Sudáfrica

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Sudáfrica: Schools are anti-ANC

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Sudáfrica/Abril de 2017/Fuente: IOL

Resumen: Las acusaciones presidenciales de Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma de que las antiguas escuelas del Modelo C están enseñando a los alumnos anti-ANC ha sido calificada como una propaganda electoralista y sin fundamento. Tim Gordon, jefe ejecutivo nacional de la Fundación del Consejo de Administración, dijo que las declaraciones de Dlamini Zuma eran «completamente desacertadas». Sus críticas siguen los comentarios que hizo en una visita a Zamdela en el Estado Libre. Ella dijo a su audiencia el jueves que no era sorprendente que los alumnos en las escuelas modelo C anterior piensan que el ANC es corrupto e inútil porque esto es lo que se estaban enseñando en la escuela. «Sus comentarios fueron irresponsables y no es justo tomar un amplio golpe en las escuelas. Sin mencionar que no es cierto … » Dijo además que era simplemente politica de partido barato. «No hay un enfoque político en las escuelas para enseñar estas cosas. Posiblemente en algunos foros, como los equipos de debate y la orientación de la vida, la política surgirá, pero no hay una directiva que la política se enseñe de tal manera «, dijo. Jessica Shelver, portavoz de Debbie Schafer, la MEC para la Educación en la provincia de Western Cape, dijo que Dlamini Zuma era «electoralista». La desafió a producir evidencia.

Presidential hopeful Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma’s accusations that former Model C schools are teaching pupils anti-ANC “propaganda” has been branded as electioneering and baseless.

Tim Gordon, national chief executive of the Governing Body Foundation, said Dlamini Zuma’s utterances were “completely uncalled for”.

His criticism follows comments she made on a visit to Zamdela in the Free State. She told her audience on Thursday that it was not surprising pupils at former Model C schools think the ANC is corrupt and useless because this is what they were being taught at school.

“Her comments were irresponsible and it is not fair to take a broad swipe at schools. Not to mention that it’s not true…”

He further said it was just cheap party politicking.

“There is no policy approach at schools to teach such things. Possibly in some forums, such as debate teams and life orientation, politics will come up, but there is no directive that politics be taught in such a manner,” he said.

Jessica Shelver, spokesperson for Debbie Schafer, the MEC for Education in the DA-run Western Cape, said Dlamini Zuma was “electioneering”. She challenged her to produce evidence.

Shelver asked Dlamini Zuma to name the schools that were doing this – and she called on her to specify what kind of propaganda was being fed to the pupils. “Without evidence they (the claims) are baseless and electioneering at best,” she said.

Education expert Professor Ruksana Osman, the dean of the Faculty of Humanities at Wits University, said it was worrying and warned the government cannot intervene in what was taught in schools along party lines.

“The state should not meddle in what is taught in schools, especially when we see ourselves as a democracy.

«The job of schools is to ensure children learn to live with all and respect the rights and views of all,” said Osman, adding that the role of teachers was to encourage pupils to have a multiplicity of views and for them to make choices from this.

“Schools cannot be places where the government intervenes along party lines. This will be detrimental to our young democracy and to our children who represent our future. Government involvement in what is taught in classrooms and how it’s taught is dangerous,” said Osman.

Social media also lashed out at the former president of the AU. “South Africa cannot afford another Zuma, especially after she blames education as the party’s downfall, not her ex,” tweeted Wade.

Michelle Igwe tweeted: “@DlaminiZuma Dear Mrs Zuma, do you propose a change to the education curriculum so that our kids can turn into ‘brainwashed idiots’?»

Africa Yearning wrote: “This just shows that while education is necessary and good, it doesn’t insulate one from being dumb. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma exposes herself”.

But KwaZulu-Natal Education MEC Mthandeni Dlungwana said they shared her views.

Dlungwana’s spokesperson, Kwazi Mthethwa, said the education system must be transformed.

He said Dlungwana was not only making a noise about this, but was taking steps to address it.

Last Thursday Dlungwana signed an agreement that would see the movie Kalushi – about Solomon Mahlangu who was hanged on April 6, 1979 – distributed at schools.

The MEC also hosted members of the cast last week, said Mthethwa.

“We have been teaching European and US history at the expense of our African heroes and heroines.

«There is a lot we are doing to transform education. It is correct that our learners must be taught the true reflection of our history and not a distorted version of history,” said Mthethwa.

