EDUCATION - The African Mirror

Mar

23

2022

For 25 cents a day, poor Nigerians get a shot at science education

EDUCATION

ABRAHAM ACHIRGA A Nigerian school is targeting students from poor families to give them a chance to excel at science, maths and engineering for a fee of 100 naira (25 cents) a day, hoping they can hone skills to help their families escape poverty. One student, 12-year-old Faridat Bakare who enrolled at Knosk Secondary School in Abuja in 2020, a year after it opened, has set her sights on becoming an engineer. In a technical laboratory at the school, she shows off a prototype for a solar-powered car made from cardboard, which she developed with her classmates. "I want to…

Mar

18

2022

By The African Mirror

Uganda recognizes pregnant teens’ right to education, but religion, stigma lock out most

EDUCATION

WAMBI MICHAEL WHEN schools reopened in Uganda in January, Atim’s baby was 3 months old. The 17-year-old wished to go back to classes but she faced a dilemma—whether to disclose to her teachers that she was a lactating mother. Atim chose to open up to some of the teachers who offered to help her return. The school made a provision to allow her to secretly breastfeed the baby within its premises. The first two weeks were challenging for the young mother. “It wasn’t easy but I’m now getting used to the students and teachers. The teachers have really been helpful,”…

Mar

15

2022

By The African Mirror

Black women in South African academia struggle to get ahead: what needs to change

EDUCATION

IN South Africa, the number of black women who acquire undergraduate degrees has increased more than any other population group. Yet they remain underrepresented in senior academic and management positions in the country’s higher education institutions. Author JEAN LEE FARMER, Advisor: Higher Education Professional Development, Stellenbosch University Historically, black South African pupils received separate schooling and less funding for education from the apartheid government than white pupils. Mixed-race, Indian and Asian learners received slightly more than black learners. Separate higher education institutions were also established for the different race groups. Very few black students could apply for special permission to…

Mar

11

2022

By The African Mirror

‘Lost generation’ feared as COVID school closures fuel inequality

EDUCATION

ANNIE BANERJI and HEDWIG ARINAITWE STANDING in front of India's Taj Mahal, tour guide Raju Usmani fears for his daughter's future. With COVID-19 decimating his income, he may have to pull her out of school just as she is catching up after nearly two years stuck at home. Areeba, 10, is among 1.6 billion children globally - more than 90% of all school students - who have been affected by pandemic school closures, which threaten to widen wealth inequalities both within and between countries. "We're running the risk of a lost generation," U.N. education expert Robert Jenkins told the Thomson…

Mar

08

2022

By The African Mirror

Elitism affects schools across the globe: it needs to be kept in check

EDUCATION

THERE is no shortage of themes to address in schools and universities: wellbeing; climate change; diversity; equity and social justice; assessment; 21st century learning; the list goes on. Author CONRAD HUGHES, Campus and Secondary Principal at the International School of Geneva's La Grande Boissière, Research Associate at the University of Geneva's department of Education and Psychology, Université de Genève But, are there some challenges that stand out above the others? The answer is yes, but yes on two fronts. The first relates to the teacher – the most important human influence on student learning. This has been shown through multiple…

Mar

02

2022

By The African Mirror

Child care centres in South Africa need more support: principals tell of pandemic impact

EDUCATION

SOUTH Africa’s early childhood development sector plays a critical role in providing early care and education, catering generally for children aged three to five in their pre-primary school years. Though it’s an essential service, this sector remains mostly informal. Government has not supported it well with the funding needed to provide quality early care and early learning services. Author CATHERINE DRAPER, Associate Professor, University of the Witwatersrand The majority of early childhood development centres therefore rely on fees paid by children’s caregivers. Services are out of reach for caregivers who cannot afford these fees. The sector employs mostly black African…

Feb

24

2022

By The African Mirror

Reimagining the Futures of Higher Education 2050

EDUCATION

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER IN preparation for the upcoming third UNESCO World Higher Education Conference, the University of the Futures Network (UFN), in partnership with UNESCO is organising a conference hosted by the University of South Africa (UNISA). The aim is to bring together global higher education experts and stakeholders to rethink and reimagine the higher education of the future. The focus of the conference is on the Futures of Higher Education, which is one of the 10 themes that will contribute to the WHEC 2022 theme on “Reinventing Higher Education for a Sustainable Future”. The organisers said: “WHEC is short…

Feb

22

2022

By The African Mirror

Uganda closed schools for two years – the impact is deep and uneven

EDUCATION

Uganda enforced the longest period of school closures worldwide – 22 months – during the COVID-19 pandemic. The strategy was subject to scrutiny by many local and international organisations in view of the multiple challenges the country’s education sector already faced before the pandemic. Authors SIMONE DATZBERGER, Assistant Professor in Education and International Development, UCL AMIYA BHATIA, Assistant Professor in Social Epidemiology and Child Protection, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine JENNY PARKES, Professor in Education, Gender and International Development, UCL KAREN DEVRIES, Professor of Social Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Studies of the predicted and…

Feb

15

2022

By The African Mirror

Deeper divide: what Kenya’s pandemic school closures left in their wake

EDUCATION

IN Kenya, the pandemic disrupted learning for 15 million students in primary and secondary institutions. Schools closed on 16 March 2020, were partially reopened on 19 October 2020, and fully reopened on 4 January 2021. Author BENTA A. ABUYA, Research Scientist, African Population and Health Research Center During the period of closure, the government committed to providing learning opportunities for children locked down at home through a variety of measures. Through the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development, for instance, it began to broadcast lessons that could be accessed by households. It also sought to boost access to online learning platforms,…

Feb

08

2022

By The African Mirror

Nigeria needs more social science research: how to boost output

EDUCATION

Authors ABIODUN EGBETOKUN, Assistant Director, Research, National Centre for Technology Management (NACETEM) ADEDAYO OLOFINYEHUN, Researcher, National Centre for Technology Management (NACETEM) SUB-SAHARAN Africa faces some of the biggest challenges to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. For instance, Nigeria has at least 87 million people in extreme poverty. The country’s unemployment rate was over 33.3%, the second highest in the world, at the end of 2020. These kinds of challenges are the business of social science — the branch of science concerned with society and human behaviours. Social science research helps in understanding and developing solutions to complex problems including climate…