South Africa’s Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, has spoken frankly about the ongoing struggle with the price of school uniforms as parents around the country battle to make ends meet. “This is very close to my heart and I think anybody who comes from a poor background – like ourselves – or a township will […]

Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, will announce the results of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations in Pretoria on Monday. The matric exams concluded on 15 December 2020 after a strenuous academic year. The release of the matric results have been approved by Umalusi, the Quality Council in General and Further Education and Training. […]

An amazing initiative is making a difference in South Africa where there’s a huge need to learn coding without requiring computers, which so few have. Over 16,000 of the 25,000 schools in the country do not have computer labs, and consequently, the workshops are focusing on “CODING UNPLUGGED”, referring to the fact that coding can […]

Dozens of learners come running when Phakamisani Primary School principal Xola Faku calls through a loudhailer, telling them their lunch has arrived. It is midday on Wednesday in the informal settlement of Qolweni, in Bitou, and for many learners at the school this is the only meal they have during the day. Phakamisani Primary School […]

The Department of Basic Educations says several provinces have completed the marking of Grade 12 exam papers ahead of schedule, and that results will be released on time. According to the department’s Assessment and Examination Director, Priscilla Ogunbanjo, over 90% of centres, which were scheduled to finalise the marking of scripts on Friday, have already […]

Higher education is the latest sector in South Africa to delay its re-opening dates with 16 universities still finalising their academic year. Addressing the media on Monday, Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, announced that universities will start the academic year between early-March and mid-April. The re-opening of higher education institutions is […]

The Department of Basic Education has made the decision to delay the opening of schools by two weeks, announced Dr Reginah Mhaule, Deputy Minister of Basic Education, in a media briefing on 15 January. This decision includes both public and private schools, including those private schools that have already opened. School management teams (SMT’s) will […]

The South African Government has issued the following Amended School Calendar / Agenda for 2021, for all learners. Updated 9 February 2021: You can download the latest agenda here. 

A solar-powered computer lab in the Overberg town of Barrydale has opened up new opportunities for learners and students who have little or no access to the internet. The lab was set up in November by Net vir Pret, in partnership with the University of Cape Town’s Students’ Health and Welfare Centres Organisation (SHAWCO) and […]

Prof Jean Greyling and his team from Computing Sciences at Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth has received the Vice Chancellor’s Excellence Award, in the category “Engagement Project”. This follows on the Innovation Excellence Award also from the Vice Chancellor in 2019. Prof Greyling is very passionate about introducing learners to software development as a […]

The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has today set aside the decision to rewrite the Mathematics Paper 2 and Physical Sciences exams, following a leak of the exams papers. Judge Norman Davis ruled in favour of AfriForum and the organisation’s co-applicants who were four matriculants. The court ruled that the decision of Minister Angie […]

About 70 parents, teachers, learners, and community members gathered at Heathfield High School in Cape Town on Wednesday night to support the principal, who faces disciplinary action after refusing to open the school during the Covid-19 pandemic peak. The principal of Heathfield High School in Cape Town, Wesley Neumann, faces a disciplinary hearing from today. […]

For the first time in South Africa’s history, matriculants will sit for a national rewrite of two examination papers after they were leaked. Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga made the announcement during a media briefing on Friday where she provided an update on the progress of the 2020 matric examinations. “Having considered all of these […]

South Africa’s Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, has invited the public to join the National Reading Coalition’s first virtual book club reading session, which will be launched on 14 December 2020.   At the launch of the virtual book club, readers will discuss the book, Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. “The objectives of this reading session are […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is calling on the Gauteng MEC for Education, Panyaza Lesufi to ensure that 41,156 Grades 1 and 8 learners that have not yet been placed for the 2021 academic year are placed before 10 December 2020. According to Lesufi, the department has received 220 000 online applications for Grades […]

Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, says the department is working tirelessly to salvage what is left of the academic year after the COVID-19 pandemic affected learning institutions across the globe.   Speaking during a media briefing on Thursday, Dr Nzimande said the pandemic and national lockdown caused serious disruptions to the […]

South Africa’s Department of Basic Education (DBE) confirmed it will investigate circumstances around a leaked Mathematics Paper 2 “fully and thoroughly”. The department said, using its examination protocol, it will identify the learners that may have had access to the leaked maths paper, and depending on the outcome of its investigation, affected schools may be […]

The Basic Education Department has reviewed its COVID-19 exam protocols to allow learners who test positive for the Coronavirus to sit for their final matric examinations. The DBE previously issued a set of guidelines, which indicated that learners who were COVID-19 positive would not be allowed to enter the exam centre. Following a petition by […]

As the world celebrates World Animal Day this weekend, South African current affairs show Carte Blanche investigates why a facility virtually on the doorstep of SA’s famous Kruger National Park has been allowed to open.   You can watch the show on Sunday 4 Oct in South Africa on DStv Now or stream it overseas […]

Not even half of all school children who qualify to benefit from the National School Nutrition Programme are receiving meals, according to the Department of Basic Education (DBE) briefing to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee. This was revealed on Tuesday (1 September), when the state of reopening schools, updates on the National School Nutrition Programme, and […]

The University of Cape Town (UCT) has retained its spot as Africa’s top university, despite a drop of 19 places, tying at 155th among more than 1 500 institutions in the 2021 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, which were published on Wednesday, 2 September 2020. The annual THE World University Rankings assesses institutions […]

A childhood memory wherein a friend was attacked by dogs led Zandile Mbonxa to make a pinkie promise to herself that she would never have anything to do with animals. While nobody has a one-way ticket to peek into his or her future, Mbonxa would have probably laughed at the thought that she would one […]

Every day, Zwelakhe Mnomiya from Gqamu in KwaZulu-Natal walks about 20km to and from school. The grade 11 learner is among dozens of children who make the journey on foot to Gcotoi High School in rural Kranskop. According to Gcotoi High, more than 100 learners walk between 11 and 20 km to and from school […]

Snakes are a diverse lineage of reptiles that are found on every continent except Antarctica. Despite differences in appearance, habitat preference, defence tactics and underlying biology, one thing is common to all 3,800 species of snakes — every last one is a predator. As predators, snakes are likely to fulfil important roles in ecosystems. Knowing […]

Across the world, the higher education sector is changing because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Conversation Africa’s Nontobeko Mtshali asked vice-chancellors from three South African universities to share their insights about what these changes could mean for the country’s higher education landscape. What long-lasting changes to South Africa’s higher education sector has the pandemic brought? […]