Minister of Education proposes replacement of 3 year university degrees with 4 year degrees

Three-year university degrees in South Africa may be a thing of the past if the Minister of Education’s proposal to make degrees four-year courses, is accepted by the Council for Higher Education. The four-year degree is a personal idea of the minister’s to close the gap between university and business, after employers indicated that graduates were [...]

Sweeping changes announced for South African schools

From 2009 every Grade 9 pupil in South Africa will be writing a national certificate whether they are leaving school or not. This was one of five major policy changes announced by Minister of Education Naledi Pandor recently.
Other changes include proposals to:

Lower teacher pupil ratios(reduced class sizes);
Rearrange districts into smaller more manageable areas;
Get Internet into [...]

South African teachers not adequately equipped to teach maths

A coalition of Western Cape-based mathematics teachers (Concerned Maths Educators) is appealing to the National Department of Education to suspend the format of the mathematics curriculum for grade 10 to 12 learners, claiming educators are not adequately equipped to teach it, according to an article in the Mail & Guardian Online newspaper.
To read the article Click [...]

Fixing South African schools a 30 year task

Graeme Bloch, an education specialist at the Development Bank of Southern Africa recently wrote an article in the newspaper, Pretoria News about the dire straight South African schools are in. According to him a  toxic mix of problems keeps South Africa’s schools and educational institutions in a state of disaster, neither able to meet the [...]

Support for one unified education standards body in South Africa

Business and civil society in South Africa recently expressed support for a proposal to introduce a single qualifications body in education in their submissions to the portfolio commission on Education.
In terms of the draft National Qualifications Framework Bill, the South African Qualifications Authority would be responsible for the development, registration and publication of qualifications.
At present, Umalusi is [...]

Questions about South African Education – OECD Report

There are doubts about the quality of education being provided to the majority of students in South Africa, according to a recent report released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
To read Sapa article on the Report Click Here! 
To obtain the report Click Here!