Philippi High students demand promised new school
About 150 students from Philippi High School marched to the Metro South Education District Office demanding that a new school they say was promised to […]
Education
Veggie garden feeds and greens Khayelitsha
The establishment of a food garden at Isikhokelo Primary school in Khayelitsha has sparked a small vegetable gardening revolution in the township.
Founder of the Ikhaya Food Garden at Isikhokelo Primary, Xolisa Banga, said he approached the school to plant vegetables on a portion of their property in 2013 in order to help feed the children and educate the community about healthy eating.
No birth certificate, no education
A seven-year-old Philippi girl has internalized the shame of not having a birth certificate to such an extent that she hides inside the house so that people don’t ask why she is not at school.
Local brothers get learners excited about literacy
Upon entering the classroom at Lantana Primary in Lentegeur, Read to Rise programme manager Roscoe Williams is greeted with hugs and high fives from excited Grade Two learners.
The learners had been waiting in anticipation for their interactive reading session to begin as word spread that Williams was in the building. After three years of visiting the school, his Read to Rise programme has become a favourite activity.
Cyclists crank the Ks for literacy campaign
Four men are to embark on a four-day cycle tour from Ladysmith to Cape Town in a bid to raise money to develop literacy among girls attending the Chumisa Primary school in Khayelitsha.
The 320km ride starting on 1 November, is in support of the Cape Town-based Thope Foundation, an NPO focused on supporting the holistic development of African girls, and the men, all of whom are from the Western Cape, are hoping to raise R100,000 for the Foundation’s work.
Why student protests in South Africa have turned violent
“Burn to be heard.” This chilling statement has been doing the rounds through word of mouth and social media on South African campuses in recent weeks.
The message has to be taken seriously. Buildings and vehicles at several universities have been burned since a new wave of protests kicked off in the middle of September 2016. The arsonists haven’t been identified yet, but government and university managements’ fingers are pointing at student protesters.
Some students have also used disruptive tactics to shut their campuses down until their demands for free education are met.
Universities have responded by securitising their campus; seeking wide-ranging interdicts against students and deploying private security guards.
Walking Bus protects pupils from gangs
Running the gauntlet to school is no longer a danger for some children in gang-infested Mitchells Plain thanks to an innovative ‘walking bus’ initiative implemented by the Western Cape Community Safety MEC Dan Plato earlier this year.
The initiative, which sees parents and grandparents volunteering to accompany groups of children to and from school, was introduced in Delft in May, and expanded to include the Mitchells Plain areas of Lentegeur and Beacon Valley in June.
Masibambisane High on the IT map with Korean help
A Maths and Science school in Delft has received a major donation from Samsung.
A high school in gang-ridden Delft hosted 30 Korean volunteers for a week, who, as part of a team from electronics giant Samsung, taught learners smartphone repair skills and how to establish an online shopping portal.
#Police brutality at University campuses across the country
As university students across the country intensify their demand for free education under the banner of #FeesMustFall, their cause has not been peaceful with incidents of violence being widely reported. Those who are sympathetic are getting worried that the violence associated with the students’ protests is sabotaging their legitimate claim which is in line with the Freedom Charter that there shall be free and compulsory education.
SADTU denial gives ammunition to union bashers
The education system is in crisis. Senior educator posts in some schools have been sold by unscrupulous union members, often working together with education department officials; recent studies reveal that many teachers responsible for tuition in English do not even have the vocabulary expected of grade three learners; and, in many schools, less than half the curriculum is covered by the end of every year.
These are carefully researched facts. Yet, when the ‘posts for sale’ scandal surfaced again last week, the reaction by the SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) was denial, accompanied by often vociferous accusations of political conspiracies and “union bashing”.
40 years on – still no quality public education!
1976 marks the year when students in Soweto and throughout the country stood up against the apartheid regime and fought for quality education.
2016: fast-forward 40 years, the dream of public quality education has not been realized after 22 years of democracy. Elitsha has been consistently covering stories about the lack of quality public education. From Ikhwezi Lesizwe Primary school in Khayelitsha to Gordon Primary school in Alexandra township in Johannesburg to Chubekile Senior Secondary School in Kwa-Zakhele in Port Elizabeth.
UCT Shackville protesters effectively expelled
An interdict against a number of University of Cape Town (UCT) students was made an order of court. As a result, five students find themselves effectively expelled.
The five (of the original 16 named respondents) are not allowed on campus for an indefinite period of time except with express written consent of the vice-chancellor. They are: Alex Hotz, Masixole Mlandu, Chumani Maxwele, Slovo Magida and Zola Shokane. They will also have to pay UCT’s costs including the costs of two counsel.
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