Author: Rod Amner

By Nokuthula Sibiya and Nomvelo Masango “I have a question for the parents. My child is doing Grade 4 now, and it’s not easy. I just want to find out: how did you manage? She has lots and lots of work. Sometimes the homework is four pages and it’s lots of calculations. It’s not only Mathematics, but there’s also Life Sciences, isiXhosa…  Can you please advise me because now I’m in a tight corner.” Lush Mhleli, a member of the Intsomi Reading Programme, raises a question in a workshop about how parents have dealt with the jump from Grade 3…

By TANATSWA CHIVHERE I signed up for the IiNtetho zoBomi course because my friend told me that it was relatively easy. As a second-year Law and Journalism major at Rhodes University, my goal was to lighten up my load as much I could. A course without tests and exams sounded like a dream. I thought I could pass with relatively minimal effort. What I did not expect is how much the course would change my outlook on life. In our first lecture, Dr Lindsay Kelland told us that the course would teach us lessons that no one had ever bothered to…

By PEARL MUNEMO I sit with Yasipha Mgingqi while we wait for Samantha Ncula and Nakhane Simani to join us. When Ncula arrives, she asks Mgingqi about her phone, and they laugh together. Ncula gives her a fist bump and asks her if she is coping in school. Their conversation is effortless, like friends or siblings catching up after being away from each other for a while. The lively Ncula first met Mgingqi and Simani through the Nine Tenths mentoring program. Now they all study together at Rhodes University. The girls describe her as friendly and talkative; someone who made…

By JOSI-FAY SALVADORI What are the implications for education of five more years of ANC government? Gadra Education manager, Dr Ashley Westaway, says the education system we have now, is “the ANC’s system” – and, to see what it stands for, we have to look at what exists currently. “Crudely speaking, we’ve got 80% dysfunctional public schools, 20% functional public schools. That 20% can be thought of as 10% + 10%, with the first half being former Model C schools, and the other half being the one-in-nine no-fee paying schools that are functional. Eight in nine no-fee paying schools are…

The Eastern Cape is the worst-performing province in most of the categories covered by the 2017 School Monitoring Survey (SMS) released on Monday 8 April. The province recorded the second highest percentage of teacher absenteeism in the country, with 12% of teachers marked absent daily. This means that of the 54 026 teachers in the Eastern Cape, an average of 6 483 is bunking school every day. Meanwhile, a substantially lower proportion of primary and secondary schools in the Eastern Cape (64%), compared to the national average (78%), have all their teaching posts filled.  The survey showed that Eastern Cape…

The Department of Basic Education (DBE) recent announcement that it is making headway in providing libraries or media centres to schools, has been challenged by a local literacy organisation. According to the 2017 School Monitoring Survey (SMS) announced by Minister Angie Motshekga on Monday, learner access to libraries increased from 45% in 2011 to 62% in 2017. DBE Director for Research, Stephen Taylor, said, “It is encouraging to note that this increase has been largely pro-poor, with the largest improvements having been among Quintile 1 to 4 schools.” Libraries are only really effective in schools where there is a teacher-librarian…

By Temba Mkosi GBS Bank has agreed to sponsor two water tanks for every Makhanda pre-primary school. However, Luzuko Pre-Primary supervisor, Pamela Sandi, said that two tanks per school are insufficient. This is because she and other school supervisors feel compelled to donate some of their water to desperate residents. There are at least 19 pre-primary schools in Makhanda – seven of the 19 currently have no water tanks, while eight have just one each. Sandi said her school already had two water tanks, which were donated by the Rotary Club. “We have water tanks but when the rain is…

The Lebone Centre recently celebrated World Read Aloud Day by having staff members and Project Read volunteers read to approximately 600 children in Grahamstown. This year’s story, written for the Nal’ibali campaign by Ann Walton, was entitled “Where are you?” and was read in three different languages (Afrikaans, isiXhosa, and English), depending on the audience. The schools that were visited included Grahamstown Primary, George Dickerson Primary, St Mary’s Primary, Heidi Pre-Primary, Sun City Preschool and a few smaller preschools in the area. Staff dressed up for the occasion and special storyboards were drawn by Chanelle Staude, a local artist and Project…

Alicedale’s two townships – Transriviere (coloured) and KwaNonzwakazi (black African) – lie cheek by jowl. But, when Grocott’s Mail recently visited the area for comment on the service delivery crisis in the town, the political fault lines between the townships were marked. Young people in Transriviere willingly revealed their deep frustrations with Makana, while several residents in Nonzwakazi, including a Makana councillor, were unwilling to be quoted or photographed. Here is a snapshot of what some locals had to say. Jessica Rothman (right), with friends “Makana is very ‘unfit’. If we call them for a pipe that has burst, nobody comes. But, if…

The province’s farmers have been battling the worst drought in a century for the past four years, says Agri Eastern Cape president, Dougie Stern. The cumulative effect of four consecutive years of way-below-average rainfall is placing an enormous financial strain on farmers. “They have had to spend money simply to keep their productive animals in a productive state,” he said. He said the situation was “critical” in about two-thirds of the province, with the western half – including the Makana and Bedford districts – worst affected. “It is a sad reality that we have had absolutely no assistance as commercial…