EDUCATION - The African Mirror

Jun

21

2023

Tanzanian students who struggle with English feel bullied – a major barrier to learning

EDUCATION

IN many postcolonial contexts, early learning is conducted, and assessed, in a language that is unfamiliar to learners. About 40% of the world’s population cannot access schooling in a language that they understand and that is regularly used in their communities. This figure may be as high as 80% in sub-Saharan Africa. Language policies in some countries preserve a role for the mother tongue or other familiar local languages in the first years of schooling. This is the case for example in Kenya, Botswana and Ethiopia. In Tanzania, the national language – Kiswahili – is the language of instruction in…

Jun

15

2023

By The African Mirror

Kenya’s budget doesn’t allocate funds for new education initiatives – this will stall innovation in the country

EDUCATION

PRESIDENT William Ruto’s first budget for Kenya sets no education priorities. The Finance Bill 2023 doesn’t make it clear what Kenya is trying to achieve – stronger foundational learning, technical and vocational skills, or innovation. Author MOSES NGWARE, Senior Research Scientist, African Population and Health Research Center This is despite the importance placed on deepening technical capacity to drive economic growth, and education reforms spelt out in the official policy. This also comes against the backdrop of a political campaign promise to “bridge current teacher shortage gap of 116,000 within two financial years”. The allocation to education in the 2023/24…

May

26

2023

By BIRD STORY AGENCY

Closing the Divide: Virtual universities transforming higher education in Africa

EDUCATION

WEST Midlands Open University (WMOU) is Nigeria's first private virtual institution to "go live", part of a wave of openings that is sweeping the continent. The country's National University Commission granted Lagos-based WMOU the green light to offer degree programs virtually. According to Adebayo Akande, the institution's founder, "WMOU will catalyse national development and global competitiveness by utilising sustainable technologies and high-quality programs to provide training and education." On a continent where smartphone adoption and affordable internet access is changing lives, education startups and institutions are capitalising on these advancements in communications to bring tertiary education to both urban and…

May

16

2023

By The African Mirror

It’s important to rethink the purpose of university education – a philosopher of education explains why

EDUCATION

MOST philosophers of education or philosophically inclined scholars of education in the past century and a half would agree with the claim that, ideally, education should be the practice of freedom. That is, it ought to cultivate the ability to intelligently decide how we want to shape our lives. The aim of education should be to foster human autonomy. Author PEDRO TABENSKY, Director, Allan Gray Centre for Leadership Ethics, Rhodes University I’m thinking here of a diverse array of scholars. Among them are some of the most influential philosophers of education and educational theorists of the 20th century: the American…

May

09

2023

By The African Mirror

Remote teaching in Nigeria and South Africa got a COVID wake-up call – how to capitalise on it

EDUCATION

UNIVERSITIES had to deal with many anxieties and uncertainties during the early days of the COVID pandemic. One of these was how to move all of their teaching online. For some, the process was fairly simple as they had already been offering blended online and in-person lessons. Authors MPHO-ENTLE PULENG MODISE, Lecturer, University of South Africa GEESJE VAN DEN BERG, Commonwealth of Learning Chair in ODL for Teacher Education and Full Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies, University of South Africa But many were caught on the wrong foot. We wanted to know how the pandemic had affected training…

Apr

27

2023

By The African Mirror

Kids and screen time – an expert offers advice for parents and teachers

EDUCATION

HOW much time did your child spend looking at a screen today? The answer likely depends on how old they are, what grade they’re in at school and what rules you have in place at home about screen time. But the reality is that for children and adolescents growing up as “digital natives”, it is almost impossible to imagine life without screens of some sort. Author CATHERINE DRAPER, Associate Professor, University of the Witwatersrand Devices like cellphones, laptops and tablets have become ubiquitous as tools for entertainment and education in most parts of the world. This has led parents, guardians,…

Mar

24

2023

By The African Mirror

Curious Kids: How are planets created?

EDUCATION

CURIOUS Kids is a series for children in which we ask experts to answer questions from kids. How are planets created? - (Saba, 6, Kenya) Thanks for asking such an interesting question, Saba. When you talk about planets you’re probably thinking of the planets in our solar system – the ones orbiting (circling around) our sun. There are eight of these planets. One of them is where you and I live: Earth. The others are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Author DANIEL CUNNAMA, Science Engagement Astronomer, South African Astronomical Observatory, South African Astronomical Observatory There are many,…

Mar

15

2023

By The African Mirror

ChatGPT is the push higher education needs to rethink assessment

EDUCATION

SIOUX MCKENNA, DAN DIXON, DANIEL OPPENHEIMER, MARGARET BLACKIE and SAM ILLINGWORTH THE COVID-19 pandemic was a shock to higher education systems everywhere. But while some changes, like moving lectures online, were relatively easy to make, assessment posed a much bigger challenge. Assessment can take many forms, from essays to exams to experiments and more. Many institutions and individual academics essentially outsourced the assessment process to software. They increased their use of programs like Turnitin to check for matched wording in students’ assignments. And for closed-book, timed tests they used tools such as Proctorio, which monitors a student’s computer or phone…

Feb

16

2023

By The African Mirror

Tanzania has ditched school rankings. It should replace them with something more useful

EDUCATION

WHILE announcing the results of the 2022 Certificate of Secondary School Examination, Tanzania’s National Examination Council did not provide school rankings for the first time in decades. School rankings have been announced for national primary and secondary school exams every year since the early 1990s. The rankings have become the main national talking point and students and parents often use them to determine school choices. Author SIMON NGALOMBA, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, SARChI in Higher Education and Human Development Research Group, University of the Free State Explaining the decision, education minister Professor Adolf Mkenda said the examination council had decided in…

Mar

11

2023

By The African Mirror

Teachers change lives – but what makes a great teacher?

EDUCATION

EXCELLENT teachers can change our lives. Researchers have shown that good teachers encourage us to think critically, reflect and learn across disciplines. These are all skills that can set us up for life. Author ZAYD WAGHID, Associate professor, Cape Peninsula University of Technology I have had the privilege of being taught by a few brilliant teachers in my life, and I have also observed teaching excellence at the numerous schools I have visited over the years as an education academic. Those who stand out are devoted, imaginative, motivated and motivating, and eager to overcome challenging conditions to make a positive…