EDUCATION - The African Mirror

Aug

10

2020

Three South African vice-chancellors paint a post-COVID picture for universities

EDUCATION

Mamokgethi Phakeng, Vice-Chancellor, University of Cape Town Adam Habib, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, University of the Witwatersrand Tawana Kupe, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University, University of Pretoria Across the world, the higher education sector is changing because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Conversation Africa’s Nontobeko Mtshali asked vice-chancellors from three South African universities to share their insights about what these changes could mean for the country’s higher education landscape. What long-lasting changes to South Africa’s higher education sector has the pandemic brought? And how will these affect the way universities deliver teaching and research? Mamokgethi Phakeng, University of Cape Town:…

Aug

20

2020

By The African Mirror

COVID-19 disruption could be a chance to lay a firmer school maths foundation in South Africa

EDUCATION

CRAIG POURNARA, Associate Professor of Mathematics Education, University of the Witwatersrand LYNN BOWIE, Visiting associate, University of the Witwatersrand IN South Africa, when Grade 9 learners return to school after the COVID-19 closures, they will have a maximum of 76 teaching days left in 2020. But given the safety requirements and the limited infrastructure in most schools, it’s highly unlikely that they will be able to attend school every day. This means the average Grade 9 learner in 2020 is likely to have less than half of a normal year’s time in class. While learners in schools for the middle…

Aug

30

2020

By The African Mirror

Nigerian university students find online learning painful: here’s why

EDUCATION

ISRAEL OLASUNKANMI, Lecturer, University of Ibadan, University of Ibadan IN response to the compulsory closure of institutions of learning as part of measures aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria, efforts were made to keep students busy with academic activities during the lockdown. Thus, schools, especially privately owned universities, engaged students in different kinds of online learning approaches. This was limited to private schools because the government owned universities were on strike. To fully understand how students feel about online learning during COVID-19 pandemic, our study investigated the views of students of Anchor University, a private higher education…

Aug

28

2020

By The African Mirror

‘Education emergency’ as third of world’s children lack remote learning

EDUCATION

NITA BHALLA ONE in three schoolchildren across the world have been unable to access remote learning during coronavirus school closures, the U.N. children's agency said on Thursday, warning of a "global education emergency". Nearly 1.5 billion children were affected by school closures as countries locked down to prevent the disease from spreading, UNICEF said in a report. Yet at least one in three students have had no way of continuing their education at home. "For at least 463 million children whose schools closed due to COVID-19, there was no such a thing as remote learning," said UNICEF's Executive Director Henrietta…

Aug

26

2020

By The African Mirror

Zimbabwe makes it illegal for schools to expel pregnant girls

EDUCATION

FARAI SHAWN MATIASHE ZIMBABWE has made it illegal for schools to expel pupils who get pregnant, a measure women's rights campaigners said would help tackle gender inequality in the classroom and stop many girls from dropping out of school. A legal amendment announced last week seeks to reinforce a 1999 guideline that was patchily implemented and comes as school closures due to coronavirus raise fears of a rise in sexual abuse and unwanted pregnancies. Many parents of pregnant girls, or the girls themselves, decide to quit schooling due to the pregnancy, and schools do not always do enough to encourage…

Aug

22

2020

By The African Mirror

Young South Africans are shut out from work: they need a chance to get digital skills

EDUCATION

WALTER MATLI, Researcher and senior lecturer, Vaal University of Technology Most young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in South Africa continue to be denied access to information and communications technology because of poor infrastructure and the digital divide. The cost of mobile data is part of the problem. For example, compared with its fellow members of the BRICS group of nations, South Africa has the highest average price for 1GB of mobile data. One gigabyte of mobile data costs an average of US$1.01 in Brazil, $0.61 in China, $0.52 in Russia and $0.09 in India. It costs an average of $4.30…

Sep

28

2020

By The African Mirror

Case law suggests South Africa must do more about disrupted schooling

EDUCATION

MARIËTTE REYNEKE, Associate Professor in Education law, University of the Free State SINCE the first case of COVID-19 was reported in South Africa, the question of how to manage the country’s schools has been top of mind. Schools were closed in March and, as part of a phased approach, began returning from June. The risks associated with the pandemic mean the situation could change at any moment. There has been much debate about whether schools should be open at all. Some have pointed out that children’s rights – to dignity, life, equality and education, among other things – must be…

Sep

26

2020

By The African Mirror

Why the Child’s Rights Act still doesn’t apply throughout Nigeria

EDUCATION

USANG MARIA ASSIM, Senior Researcher/Lecturer, Children's Rights and the Law, University of the Western Cape NIGERIA adopted the Child’s Rights Act in 2003, giving legal consent to both the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. The country’s constitution states that for an international law to take effect, Nigeria’s legislature must create a national version. But as Nigeria operates a federal system of government, the law does not automatically become applicable in all of its 36 states. In terms of the constitution, children’s issues are the…

Sep

15

2020

By The African Mirror

Millions of African children rely on TV education during pandemic

EDUCATION

NAZANINE MOSHIRI FIVE-YEAR-OLD Kenyan student Miguel Munene sits between his parents, holding their hands as he watches cartoon characters teaching him to pronounce “fish”. The television has replaced Munene’s teachers and classmates after the government shut schools indefinitely in March to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. They are closed until at least January. Many children don’t have the option to learn online - the United Nations children’s agency UNICEF says at least half of sub-Saharan Africa’s schoolchildren do not have internet access. So some, like Munene, watch a cartoon made by Tanzanian non-profit organisation Ubongo, which offers television…

Sep

15

2020

By The African Mirror

South African universities need to know why students’ suicide risk is so high

EDUCATION

JASON BANTJES, Associate Professor in the Psychology Department, Stellenbosch University AN estimated 800,000 people die by suicide globally each year. It’s the second most common cause of death in people aged 15 to 29. University students around the globe are more at risk of suicidal behaviour than the general population. It’s important to understand the reasons so that effective interventions can be planned to prevent suffering and death. An international group of experts, working as part of the World Health Organisation’s World Mental Health International College Student Initiative, has been established to investigate the high rates of psychological distress among…