Author: Joy Hinyikiwile

By JOY HINYIKIWILE A battle over the proposed rationalisation of school resources in Alicedale surfaced language rights tensions in the town last week. There are just two public schools in Alicedale: a Quintile 3 Afrikaans-medium primary school and a Quantile 3 English-medium combined (primary and secondary) school offering IsiXhosa Home Language. The Afrikaans-medium primary school, George Jacques, has 206 learners, seven teachers and a vacancy for one more teacher. The English-medium combined school, Hendrik Kanise, has 493 learners but only 160 in high school. Last week, George Jacques Primary School parents requested media coverage for their planned march from the…

By JOY HINYIKIWILE Alex Talbot is a Master’s student at the Rhodes Department of Politics and International Studies. Earlier this year, she partnered with St Mary’s DCC to start the Makhanda Children’s Rights Coalition (MCRC) – a collaboration between child-care stakeholders to advocate for children’s rights and protection. The MCRC launched on 26 March. On 26 and 27 October, the MCRC hosted the first Play Champions workshop for child-care practitioners in Makhanda to advocate for children’s right to play and encourage safe, diverse play in the city. The workshop launched “A Chance to Play” (ACTP) initiative – a manual to…

By JOY HINYIKIWILE When the Makhanda Children’s Rights Coalition (MCRC) launched at St Mary’s Development and Care Centre earlier this year, Ovayo Novukela and I attended to cover the event. We had the pleasure of meeting Rhodes’ Master’s student, Alex Talbot, who delightfully introduced herself as the MCRC’s coordinator. We exchanged contact details and hoped to collaborate further as time went on. As someone who is building a career in education reporting, I know my work will always be intertwined with children’s rights advocacy. I was excited to get familiar with children’s rights advocacy. Alex and I bumped into each…

By JOY HINYIKIWILE Well over 100 residents have upskilled themselves with various courses at Joza’s Assumption Development Centre this year. In September, 17 students received certificates for completing the centre’s Thabiso Life Skills (TLS) course – a three-week course aimed at helping people between the ages of 20 and 30 with skills to contribute positively to their communities. In the same month, the centre also awarded certificates to 12 community members for completing its Computer Skills Programme. New ADC TLS and Computer Skills graduates were jubilant as they received their certificates of completion. Picture supplied. According to ADC’s programme coordinator…

The Matric Class of 2022 began writing their final exams this week. Here are some wishes from Grocott’s Mail and friends: To the Grade 12 of 2022: Sininqwenelela impumelelo. Nifunde nigqwese, ezimviwo nizinike konke eninako. Isixeko seMakhanda sinithembile kwaye sijonge lukhulu kuni: We wish you all the best. Study and excel, and give these final exams your best. Makhanda believes that you will makes the us proud. Thandiswa Nqowana (RUCE) Don’t Stress. Do Your Best. Forget the Rest. Best of Luck! Likhapha Thaathaa (Grocott’s Mail intern journalist) All the best to the matric class of 2022. Stay focused, but also…

With Rhodes University finally concluding its controversy-ridden SRC elections, we decided to meet with the incoming Oppidan Councillor, Adrian February, to see if he has any messages for the Makhanda community regarding student relations. As it so happens, February, a third-year Bachelor of Social Sciences student, stands apart from his fellow students and SRC members in many ways. At 60 years old, February is visibly older than most of his student peers. He is a father, grandfather and divorcee. But, he is not letting any of that get in the way of his first university experience. “I always tell students…

By JOY HINYIKIWILE “Egazini needs saving,” is the plea from Joza artist Bongani Mabunzi Diko. The Egazini Outreach Project was designed as a centre to showcase local art, train and uplift artists and preserve history. The walls are still up – but Diko says the project is in extreme disrepair and is dying a “slow death”. Situated next to the Indoor Sports Centre, the 21-year-old centre has been struck by break-ins, vandalism, fires and theft. What remains looks more like an abandoned building turned into a dumping site. Diko is the centre’s manager and is on a mission to save…

By JOY HINYIKIWILE After a five-year-long battle against Rhodes University, former Rhodes student, Yolanda Dyantyi, has given up her quest to hold Rhodes University accountable for instituting a disciplinary process against her and permanently excluding her from the university. On 13 September, Dyantyi announced on various social media platforms that she had accepted that her journey with Rhodes University had ended. She will not return to the university to complete her undergraduate degree after the university abruptly excluded her in November 2017, during the final semester of her study programme. She was left with writing two exams before completing her…

By JOY HINYIKIWILE A new book, ‘Sexual and Reproductive Justice: From the Margins to the Centre’, foregrounds communities left at the margins of sexual and reproductive health services. Edited by Rhodes alumni Dr Tracy Morison and Dr Jabulile Mary-Jane Jace Mavuso, it was recently launched during a hybrid online and in-person discussion at Rhodes with speakers and attendees connecting from various parts of the world via Zoom. Tracy Morrison. Photo: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tracy-Morison According to Morrison, who spoke at the launch, Reproductive Justice works to highlight how people’s sexual and reproductive lives are contoured by the intersections of gender, classes, race and…

By JOY HINYIKIWILE Improved performances in Grade 9 Mathematics and reading literacy shows that quality instructional school leadership leads to good academic performance. This is according to research by Dr Dumisani Hompashe on the impact of school instructional leadership on learning outcomes in South Africa. Dr Hompashe is a senior lecturer at the University of Fort Hare and a research associate at the Research for Socio-Economic Policy (Re-SEP) and the Institute of Social and Economic Research at Stellenbosch University and Rhodes University. The research aimed to investigate the impact of school leadership on learner performance after the country improved its…