Rhodes University has voted to keep its name at this point, despite complaints – and protests including the 2015 #FeesMustFall campaign – about the name’s association with colonialism and inequality. In a statement, issued Wednesday, the Rhodes University Council said the reasons were largely financial – rebranding the university around the world would cost a lot […]

I’m tired. Emotionally, physically and mentally tired. The worst part is, I haven’t even started working yet… writes medical student Michael Cloete. As many of you are aware, I complete my medical undergraduate degree in December 2017. For some time I have remained quiet on this issue, as I have been dealing with something more worrisome […]

In a small classroom learners from Masiphumelele are learning a new skill: playing the violin. The outreach program, that takes place on the campus of non-profit organisation Masiphumelele Corporation, is run by Titia Blake. “I’m trying to teach children to do what I do, and that is to play for weddings and functions,” she says. […]

The Heher commission has recommended that all tertiary students in South Africa be given access to State guaranteed bank loans, which they would only pay back once they start earning a certain income. The Commission of Inquiry into the feasibility of making higher education and training fee-free in South Africa has recommended that all students […]

President Jacob Zuma today released the report of the Heher Commission… The biggest winners in the proposals set out in the long-awaited report by the Commission into the Feasibility of Fee-Free Higher Education and Training in South Africa will be students in the TVET (Technical Vocational Education and Training colleges) sector. The Commission recommends they […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is today – Friday 27 October 2017 – holding a silent protest at Gauteng Premier David Makhura’s office in solidarity with all victims of sexual abuse and violence in Gauteng’s schools. The DA said: “We stand in solidarity with all victims of sexual abuse and violence in Gauteng’s schools as we […]

The University of Cape Town (UCT) has suspended classes on most of its campuses after student protesters disrupted classes and tests. On Thursday about 30 students blocked the entrance to upper campus while two police vans and a police water cannon kept watch. Another group of protesters marched through upper campus shutting down classes and […]

Award-winning South African poet Athol Williams has described the prestigious University of Oxford as “Disneyland for Nerds”… although he admits the environment was not always that welcoming. In a filmed interview with Africa Oxford Initiative, the poet says of his experience studying MPhil in Politics (Political Theory) at Oxford – for which he received a […]

Michaelhouse has paid tribute not only to the life of learner Themba Dloti, who sadly passed away following yesterday’s tragic school bus accident in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, but also to all those who assisted and offered support after the crash. Forty-six boys and four staff members were travelling in the bus, on their way to […]

Jonathan Jansen, vice-chancellor of the University of the Free State in South Africa until a year ago, has written a book on the country’s higher education sector. As by Fire – The End of the South African University is one of a number of recent books that set out to make sense of the current […]

St John’s learners, parents – and the Gauteng MEC of Education, Panyaza Lesufi – have stood up against the decision by St John’s College to not fire a teacher who allegedly made racist remarks. Lesufi said “the school has undermined the dignity of children..” and that “we advised St John’s College to fire the (racist) […]

Congratulations to South Africa – represented by St John’s Preparatory – for winning the Kids’ Lit Quiz (KLQ) World Final 2017 in Canada this month… crowned the best from over 1,000 schools around the world which competed in the annual competition. The National Champion teams, all keen readers between the ages of 10 and 13, hail from […]

The Department of Basic Education has welcomed the judgement handed down in the South Gauteng High Court that public schools cannot promote one religion. “This ruling is consistent with the department’s own policy informed by South African Schools Act and the Constitution that no one religion should be promoted above another,” the department said on […]

A primary school in Soweto was visited this week by some very special people from search giant Google… Read to Rise, a non-profit organisation that promotes youth literacy in under-resourced communities, posted the photos on this page saying: “A very special thank you to GOOGLE for sponsoring OAKY for children in Soweto and for coming […]

Solomonic wisdom needed to settle tiff over God in South Africa’s public schools The place of religion in South Africa’s public schools is set to come under scrutiny when two groups battle it out in court later this month. From 15 to 17 May the Gauteng High Court will hear the long awaited case, Organisasie […]

COSAS leads protest against Johannesburg mayor… writes Ihsaan Haffejee. Thousands of school students poured out of trains at Johannesburg’s Park Station on Friday and made their way up Rissik Street to Metro Centre in Braamfontein where the office of Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba is located. The protesters were led by the Congress of South African […]

PRETORIA – President Jacob Zuma claims the South African government will always prioritise education because it is only through quality education that the country can win the struggle against unemployment, poverty and inequality. The President said this on Tuesday when he addressed the three-day Basic Education Sector Lekgotla held in Pretoria. The Lekgotla, which will conclude on […]

Adopting the habit of working hard from an early age is what secured a bright future for an aspirant mechanical engineer, Olwethu Bitterhout, from the Eastern Cape, South Africa. He is one of the 40 beneficiaries from the Class of 2016, who received bursary awards worth R130,000 from the Department of Public Works’ Schools Programme. […]

A teenager from Philippi Village in the Western Cape, Siphelele Xabendlini, has beaten the odds to become the top student in Science in South Africa with an incredible mark of 100%. The 18-year-old also scored a whopping 92% for Maths. According to Philippi Village’s facebook page, Siphelele believes determination and dedication are all that’s needed to succeed. […]

South Africa is not producing enough school leavers who are competent in maths and science. This is a fact borne out by international assessments such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS) and the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report. These show that South Africa is not making much headway when it […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) claims that a close analysis of the 2016 matric results reveals a VERY high ‘drop-out rate’, leading to speculation that some students may have been ‘culled’ to inflate the matric pass rate. According to the Department of Basic Education’s figures, 1 100 877 learners enrolled for Grade 10 in 2014, but only 610 178 […]

MIDRAND – The Class of 2016 has achieved an overall national pass rate of 76.2% in the 2016 National Senior Certificate (NSC) Examinations, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said on Wednesday, ahead of the release of matric results. The Free State was the only province that broke the 90% threshold, with 93.2% pass rate. In second […]

Yvonne Dyum always had her heart set on becoming a doctor. And although the daughter of Stellenbosch farmworkers had her share of obstacles, she never let anything stand in her way. She focussed, persevered… and has made her dream come true. Yvonne joined over 700 students of Stellenbosch University’s (SU) Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences to […]

Former South African president Thabo Mbeki has been appointed as chancellor of Unisa (University of South Africa). The announcement was made Thursday evening.  Mbeki will replace Judge Bernard Ngoepe, who is retiring after 15 years. At a farewell dinner on Tuesday night to honour Ngoepe’s chancellorship, the retired judge was described as calm, steady and authoritative; […]

The Council of the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) has confirmed that the University will be increasing fees for the 2017 academic year by an average of 8% for tuition and residence fees. The reaction on Twitter was that Wits was giving #FeesMustFall protesters “the middle finger” and that the University had waited, as predicted, […]