used for teaching and learning. The school had 610 learners in 2017. The 55 grade 8 learners could have been easily accommodated in 2018. This school has 22 state employed and 6 SGB employed educators all of whom are white.

“Clearly, the so-called lack of capacity is nonsensical. This is a public school which must serve the needs of the immediate community which is largely a Black community,” read part of the statement.

The union also expressed its support for the GDE’s decision to appeal the judgment as it believes another court would arrive at a different conclusion.

Vicky Abraham

An esteemed centre for Maths, Science and Technology, Kutlwanong has produced 1050 distinctions for the 2017 matric exams.

Kutlwanong is a Section 21, non-profit organisation registered with the Department of Basic Education. It was founded in 2005 in Dobsonville, Soweto and focuses on boosting Maths and Science performance of township and rural students through learner support, teacher development and career path programmes.

It started with 140 Grade 12 learners, tutored by four educators. Currently, they have 368 educators and 18 centres and have tutored over 16,041 learners in seven provinces.

In 2017, the centre enrolled 2,500 matriculants and 1,690 obtained bachelor’s degree passes.

Founder Tumelo Mabitsela said, they produced 610 distinctions in Physical Sciences with 11 learners scoring 100%, and others 90% and 99% in 2017.

In Maths, 512 distinctions were produced with four learners scoring 100%, others obtained between 90% and 99%. Two learners who wrote advanced Maths obtained distinctions. For Accounting 22 students obtained distinctions with two scoring 100%.

“Since our inception in 2005, we have produced 16,041 decent passes to date (50-100%) and 4,443 Grade 12 distinctions for Maths and Science. Kutlwanong (Promaths programme) has assisted over 16,041 learners today, of which 2371 obtained distinctions in Maths core and 38 in Maths Paper 3 and 1,894 in Physical Sciences and 140 in Accounting. Total distinctions we produced is 4,443,” said Mabitsela.

The figure has increased with 1,050 distinctions in 2017, which saw the centre produce 5,493 distinctions since its inception.

Each year, they have at least five learners that are top performers at a national level, who receive a special invitation from the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga and are invited to the gala by the Gauteng Provincial MEC, Panyaza Lesufi.

“Our success is that we don’t look at student performance in a vacuum. For a learner to produce top results, they need to be committed to their studies requiring them to apply specific life skills like discipline, time management, resisting distractions and competitiveness. We foster these qualities from Grade 10, so that when learners get to Grade 12, they are prepared mentally for the journey ahead.”

“Beyond our statistics, I have seen real lives change and a new breed of matric learner bloom. Our programme has significantly created alumni of young black students entering tertiary education and professional careers in large numbers for the first time. A more significant outcome is that these students dare to dream. They want to succeed and know that it is within their reach.”

Mabitsela said as a father and an educator, he is passionate about education and the role it plays in opening doors and helping young people access tertiary education and employment opportunities.

“As a principal at Makhoarane School in Soweto, I noticed that while learners obtained distinctions and good marks in the languages, Maths and Science performance was poor, year-on-year. A contributing factor to poor performance was time spent on tasks for these subjects. Classroom time was not enough to grasp Maths and Science concepts and to ask questions. Based on the pressure to complete the syllabus, a new topic was introduced each day, whether or not students were ready for it,” said Mabitsela.

“There came a point where I had to get involved to make a difference. I wanted students to be proficient at these subjects to follow on scarce skills that our country needed. Our aim was to provide quality Maths and Science tuition for a small group of students, in the very area I resided in (Dobsonville). I wanted to make a difference on my doorstep, and I wanted to see results – students passing and excelling at these subjects. My vision was to help students improve their Maths and Science performance, making professional careers like Chartered Accountancy, Finance, IT and others accessible. I also understood early on that subject performance was not an isolated issue. These subjects were intimidating and there were few local role models to help students feel empowered to succeed. Our programme needed to motivate learners and help them believe that success was within their reach,” said Mabitsela.

He said from humble beginnings, Kutlwanong started out with a vision to improve Maths and Science high school performance. Their programme is now diverse, encouraging students to not only think about life after matric but to plan for it.

*Meanwhile, Bhukulani Secondary School in Zola, Soweto, produced 123 distinctions in various subjects for 2017 exams and 144 in 2016.

Thabo Mohlala

One of the common reasons graduates struggle to find employment is the misalignment of their expectations and those of the potential employers, said Sabelo Mbuku, head of communications at the Transport Education and Training Authority (Teta).

Mbuku was talking to SABC news on Friday about the Work Readiness Programme (WRP) which Teta has introduced to help graduates adequately prepare for the job market. The programme provides graduates with soft skills that most take for granted but which, he says, are crucial to ensure they are ready to work.

Mbuku said qualifications are just certification of one’s academic achievements but they are not enough to land a graduate a job. He said employers wanted someone who will hit the ground running and help the company to achieve or increase its profit margins.

“Qualifications somehow get into one’s [graduate’s] head because you raise your expectations based on them and forget that the employer is more concerned with productivity and profits. And now when you walk into that company and are not ready to deliver to the expectations of the company -irrespective of your qualifications -; chances are you may not get the job because in the eyes of the employer you are not ready for the job. You need to be prepared so that when you get employed you become productive and this is what will excite the employer,” said Mbuku.

Nomalungelo Nkabinde, one of the beneficiaries of the programme, shared her experiences. Qualified with a diploma in logistics, she said she also struggled to find a job. She said things changed for the better when she decided to volunteer instead of looking for a fulltime job. She underwent two months’ theoretical programme and spent four months with the host employer to gain practical experience and she finally got placed.

She said she found this very helpful as it exposed her to a real work situation, adding that graduates need to change their attitudes. “To me, attitude is everything, for instance, when I started on this programme I used to earn R2, 500, which is sponsored by Teta. And when I told other graduates they looked at me with disbelief because they felt it was too little,” said Nkabinde.

“When you have high expectations you are going to look at things like salaries; that I have a Masters’ degree and I should be earning so much. And only to realise that you have to start at the low end and that will certainly cause some discomfort. So we need to close that gap so that we increase the appetite and help you to tone down your expectations to realistic levels,” said Mbuku.

He said a graduate who has gone through the programme not only has a point of reference but is also taught how to apply for a job and this opens up opportunities for an interview.  “And by the time you are interviewed for a potential employment in the future, you have been through all these processes. It is no longer a shock for you and so you’ve got to be ready before the opportunity comes because when that opportunity presents itself and you are not ready, you might miss it and it may not come back again,” added Mbuku.

He said in most instances when graduates walked into a workplace they realised their expectations could not be met as they thought. What WRP does is to get them to minimise their expectations by giving them valuable soft skills that prepare them for the work environment.