EDUCATION - The African Mirror

Nov

17

2020

Teenage pregnancies rise in parts of Kenya as lockdown shuts schools

EDUCATION

AYENAT MERSIE JACKLINE Bosibori wept when she found out she was pregnant. The 17-year-old's mother, who is raising six kids alone, collapsed in their one-room home. They had been repeatedly threatened with eviction and couldn't afford another mouth to feed. "If I was in school, this could have not happened," said Bosibori, who wants to become a lawyer. Bosibori stands with her mother Ann Kemunto outside their home in Lindi village.4 NOV 2020. NAIROBI, KENYA. REUTERS/MONICAH MWANGI With schools closed due to the coronavirus pandemic and her mother out selling vegetables on the roadside, Bosibori got involved with a man…

Oct

29

2020

By The African Mirror

Education is both the victim and the best weapon in Central Sahel conflict

EDUCATION

CRAIG BAILIE, Lecturer in Political Science, Stellenbosch University SOUTH Africa’s first democratically elected president, Nelson Mandela, captured the value of education when he said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” This is why quality education is one of the 17 sustainable development goals “to transform our world” of the United Nations (UN). It’s also why protecting education from attack during armed conflict and in insecure spaces is so important. The UN has had the protection and provision of education during armed conflict on its agenda since 2010. This was when the General…

Oct

28

2020

By The African Mirror

Keeping girls in school seen worth billions to developing nations

EDUCATION

SONIA ELKS MAKING sure all girls are finishing secondary education by 2030 could boost the gross domestic product (GDP) of developing countries by 10% on average over the next decade, according to a report. Every $1 spent on girls' rights and education would generate a $2.80 return - equivalent to billions of dollars in extra GDP, according to the study by rights group Plan International and financial services firm Citi's Global Insights team. "COVID-19 recovery plans that prioritise investment in girls' education and well-being will help communities and economies build back better and stronger," said Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen, chief executive of…

Dec

02

2020

By The African Mirror

What complexity theory can teach leaders of South African universities today

EDUCATION

UNIVERSITIES are complex, dynamic organisations which must adapt in ways that aren’t always planned or predicted. For some university leaders, such challenges present an opportunity to lead for great change within the sector. For others, the sheer speed of unplanned change makes the situation feel chaotic and overwhelming. CYRILL WALTERS, Postdoctoral fellow, Stellenbosch University To succeed, university leaders need to understand that the qualities of leadership that may have worked in the past are different to those required in a complex world. South African higher education institutions experienced significant political unrest since March 2015 when the #RhodesMustFall and #FeesMustFall movements…

Nov

29

2020

By The African Mirror

Post COVID-19: opportunity for universities to have a rethink

EDUCATION

UNIVERSITIES have a long history of operating in environments that are unstable, disruptive and unpredictable. They’ve endured political upheavals, financial crises and disruptive trends such as digital transformation and globalisation. TAWANA KUPE, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University, University of Pretoria GERALD WANGENGE-OUMA, Director of Institutional Planning, University of Pretoria They’ve had to respond to demands for greater access, life-long learning and multiple competing demands from students, society, the state, industry and local communities. But the COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented and a more formidable challenge. The scope and scale of its challenges have multiple dimensions. In the South African context,…

Dec

31

2020

By The African Mirror

Zimbabwe delays new school term due to rising COVID-19 cases, cyclone

EDUCATION

ZIMBABWE has postponed the re-opening of schools planned for next week, due to a surge in coronavirus infections and a tropical storm sweeping through the region, the government has announced. The government had set January 4 as the date to re-open primary and secondary schools, after many students missed class for much of last year as the country tried to curb the spread of COVID-19. Zimbabwe has recorded more than 13,000 cases of COVID-19 and 359 deaths. Daily cases have averaged more than 100 this week, compared to less than 50 last month. A teachers' union earlier petitioned the courts…

Dec

25

2020

By The African Mirror

Schools around the world must teach LGBT+ acceptance

EDUCATION

MANOS ANTONINIS IT is alarming how many LGBT+ students are bullied at school. Globally, four out of 10 LGBT+ youth say they have been “ridiculed, teased, insulted or threatened at school” because of their sexual orientation and gender identity, primarily by their peers, according to UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report. In many Arab countries and also in sub-Saharan Africa, the report found that roughly the same proportion of students also reported feeling rarely or never safe at school. This is likely to have a huge impact on these students’ mental health and learning, and consequently on our societies. Of course,…

Dec

24

2020

By The African Mirror

With schools shut by pandemic, solar radios keep Kenyan children learning

EDUCATION

BENSON RIOBA DEEP in Tana River County, in southeastern Kenya, a group of pupils formed a circle around their teacher, jotting down notes as they listened to a Swahili diction lesson coming from the solar-powered radio sitting in their teacher's lap. The radio the children from Dida Ade primary school gathered around was one of hundreds distributed for free to the most vulnerable households in the semi-arid region east of Kenya's capital, Nairobi. The radios allow children without internet access or electricity at home to continue studying while schools are closed to slow the spread of COVID-19, in a project…

Dec

19

2020

By The African Mirror

Uganda’s schooling system doesn’t politically empower young people

EDUCATION

MORE than 20 years ago, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development stated that: The lack of education stops a great majority of Africans from being citizens in their own right. However, in the two following decades, there have been very mixed results on how education enhances political empowerment in sub-Saharan Africa. SIMONE DATZBERGER, Assistant Professor in Education and International Development, UCL Some researchers found that in Kenya civic education programmes had positive effects on political participation and engagement. By contrast, other scholars argued that higher levels of education did not increase people’s propensity to pursue “easy” forms of political…

Dec

15

2020

By The African Mirror

Generation COVID: In 2020, WhatsApp was a lifeline for schoolwork – and solidarity

EDUCATION

KIMBERLY-VIOLA HEITA My 2020 was meant to be the year I became a student radio presenter and, along with my peers, formed a new political society at the University of Namibia. Even though I got off to a great start, COVID-19 quickly put an end to it. As an unimaginable year draws to a close, its hard not to count losses and dwell on the opportunities the pandemic robbed from us young people. But 2020 has forced us to innovate, collaborate and discover resilience we didn't know we had. As a 21-year-old political science student, I had planned to engage…