Fuente: http://www.iol.co.za/ios/news/schools-are-anti-anc-8665092

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Sudáfrica: Judge accuses education minister of disrespecting pupils’ rights

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Sudpafrica/Abril de 2017/Fuente: News 24

RESUMEN: Educación del Cabo Occidental MEC Debbie Schafer ha sido «irrespetuosa hacia los derechos de los estudiantes», dijo la jueza Elizabeth Baartman en el Tribunal Superior de Cabo Occidental el martes, durante los argumentos en el caso de desalojo de la Escuela Primaria Grootkraal y la iglesia. GroundUp informa que el nuevo dueño de la tierra, que está situado cerca de las Cuevas de Cango en Oudtshoorn, quiere desalojar a la comunidad de una parte de la finca que la comunidad, por su sumisión, ha utilizado durante unos 185 años. La escuela misma ha estado en la tierra por cerca de 90 años. Los jefes de la comunidad afirman que la tierra que utiliza «es el único lugar donde los miembros de la comunidad pueden reunirse como grupo, es el lugar donde se llevan a cabo todas las actividades comunitarias».«La pérdida del uso de esta tierra en efecto significará la pérdida de la comunidad Grootkraal como una entidad», afirma. Tanto la comunidad como la escuela se oponen al desalojo. En una contra-solicitud para el desalojo, la comunidad está pidiendo que el tribunal reconozca sus derechos a la tierra, que los residentes creen que han establecido mediante el uso de larga data, o para desarrollar la ley misma para reconocer estos derechos. Los residentes también quieren que el tribunal registre estos derechos contra la escritura de propiedad.

Western Cape education MEC Debbie Schafer has been «disrespectful towards the rights of learners», said Judge Elizabeth Baartman in the Western Cape High Court on Tuesday, during arguments in the eviction case of the Grootkraal Primary School and church.

GroundUp reports that the new owner of the land, which is situated near the Cango Caves in Oudtshoorn, wants to evict the community from a portion of the farm that the community have, by their submission, used for some 185 years.

The school itself has been on the land for about 90 years. The community’s heads of argument asserts that the land that it uses «is the only place where the members of the community can get together as a group, it is the venue where all the community activities take place».

«The loss of the use of this land in effect will mean the loss of the Grootkraal community as an entity,» it states.

Baartman’s comments on the MEC’s response to the matter came after counsel for the school argued that the department failed to consult properly with the school about its possible relocation.

Both the community and the school are opposing the eviction. In a counter application to the eviction, the community is calling for the court to recognise its rights to the land, which the residents believe they have established through long standing use, or to develop the law itself to recognise these rights. Residents also want the court to register these rights against the title deed.

‘What if that was the NG Kerk?’

Advocate Anne-Marie De Vos, for the community – who are represented by Lawyers for Human Rights – said that she couldn’t find «real reason» why the owners opposed the community using the land.

«What if that was the NG Kerk? What if it were white children going to the school?» she asked, suggesting that if this was the case, the community would be allowed to continue using the land. She also called on the court to «recognise the injustices of the past».

The school wants the department to consider expropriating the land.

The department on the other hand, is not opposing the application for eviction. If the eviction is granted, the department wants to move to the school 17km away to land that currently houses a school in Oudtshoorn.

The Centre for Child Law is another respondent in the matter and also supports expropriation, as does the amicus curiae (friend of the court), Equal Education.

Problems began in 2010 when the land that the Grootkraal community had been using was sold and the school was granted a one year lease to continue operating.

When the lease expired, the department entered into negotiations with the owners of the land to extend the lease. After initially asking for rent of R32 000 a month from the department, they lowered this amount to R14 000. The department was only willing to pay R10 000.

Unable to reach an agreement, the owners sought an eviction order and the school was told that it was to close.

No engagement

Following this, the school interdicted the department from implementing the closure or relocating it without following proper consultations with the school, the governing body and the parents.

The department was also ordered to meaningfully engage with the owners to renegotiate a lease agreement.

Advocate Mushahida Adhikari, for the school and the school’s governing body, said that there is no evidence that the department complied with the order.

Adhikari highlighted the inability of the department to engage with the school about its future.

She said that the MEC needed to come to court to explain what the plan would be if the school was «relocated». She also pointed to the lack of action taken by the department while the case has been stalled over the past few years.

Responding to this, Baartman said that rural schoolchildren were the «stepchildren» of education. She said that the MEC seems to think that the court can order the relocation of the school and then the department will «make a plan».

«It is common sense, not a court in the land will do that,» a frustrated Baartman said.

