By Thato Choma It’s been a while now and Helen Zille is still being crucified for her “reckless” use of words on national television and the twitter streets. In March this year she referred to Eastern Cape pupils, who’ve moved to the Western Cape for a better education, as refugees. Zille made this statement after […]
education
Posted inGeneral
Where the textbook teachers?
By Athambile Masola I’ve been following the Limpopo textbook saga with half an ear. The furore unfolded while my learners and I were undergoing the arduous and exhausting process of mid-year exams. The debacle has been yet another crude reminder of the compromise of a constitutional right as well as the incompetence of the department […]
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The death of South African student politics
by Jordan Griffiths South Africa has a proud tradition of radical and innovative student politics. This is the country of Steve Biko’s SASO, the National Union of South African Students (Nusas), the detention and banning of student activists like Patrick Duncan and Ian Robertson, and the rise of student leaders like Tony Leon – who […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Grading the ANC policy document on education
By Robyn Clark In March 2012, the ANC released a series of documents intended to stimulate discussion around what the ANC has achieved over the last 18 years in South Africa, and what it should further achieve in the future. The aim of the documents is to encourage discussions around the policy process, which will […]
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South Korea’s national obsession with education
By Deva Lee On Monday mornings, I always ask my students how their weekend was. I expect tales of teenage parties and perhaps a family picnic, but am usually disappointed. Most of the time they tell me they did not have a good weekend, and that they are tired and sad. “Why?” I ask, remembering […]
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Social transformation: we don’t need permission
This post is in response to the recent Community of Mandela Rhodes Scholars (CMRS) “Conversations for Change” sessions held throughout the country in May. As a platform for constructive interdisciplinary debate and intellectual enquiry, the sessions sought to bring together academic institutions, public intellectuals, social activists, students, and community members with the intention of facilitating […]
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What about the dignity of other South Africans then?
The debate surrounding The Spear has, on occasion, been framed in terms of the concept of ‘dignity’, specifically that of the State President. And to be sure, one should grant the persons who occupy that position of responsibility from time-to-time the dignity they deserve. One could also take the argument further by claiming that every […]
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Believing is seeing: Setting improbable goals as a means to social transformation
This post is in response to the recent Community of Mandela Rhodes Scholars (CMRS) “Conversations for Change” sessions held throughout the country in May. As a platform for constructive interdisciplinary debate and intellectual enquiry, the sessions sought to bring together academic institutions, public intellectuals, social activists, students, and community members with the intention of facilitating […]
Posted inGeneral
Do we need Africa Day?
This post is in response to the recent Community of Mandela Rhodes Scholars (CMRS) “Conversations for Change” sessions held throughout the country in May. As a platform for constructive interdisciplinary debate and intellectual enquiry, the sessions sought to bring together academic institutions, public intellectuals, social activists, students, and community members with the intention of facilitating […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
Global youth unemployment trends
Around the world, many youth are increasingly trapped in low-productivity, temporary or other types of work that fall short of their aspirations and that often do not open opportunities to move to more permanent, higher-productivity and better-paid positions. In developed world economies, youth are increasingly employed in non-standard jobs and the transition to decent work […]
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The deeper purposes of education
By Mario Meyer I have a family member, a cousin pursuing a BCom accounting degree, who regularly derides the (economic) value of a BA degree. My cousin subscribes to the view that the purpose of education is primarily to equip people with the necessary productive skills and competencies to, at least theoretically, access and enter […]
Posted inGeneral
Apartheid for better or for worse
I have fallen into the trap myself: become so outraged by government mismanagement that I wanted to beat them with the biggest stick I could: “It is worse than it was under apartheid!” Unfortunately, this is not what “worse than under apartheid” communicates to most South Africans. It is all too easily read as “better […]