By Siphiwe Sithole I must congratulate the class of 2013 for achieving what is said to be the highest pass rate of 78.2% since 1994 in South Africa. It is always exciting to watch newly matriculated youths get into the real world, some get jobs, others further their studies while others journey to find themselves […]
education
Posted inNews/Politics
You can represent Mandela in his absence
By Amukelani Mayimele This is one of those days where society is watching everything we say about Nelson Mandela. We are almost challenged to sound politically correct in our writing and in our sharing of memories of Madiba. Many have succumbed to the pressure and society’s dictatorship on how we should react and think about […]
Posted inGeneral
Tutoring can help
Emmanuel Khumalo an educator at the Krazifizix Educational Club, a free extra-lesson tuition programme in KwaMashu in KwaZulu-Natal, is proving that with a little extra help he can give learners the opportunity to thrive academically and build brilliant futures for themselves. “I started at Krazifizix in February this year, however have always been giving lessons,” […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
The problem is the Englishness*
I teach English. People often have a quizzical look when I respond to the question: “Which subjects do you teach?” (I won’t belabour the race issue that underpins the subtext of the quizzical look seeing as there aren’t many black English teachers in the southern suburbs of Cape Town). I often try to explain to […]
Posted inGeneral
Paedophilia, paranoia and becoming strangers to our children
I stroll through the Now We Are Six woods not far from my home in Birkdale, Auckland. Any second Piglet will bounce out. I shall ask him, ‘What day is it today?’ Piglet will squeak, “It’s today.’ And I shall exclaim: ‘My favourite day!’ The streams are laced throughout Auckland suburbia, with bridges over them and thickets […]
Posted inBusiness, Tech
Academia is Africa’s last hope
“I am studying mathematics because I wanted to study something as difficult as it is useless.” I follow this statement with a polite laugh and wink. This is how I answer a person asking me why I’m studying a subject that most people regard with a terrified shudder (no doubt linked to their bad memories […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
An educated population is not a panacea but it’s the only way forward
I have always maintained that the only way for our country to achieve true prosperity, and for individuals and groups to achieve their goals, is through the education of all our people. This means that where there is a budgetary conflict, education takes priority over almost anything else. I would like to start off by […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
How poor is poor?
Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor. — James A Baldwin Poverty and hunger remain a global challenge. However fewer people live in extreme poverty in the 21st century compared to previous generations. According to the World Bank, between 1981 and 2008, the proportion of people […]
Posted inEquality
Private schools: Reminders of white supremacy
Recently I attended a high school debating competition for some of the schools in the Western Cape. The event was hosted by Bishops Diocesan College, a private school for boys neatly tucked away in Cape Town’s southern suburbs. While I marvelled at the facilities and the remnants of British colonialism in the architecture, I was […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Young people are the majority and should act like it
By Frederik de Ridder In 2009, 23 million people registered to vote, and 18 million voted. In 2014, 21 million people in SA will be between the ages of 18-35 years. Seven million people will be between the ages of 18-24 years and 4 million young people will not be in employment, education or training. Also in 2014, 1 million […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Zuma and Obama tango to the Death March
The timing of United States President Barack Obama’s two-day state visit to South Africa was less than ideal. Overshadowing the political arena was a looming, distracting historical backdrop: former president Nelson Mandela’s faltering but determined struggle to live. Both leaders were acutely aware that they had to avoid any perception of insensitivity to the prevailing […]
Posted inGeneral
Why learn an African language?
A short version of this article appeared in the M&G print verison on May 24 2013. Every thinking white South African must have at least toyed with the idea of learning to speak an African language. Few however have made the effort. Nor it seems are their children learning. The department of basic education is […]