‘Gross mischaracterisation’ of case

She questioned how the department came to their decision regarding the move.

«How did the department reach that decision? Was there any consultation with the school, [or] parents or was it just decided in a boardroom?» asked Baartman.

«With respect, it’s not business as usual,» she said.

Baartman said that the MEC had taken a «hands off approach». She also criticised the department for just «waiting for this case to finish» before it took action.

Advocate Ewald De Villiers-Jansen for the department, said that Adhikari’s version was a «gross mischaracterisation of the MEC’s case».

The department’s heads of argument state that following the owners’ application for eviction, the department erected a number of mobile classrooms on the grounds of the school that they were to be moved to and «undertook to provide the necessary transport» for the learners.

The department also says it upgraded the electricity and provided adequate ablution facilities.

Baartman said that in determining whether an eviction order is just and equitable she needs to know what the plans are for the children.

«I have evidence of a child getting up at 05:00. Does that mean child must get up at 04:00? [to get to the new school] What will this entail?» she asked.

Transport

She also pointed to the bad state of the roads and how negotiating these roads earlier when it is darker would be more difficult.

«What physically will happen on the ground, to say that it is just and equitable to evict these people?» she asked.

De Villiers-Jansen said that the department would provide transport for the children and that school could begin later so that children don’t need to wake up earlier.

As for the expropriation relief, he said that the court cannot compel the MEC to consider expropriation as this would be in breach of separation of powers. However, he said that the MEC may indeed consider this at a later date.

De Vos, for the community, said that given the facts, the owners are not entitled to an eviction order. She argued that the community had the right to use that land as they had used it for 185 years.

She said that there «cannot be one single person in this court in their heart that thinks it’s fair that the community must stop using that land».

De Vos insisted that the argument over exactly how big the piece of land that was used over the years or exactly what areas of the land were used, were «side issues». If need be, a surveyor could determine the extent of the land that they used.

Landless farmworkers

She said that it «shouldn’t be necessary for us to argue the justness of the community staying there». As a coloured farming community, like many others, they had used the land for years but had no rights, she said.

De Vos said that if the new owners of the land were prudent buyers they would have gone to the farm and inspected it themselves. There they would have seen signs for not just of a school, but also a church.

At this, Baartman said that the fact that there was a church on the land «should have made alarm bells go off» for the buyer. As for the suggestion that the owners wanted to bring wild animals onto the farm, De Vos said that a fence could be erected.

De Vos added that in all the farms in the Klein Karoo, there was not a single farmworker who was a landowner.

«It doesn’t exist. Why not?» she asked, saying that all the Grootkraal community was asking for was a church and a school.

The matter continues tomorrow.

Fuente: http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/judge-accuses-education-minister-of-disrespecting-pupils-rights-20170411

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In South Africa the faulty logic of xenophobia drives hostility to immigrants

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Sudáfrica/Abril de 2017/Autor: Anthony Egan/Fuente: America Magazine

RESUMEN: Una nueva ronda de xenofobia a finales de febrero en Sudáfrica fue acompañada por violentas manifestaciones dirigidas por sudafricanos nativos y contra-manifestaciones de inmigrantes que ahora residen aquí. Esta vez se produjeron manifestaciones contra Sudáfrica en Lagos, Nigeria, lo que provocó reuniones diplomáticas entre los ministros de relaciones exteriores de ambos países. A medida que el humo desaparece, deben hacerse preguntas sobre por qué esta disrupción civil sucedió de nuevo. Es fácil señalar a los dedos: La intolerancia de los ciudadanos comunes y idiota y mal elegido declaraciones, excusas o negaciones por los políticos de todas las partes también se destacan. El lenguaje de la xenofobia ha sido frecuentemente puesto en juego en los últimos meses: que los extranjeros están robando empleos de los sudafricanos, traficando con drogas y anillos de prostitución y son los principales responsables de otros crímenes. ¿Pero los inmigrantes nigerianos, zimbabuenses, paquistaníes y otros están «robando» puestos de trabajo de sudafricanos? Según un informe del Instituto de Relaciones Raciales de Sudáfrica, «Los inmigrantes de Sudáfrica-Construyendo una nueva economía», muchos de estos inmigrantes «están llegando a un país donde no pueden hablar el idioma y, a menudo, no tienen documentos de trabajo» Lo que significa más «típicamente lucha para encontrar trabajo».

