EDUCATION - The African Mirror

Nov

29

2020

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…

Sep

24

2021

By The African Mirror

The genocide of signed languages: protecting the linguistic rights of Africa’s deaf children

EDUCATION

DEAF rights to language, expression, literacy and education have been marginalised throughout history. And signed languages have taken second place to spoken languages. The 1880 Milan Convention, for example, gave rise to a period when deaf children were forced to use oral language at school. EMMA ASONYE, Speech and Hearing Scientist, University of New Mexico The passing of the convention amounted to a global attack on the linguistic rights of deaf people. The convention passed a resolution that deaf children (and students) should be mandated to ‘speak’ and learn through oral methods. And that the use of signed language in…

Sep

21

2021

By The African Mirror

Rewarding academic achievement in schools creates barriers: a South African perspective

EDUCATION

MOST South African parents and learners are familiar with the school practice of rewarding learners for academic achievement visibly, tangibly and publicly. Schools tend to reward in ways that are both traditional and unique. Some rewards can be seen on the learners’ school uniform – like a special kind of tie or blazer. Other common forms are pins worn on the lapel bearing words such as “Mathematics” or “English”. These serve as a daily reminder of a learner’s achievement, lasting well beyond the ceremony in which they were presented. SAHAKIRA AKABOR, Postdoctoral Research Fellow , University of South Africa Schools…

Jan

30

2021

By The African Mirror

Pandemic feared fuelling child abuse at Nigeria’s Islamic schools

EDUCATION

EMELINE WUILBERCQ EFFORTS to stop abuse and forced begging of pupils at Islamic schools in northern Nigeria are at risk as the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic could push more struggling families to enrol their children, according to campaigners. The Islamic schools, known locally as almajiri schools, are estimated to host about 10 million children - mainly boys - and hit headlines in 2019 when a series of police raids on the institutions uncovered widespread physical and sexual abuse. Nigeria's northern governors agreed last April to close the schools and send pupils back home due to concerns over COVID-19, which…

Jan

27

2021

By The African Mirror

How tutoring companies are bridging the education gap

EDUCATION

LISA WITEPSK EDUCATION – always a contentious topic in South Africa – has been impacted more than most other industries by the Covid-19 pandemic. But, as always, the flipside to challenge is opportunity, as tutoring companies Kitso Technology Excellence Academy (KTEC) and eThuta show. Eight out of every 10 South African school children are unable to read properly – “not in English, not in their home language, not in any language,” laments Moses Mphahlele, co-founder of eThuta, illustrating why so many parents consider extra educational support a necessity. Reneiloe Seodigeng While this means that individuals offering tutoring services – of…