Education

Empowerment through art

Hand in Hand Creatives (HHC) is a not-for-profit organisation (NPO) that aims to provide young people from disadvantaged communities with access to the creative arts through workshops, running outings, and planning festivals. The organisation believes that the arts can empower individuals and nurture self-respect.

Fergus Turner

News | 16 October 2013

Rocklands Primary School pioneers sustainability in education

It is a bright, sunny October morning in Mitchell’s Plain. At the Rocklands Urban Abundance Centre, situated on a strip of land next to Rocklands Primary School, volunteers are hard at work tending to the plants and seedlings in the tree nursery.

Delphine Pedeboy

News | 15 October 2013

Everything you need to know about funding your post-matric studies

Getting funding for post-matric studies is very important for many students. There are many ways to get funding, whether through a bursary or loan. While you don’t have to pay a bursary back, you do need to pay a loan back.

Kesia Lilenstein

News | 9 October 2013

Success against the odds for Khayelitsha learner

At this time of the year, grade 12 learners are busy preparing for their final exams; an exciting but stressful time in their lives. For 21-year-old Athenkosi Ngqunguza, a grade 12 learner from Thembelihle High School in Khayelitsha, studying is not the only challenge he faces. He has been living alone since he was 19, with no adult supervision or financial support, yet he has still remained one of the top students in his school.

Nwabisa Pondoyi

News | 9 October 2013

We need to change how we think (and talk) about social grants

On September 30, the government announced the second increase this year in disability grants, old age pensions, care dependency grants and war veterans' pensions. These increases will come in addition to the child support grant and grant-in-aid increases, which were already budgeted for in March. Although the increase is only R10, it will equate to a R41 million increase in government spending per month.

Gabrielle Kelly

Opinion | 7 October 2013

Blind sidelined by Department of Trade and Industry

South Africa’s draft intellectual property policy fails to make any mention of the most progressive copyright treaty in years. Blind and visually impaired people will pay the price if this is not rectified in the final policy.

Marcus Low

Opinion | 2 October 2013

Letter from a learner

My name is Bayanda Mazwi and I am 17 years old. I am currently doing grade 11 at the Centre of Science and Technology (COSAT) in Khayelitsha. I live with my parents and my two younger siblings in the informal settlement of Monwabisi Park in Khayelitsha.

Bayanda Mazwi

Opinion | 2 October 2013

Khayelitsha parents march for quality education

As the country was celebrating Heritage Day, about 300 parents, teachers and members of Equal Education (EE) marched from different points in Khayelitsha to Site B Hall. They wanted to draw to the attention of Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga the need for quality education for their children and to have standards set for school infrastructure.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 30 September 2013

Fewer learners fed after feeding tender goes BEE

Since the Peninsula School Feeding Association (PSFA) lost a tender by the Department of Education’s National School Nutrition Programme to deliver a school feeding service, two schools are complaining that the service has decreased, and learners are hungry.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 26 September 2013

Naidoo speaks out on Eastern Cape health crisis

The Neil Aggett Memorial lecture was delivered by Jay Naidoo at Kingswood College, Grahamstown on 13 September 2013.

Jay Naidoo

Opinion | 17 September 2013

Old container to be re-opened as Gugulethu library

An old container once used as a library could be brought back to life in Gugulethu. 100 books have already been donated.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 10 September 2013

Qualified and unemployed

With almost 53% of its youth unable to find work, South Africa is facing one of the highest youth unemployment rates in the world, far higher than in comparable countries. While the International Labour Organisation (ILO) gives the youth unemployment rate as around 12% in sub-Saharan Africa and around 28% in North Africa, these high percentages are still far lower than they are in South Africa.

Nwabisa Pondoyi

Brief | 4 September 2013

Staff pay dispute closes Walter Sisulu University

Staff at Walter Sisulu University (WSU) on a “no work, no pay” strike for six weeks have forced the university to close.

Nwabisa Pondoyi

Brief | 3 September 2013

60 days before matric examinations - how are Dinaledi schools in Khayelitsha faring?

There are seven Dinaledi schools, but learners see The Centre of Science and Technology (COSAT) as the only answer to succeeding in physical science and maths for matric.

Pharie Sefali

News | 28 August 2013

Reading for change: organisation addresses social issues through cellphone fiction

FunDza Literacy Trust is an NGO that aims to popularize reading amongst young South Africans. FunDza's goals are to encourage youngsters to read for pleasure and to help students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, to become effectively literate.

Fergus Turner

Opinion | 20 August 2013

Pregnant girls have a right to be in school

Teenage pregnancy and the stigmatisation that accompanies it continue to expose deep seated prejudices that exist in our society. Given the prevailing attitude of vilifying pregnant girls it should come with little surprise that many schools opt for a punitive response by banishing pregnant girls from school.

Lisa Andrews and Lisa Draga

Opinion | 14 August 2013