A new round of xenophobia at the end of February in South Africa was accompanied by violent demonstrations led by native-born South Africans and counter-demonstrations by immigrants now resident here. This time anti-South African demonstrations broke out in Lagos, Nigeria, prompting diplomatic meetings between both countries’ foreign affairs ministers. As the smoke clears, questions must be asked about why this civil disruption happened again.

It is easy to point fingers: The intolerance of ordinary citizens and idiotic and poorly chosen statements, excuses or denials by politicians from all parties also stand out. The language of xenophobia has been frequently put into play in recent months: that foreigners are stealing South Africans’ jobs, running drugs and prostitution rings and are the main perpetrators of a host of other crimes, too.

But are Nigerian, Zimbabwean, Pakistani and other immigrants “stealing” jobs from South Africans? According to a report from the South African Institute of Race Relations, “South Africa’s Immigrants—Building a New Economy,” many of these immigrants are “arriving in a country where they can’t speak the language and often have no working papers,” which means most “typically struggle to find work.”

Closer inspection suggests that they are actually creating jobs, not just for themselves but for the South Africans they employ. Many are even prospering, with many able to start up businesses ranging “from small convenience stores to wholesalers.” This has been a source of resentment, with many South Africans envious of the success of immigrants or objecting to being employed by “foreigners.” But their success compared to native born South Africans often boils down to better educations and a more entrepreneurial mentality than South African counterparts.

If this is so, is this the immigrants’ fault? The Economist reports that “in a league table of education systems drawn up in 2015 by the OECD club of mainly rich countries, South Africa ranks 75th out of 76.” According to an article in The Economist, many of South Africa’s educational gaps indeed can be linked to apartheid. “The Bantu Education Act of 1953,” it states, “set out to ensure that whites received a better education than blacks…who were to be educated only enough to be ‘hewers of wood and drawers of water.’” This meant that black students in South Africa also received about a fifth of the funding of white students.

But 23 years of post-apartheid education strangled by bureaucracy, crippled by self-interested teachers unions and battered by corruption has not created a new generation of well-educated and entrepreneurial young South Africans. Two decades is surely enough to clear away the worst of the legacy of apartheid education and create a more effective alternative. This has not happened—but this is a social problem that cannot be laid at the feet of “foreigners” who have no influence on education policy.

As to the question of organized crime, the picture is complex. While it is true that after 1994 foreign-based crime syndicates moved into South Africa—South American drug cartels, the Russian mafiya, Chinese triads, as well Nigerian and other syndicates from elsewhere on the continent—they did not exactly enter virgin territory. South Africa has a long history of local gangs and crime organizations—many of which formed alliances with the new arrivals in the more open society that emerged after 1994.

All organized crime groups have benefited from a poorly-trained and underprepared police service that has largely served as a crowd control mechanism, subject since 1994 to internal crises and general decline in morale further undermined by political appointments at its highest echelons. There is sadly also considerable evidence of endemic corruption throughout the service.

Did “foreigners” corrupt the police force? While a number of police have been revealed to have had corrupt relationships with gangsters (some of whom were foreign), this is hardly proof. According to a report from Reuters, many refugees and migrants, in fact, claim they have “suffered corruption and worse at the hands of police and immigration officers.”

NGO Corruption Watch also found, in a study of about 300 foreigners, that all had “complained of extortion, threats and solicitation from government officials.” Last month, South African President Jacob Zuma warned about the dangers of corruption, stating that this system of “bribes for permits” posed a major risk for South Africa.

Similarly the problem of illegal immigration lies in public policy and practice. Labyrinthine immigration laws make legal immigration difficult, as do confused policies over refugee status and corruption in the public service.

Hostility to immigrants—legal or illegal—in South Africa is fundamentally economic. The majority of the nation’s native-born citizens remain poor and undereducated. They have not benefited from democracy. This societal lapse is exacerbated by a cultural mindset that sees success as a zero-sum game, that is, “if someone succeeds, someone else must lose.”

This entitlement mentality is spurred on by the promises of politicians and the growing sense that those who lead do not really care about average South Africans except as vote fodder. But unwillingness to express disaffection by voting for an opposition party means that there is little impetus by politicians to do what is necessary—improve education, fight police and public service corruption and create conditions to build the economy.

The disaffected need a scapegoat; the immigrant is a handy target. For a time scapegoating may make one feel better, but it changes nothing.

