By Praise Paida Tizora Xolani Madlabathi has an Honours degree in music therapy and was a dedicated teacher for three years. But, in 2024, he returned to university to pursue a law degree. I am meeting him in the Rhodes University Law Library to find out why. South Africa has been facing a significant teacher shortage for several years. The problem is exacerbated by high attrition rates and challenges in attracting new teachers to the profession. What is Madlabathi’s story? He sports a fetching blue woollen hat, which he adjusts every few seconds, a black jacket, a white t-shirt, blue…
Author: Rod Amner
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By Langelihle Elsie Skade Good Shepherd Primary School teacher Jade Botha is a passionate and dedicated teacher who recently won the Award for Excellence in Intermediate Phase Teaching at the Makhanda Teaching Awards. She has shaped young minds in her eight years as an English teacher. Her education journey, though, started with another aspiration altogether. Jade wanted to do psychology. She was fascinated with the way human beings behave. However, she soon learned that her calling was to walk hand-in-hand with children on their learning journeys. She switched to doing a Bachelor of Education, majoring in intermediate phase math and…
By Atlegang Seoka Excited Samuel Ntlebi Primary School children lined the street outside their school to welcome a small cavalcade of cars last week. The children sang, ululated and held up letters spelling out SIYAFUNDA EMAKHANDA. In the cavalcade was a bakkie loaded with books, shelves, cushions and carpets, a special delivery from project initiator Lucky Xaba and a team of Rhodes University librarians, including Rhodes’ principal librarian for learning support & community engagement, Sizwe Mabena. Minutes later, the bakkie was unloaded, and a colourful and well-stocked library magically materialised in a Grade 1 classroom. Ntlebi was one of four…
By Ndalo Mbombo and Nicole Palmer A few months ago, the Lebone Centre sent 12 high-quality children’s books to six local English-medium primary schools. Eleven of the books were written by South African writers, giving the kids relatable experiences to savour, while the twelfth was The BFG by Roald Dahl. After devouring the delicious volumes, seven teams of six were sent to Kingswood College Junior School on Monday, 2 September, to face 40 questions from quizmaster Majorie Brown at Makhanda’s first-ever Phendulani Literacy Quiz. At stake were dazzling new book sets for the schools and spot cash prizes for individual…
By Nozipho Maphalala and Vuyisile Zandamela The first-ever Makhanda Teaching Award honoured the excellence of local teachers at a dazzling ceremony at PJ Olivier High School recently. Six exemplary local educators received personal awards of R30 000 each, while the winning Early Childhood Development Centre, the Little Red Dragon School, bagged R50 000. Khutliso Daniels’ ebullient principal, Radio Mcuba, won the Excellence in High School Leadership award, while Khutliso’s Life Sciences teacher, Lungelwa Deliwe, won the Further Education and Training (FET) prize. Khutliso’s 96% pass rate in 2023 set a new benchmark for the no-fee school sector. Before 2023, no…
By Rod Amner Excited Archie Mbolekwa’s Grade Rs donned academic regalia at a moving ceremony to mark their ‘graduation’ to Grade 1 at the school recently. However, the school’s seven water tanks ran dry this week, disrupting school meals and closing down the ablution blocks, forcing teachers to close early classes at noon every day this week. One water tank was filled by Gift of the Givers last week, helping to keep the school afloat for a few days. But that, too, has dried up. The school has seven water tanks, but deliveries from Makana water tankers have stopped, and…
By ROD AMNER At the start of the 2023 school year, Khutliso Daniels Secondary School’s dynamic principal, Radio Mcuba, made a pact with his 88 matrics. He bought them a giant cake which was divided into 88 slices. He told each learner they constituted 1.18 per cent of the matric cohort. If they ate the cake, “terms and conditions apply”. “I am investing in you,” Mcube said. “I asked them, ‘How does the cake taste?’.” “‘It tastes so nice,’ they said. I said, ‘OK, you can only finish the cake if you give me back that 1.18 per cent’.” “I…
By ROD AMNER Do you have a spare used broom or a spade? Or a pick-axe – or even just a pick handle? Or plastic bags or a chair that could be mended? If you no longer need these things, you might consider donating them to the 1650 Social Employment Fund (SEF) workers, who are desperate for the tool and materials required to help ‘fix’ the city, said the project manager of the National Arts Festival’s SEF project, Hilton Haakonsen. “Many people have a spade or a shovel or a broom that isn’t quite good enough for their purposes. Trust…
There was much excitement around the Kingswood College pool this past weekend as the Makhandans hosted the 12th annual Brian Baker 1st team girls’ tournament.This year saw the number of teams participating increase from 16 to 20, with many of the top schoolgirls’ sides from around the country visiting Makhanda.On Thursday, the Kingswood girls had a great start beating Alex Road and Crawford Lonehill 10-9 in a nail-biting game. Kingswood and Crawford Lonehill battle for possession during their match in the Brian Baker water polo tournament on the weekend. Photo: Jackie Clausen Kingswood College head girl Amy Hopson in action…
By MASIMBULELE BUSO and JONATHAN CAMPBELL Gender-based violence (GBV) refers to any harm or violence perpetrated against a person because of their gender. This violence occurs against a person’s will, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether in public or private. This violence negatively impacts the person’s physical and psychological health. GBV has its roots in gendered power inequities and culture and norms that exploit distinctions between males and females. An imbalance of power exists between males and females, which tends to favour males. This, in turn, creates opportunities for violence against women to occur.…