EDUCATION - The African Mirror

Feb

2024

University rankings are unscientific and bad for education: experts point out the flaws

WE rank almost everything. The top 10 restaurants in our vicinity, the best cities to visit, the best movies to watch. To understand whether the rankings were any good you’d want to know who was doing the ranking. And what it was they were looking for. These are exactly the same questions that are worth asking when looking at the international ranking of universities. SHARON FONN, Professor, School of Public Health, University of Gothenburg Sweden, University of the Witwatersrand Ranking universities started a couple of decades ago. Since then they have become omnipresent, presuming importance and validity. Institutions, especially those…

Feb

2024

By The African Mirror

How teenagers navigate the nuances of social media – and what adults can learn from them

EDUCATION

FOR older generations, social media might feel like a specific and often new way of interacting – markedly different from meeting in person or talking on the phone. For most teenagers, though, it is part of an interconnected social landscape. They may not necessarily need to distinguish social connections as either online or offline. These can be fluid across digital and physical spaces. LINDA KAYE, Associate Head of Psychology (Knowledge Exchange and Marketing), Edge Hill University But there are nuances to interacting on social media – and teens are often acutely aware of them. Social media accounts are often characterised…

Jan

2024

By The African Mirror

Matric results: South Africa’s record school pass rates aren’t what they seem – what’s really happening in the education system

EDUCATION

SOUTH Africa’s matric (grade 12) class of 2023, which wrote final school-leaving exams late last year, has been hailed by the country’s minister of basic education for achieving “extraordinary” results. Of the 691,160 candidates who wrote the National Senior Certificate exams, 82.9% – that’s 572,983 – passed, up from 80.1% of the class of 2022. And more candidates than ever before obtained marks that allow them to study for a bachelor’s degree. MICHAEL LE CORDEUR, Professor and Vice-dean Teaching and Learning, Education Faculty, Stellenbosch University All of the country’s nine provinces managed to improve on their 2022 pass rates. This…

Jan

2024

By The African Mirror

Learning to read in another language is tough: how Namibian teachers can help kids

EDUCATION

IN a classroom in Namibia’s northern Oshikoto region, a teacher has written English vocabulary words on the chalkboard. She asks her learners to read them aloud. When they stumble with pronunciation, she corrects them. She also helps the youngsters to sound out words. At another school nearby, an English teacher is showing her class cartoon strips on her cell phone to help them create mental images while reading – an approach that’s proven to enhance comprehension. MARTA NDAKALAKO ALUMBUNGU, PhD student, Stellenbosch University NHLANHLA MPOFU , Chair- Curriculum Studies, Stellenbosch University These teachers were part of a study we conducted…

Jan

2024

By The African Mirror

Three South African universities have new approaches to assessing students: why this is a good thing

EDUCATION

SOUTH African higher education faces many complex challenges rooted in the legacy of apartheid. They include the fact that many students are unprepared for or excluded from higher education. Quality education is not available to all. It’s therefore difficult for many students to remain in higher education and eventually graduate. DANICA SIMS, Lecturer, University of Oxford The data points to two persistent trends. The first is that, according to 2018 figures, 69% of young South Africans (20-24) were not enrolled in education programmes. The second is that racial disparities remain in the profile of those enrolled at higher education institutions.…

Jan

2024

By The African Mirror

Should Kenya abolish all school exams? Expert sets out five reasons why they’re still useful

EDUCATION

THE role of examinations in Kenyan schools is under scrutiny. This is because there is a lot that is wrong with the country’s examinations, a situation that threatens to derail education gains made over the decades. For instance, for two consecutive years – last year and the year before – the periods during the country’s national examination period were marred by allegations of leaked tests. These allegations are linked to cartels which make money from parents and learners. BEATRICE M’MBOGA AKALA, Lecturer, University of the Witwatersrand There were also reports this year of high school students receiving contradicting results from…

Jan

2024

By The African Mirror

Ghana is behind the curve on climate change laws: expert suggests a way to get corporations on board

EDUCATION

GHANA has introduced some climate change policies and general environmental regulations but has yet to pass a Climate Change Act. This leaves the country without effective legal and regulatory instruments for addressing climate change. Climate change law expert Kikelomo Kila sets out her findings in a recent paper on why Ghana must not follow the “command and control” regulatory approach. KIKELOMO KILA, Lecturer in Law, University of Huddersfield Why hasn’t Ghana introduced specific climate change legislation, and why is such legislation important? Ghana relies instead on two legislative approaches. The first uses generic environmental legislation to govern climate change issues.…

Jan

2024

By The African Mirror

Studying engineering is tough: 6 insights to help university students succeed

EDUCATION

ENGINEERING courses are a popular choice among South African university students. But these courses are also gruelling and the attrition rates are high. The Council on Higher Education reports that half of the engineering students enrolled at South African universities do not complete their studies. That figure is similar in other parts of the world. CURWYN MAPALING, Senior Lecturer, University of Johannesburg Yet, some students weather the storms of an engineering degree with remarkable resilience, ensuring not just survival but success. How do they do it? I am a senior lecturer and trained academic advisor, registered as a clinical psychologist,…

Jan

2024

By The African Mirror

Bullies in South African schools were often bullied themselves – insights from an expert

EDUCATION

“Pupil stabbed to death at Gauteng school had suffered history of bullying”. “Grade 6 learner commits suicide after bullying”. “Grade 11 learner takes her own life after taunts over her appearance.” ANDREA JUAN, Chief Research Specialist, Human Sciences Research Council These are just some headlines about the occasionally tragic effects of violent school bullying in South African schools – and, unfortunately, the problem runs deep. In 2015 the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, which also collects information on the factors that affect academic performance, found that 64% of South African grade 9 learners (most aged between 14 and…

Dec

2023

By LINDA NGOMBE, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Elephants and floods won’t stop this young volunteer teacher

EDUCATION

CLASS is in session at Musasawanyama Community School and Charles Mvula is teaching with a confidence that belies his years. He is also making every minute count because, in this remote community in eastern Zambia, access to the school is far from guaranteed. All too often, nature gets in the way. "Most of the time, our pupils cannot attend school because the paths are obstructed, especially by elephants. Someone who did not grow up here would not last a week," Mvula explained. The community is located close to Lukusuzi National Park and while the park is a protected area, reaching…