By JOY HINYIKIWILE The Eastern Cape Department of Education has been given until 13 July to temporarily appoint four new teachers at Mary Waters Secondary School after the school, represented by the Legal Resources Centre (LRC), made an urgent court application to the Makhanda High Court. The school reported a loss of 124 teaching periods a week since the start of the year due to teacher shortages. It says the department short-changed it by several teacher posts for its 2022 post provisioning. Angry parents have staged various protests against the shortages over the past few years. On 23 June, Makhanda…
Author: Joy Hinyikiwile
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By JOY HINYIKIWILE The first day of the National Arts Festival (NAF) got off to a rocky start when Festival-goers struggled to buy tickets or get their tickets recognised by scanners at venues. Cue staff members were alerted to the challenges. “I was told my ticket doesn’t look legitimate,” one audience member said. Others explained they never received tickets despite paying for them online. NAF CEO Monica Newton said her team was unaware of scanner issues at venues but hoped people who showed proof of ticket purchase were allowed in regardless of whether scanners could read the tickets. She promised…
By JOY HINYIKIWILE Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) was implemented in SA schools in 2000 as part of Life Orientation to contribute positively to adolescent sexual health in a holistic manner. But is it succeeding? Catriona Macleod, a Rhodes University psychology professor and SARChl Chair in Critical Studies in Sexuality and Reproduction, recently delivered a lecture to the Friends of the Library titled, ‘How school-based sexuality education fails South African youth’. Macleod said many young people receive lessons on sexuality in schools, which is still the best way to reach most of the country’s youth. But, she pointed to four problematic…
By JOY HINYIKIWILE A humble, quiet person and a great soccer player – this is how family and friends described the late Rhodes student Lizo Lunga Tshila as he was laid to rest in eNgcobo on Saturday, 4 June. The body of the 23-year-old, third-year Bachelor of Pharmacy student was found in the Botanical Gardens at about 8.30 am on Saturday, 28 May. Lizo’s passing triggered concerns about mental health services at Rhodes University, as many believed he had committed suicide. However, the cause of Lizo’s death has not yet been confirmed. SAPS spokesperson Majola Nkohli said an inquest docket…
By JOY HINYIKIWILE In March 2022, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) upheld with costs the case by former Rhodes student, Yolanda Dyantyi, to appeal Rhodes University’s disciplinary case against her. Dyantyi was permanently excluded from the university with two exams left before completing her BA degree in November 2017. Along with Dominique McFall and Naledi Mashishi, she was accused of being involved in an incident in which three male students were held against their will during the 2016 #RUReferenceList protests against sexual harassment and rape. On 17 November 2017, the university found Dyantyi guilty of kidnapping, insubordination and assault,…
By JOY HINYIKIWILE They lived between 1760 and 1999 and made an indelible mark on literature. They composed hymns, wrote novels, short stories, poems, articles and essays; established newspapers and translated literary work between English and IsiXhosa. Their works live on, yet their names are in danger of being forgotten. This is the motivation behind Amazwi’s exhibition of twelve Xhosa literary legends: Ntsikana, Isaac Williams Wauchope, John Knox Bokwe, Nontsizi Mgqwetho, JB Sinxo, DLP Yali-Manisi, Tiyo Soga, DDT Jabavu, JJR Jolobe, AC Jordan, SEK Mqhayi and WB Rubusana. In the spirit of Africa month, Amazwi South African Museum of Literature…
By JOY HINYIKIWILE A Rhodes University Mental Health Day vigil, organised in the wake of the alleged suicide of a Pharmacy student, morphed into a protest against the university management on Tuesday 31 May. The vigil honoured the memory of third-year Bachelor of Pharmacy student Lizo Tshila, who allegedly committed suicide in Cullen Bowles residence on Saturday. On Monday 30 May, the university confirmed Tshila’s death but did not reveal the cause of his death. Several students have been using social media platforms to share their grievances about the university’s attitudes towards student mental health concerns. One alleged there was…
By JOY HINYIKIWILE She grew up thinking she was not ‘girly’ enough to enter beauty pageants, but on Sunday, 16-year-old Siyolise Aviwe Sandi will be flying Makhanda’s flag high at the 2022 Miss Teenager South Africa finals in Johannesburg. Siyolise says she is confident she will do well at the 2022 Miss Teenager South Africa on Sunday. Siyolise, a Grade 10 pupil at Victoria Girls’ High, has successfully gone through preliminary rounds to reach the final leg of the national competition. I wasn’t a pageant girl growing up. I was a jeans and sneakers type of girl, but through my…
The Makhanda-based Legal Resources Centre (LRC) has extended the Department of Basic Education deadline to arrange scholar transport for 129 Makhanda and Fort Beaufort learners and submit a plan for the provision of scholar transport to all learners in need in the Eastern Cape. JOY HINYIKIWILE spoke to two Manley Flats mothers about the impact of the disruptions in scholar transport provision on their daily struggle to get their children to Makhanda schools. Noluvuyo Ndolo and Linda Peter from Manley Flats say sending their children to school has been difficult. They pay about R700 per child every month to ensure…
Book review: Dreaming in Colour by Uvile XimbaReviewed by: JOY HINYIKIWILE In Dreaming in Colour, uLanga recounts her experience growing up as a lesbian in an intolerant society. She shares memories of life moments, sometimes predicted through dreams, that were impacted by her sexuality. One such moment is her matric dance – a moment considered “a big deal” and an experience not to miss. “Everyone insisted I see that, scolded me when I expressed uncertainty about attending, predicted I would live to regret being absent from one of our biggest rites of passage,” says Langa, who gave in to the…