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Entrevista a Bavesh Kana. África: New Study Helps Crack the Problem of Diagnosing TB in People With HIV

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Entrevista a: Bavesh Kana

Resumen: Diagnosticar la tuberculosis en personas que tienen VIH ha sido un desafío porque a menudo tienen niveles bajos de bacterias en su sistema. Esto ha sido un serio problema para un país como Sudáfrica donde 454.000 personas están infectadas con tuberculosis cada año, la mitad de las cuales son seropositivas. La editora de Salud y Medicina de Conversation Africa, Candice Bailey, habló con el profesor Bavesh Kana sobre un estudio histórico que proporciona una solución para abordar este problema de diagnóstico.

Diagnosing TB in people who have HIV has been a challenge because they often have low levels of the bacteria in their system. This has been a serious problem for a country like South Africa where 454,000 people are infected with TB each year, half of whom are HIV positive. The Conversation Africa’s Health and Medicine Editor Candice Bailey spoke to Professor Bavesh Kana about a landmark study that provides a solution to tackling this diagnostic problem.

What has the traditional thinking been on TB bacteria and how it grows?

The diagnosis of people infected with the tuberculosis bacteria can show either that they are «active» or «latent» carriers of the disease. People with «active» disease display well known symptoms such as persistent coughing, fever, night sweats and weight loss.

«Latent» infection on the other hand is not associated with any clinical symptoms. People who have latent infection carry a 10% lifetime risk of developing active disease through a process called reactivation. This risk is increased when a person’s immune system is compromised by an HIV-infection or advancing age, for example.

 To diagnose TB, one has to identify the bacteria from a sample of sputum. For this, it must be replicated by culturing them in a laboratory. Replicating bacteria are important because they aid the diagnostic process and without them, it’s difficult to diagnose TB.

Traditionally, it was thought that people who had active TB harboured bacteria that were easy to replicate through culturing. The thinking was that people with latent infection had dormant bacteria that could not replicate, which are difficult to culture.

To a great extent, this dogma wasn’t underpinned by extensive experimental evidence. This is mainly because its been difficult to model TB disease in small animals or in a laboratory.

Our research shows that these initial views were somewhat simplistic.

What did your research find?

Our research opens a new door to cracking the very difficult problem of diagnosing people who have low levels of TB bacteria, for example people who are HIV positive.

Our findings challenge the conventional thinking because we discovered that patients with active TB in reality harbour mixtures of both replicating and non-replicating organisms. This finding is significant because it will now be possible to diagnose people who previously would have gone undetected. It’s important to emphasise though, that a single TB diagnostic test will unlikely be enough to diagnose all TB disease profiles.

In our study, we explore the presence of non-replicating bacteria that are unable to grow under standard laboratory conditions. We term these as Differentially Culturable Tubercle Bacteria (DCTB).

We analysed the sputum from TB diseased people who had not started treatment and were able to detect varying combinations of up to five operationally distinct categories of Differentially Culturable Tubercle Bacteria.

We expect that detection of differentially culturable bacteria will now make it possible to diagnose people who have low levels of bacteria, for example older people, children and those who are HIV-positive.

How was the research done?

We approached various clinics in Soweto and identified a cohort of TB patients who had drug sensitive TB disease but had not started extensive TB treatment. Many had HIV.

Their sputum samples were subjected to the standard TB tests which includes laboratory culturing. We also applied a growth stimulating technique to the specimen to see if it could be cultured under different circumstances. We were surprised when we uncovered new populations of bacteria that were not detected using standard laboratory culturing.

We compared the results of the different tests with and without growth stimulatory factors to quantify the proportions of replicating and non-replicating bacteria in each sample. We found that using our specialist growth technique, we could more accurately predict the presence of TB disease.

Why is it significant?

This study has highlighted a previously unknown complexity in the bacterial populations linked to active TB disease. Our research opens new avenues to explore alternate mechanisms for diagnosing and detecting TB bacteria.

More importantly, these findings can be used to develop new ways of understanding how patients respond to treatment. Related to this, is the ability to better assess the efficacy of new TB drugs using the methods employed in our study.

Bavesh Kana receives funding from: The South African Department of Science and Technology The National Research Foundation The South African Medical Research Council The National Health Laboratory Service The Howard Hughes Medical Institute The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation The Division of Aids (DAIDS) and the National Institutes of Health (USA) The Centre for Aids Prevention Research in South Africa He is affiliated with: The University of the Witwatersrand The National Health Laboratory Service The Centre for Aids Prevention Research in South Africa

Found this article useful? A tax-deductible gift of $30/month helps deliver knowledge-based, ethical journalism.

Fuente: http://allafrica.com/stories/201704010014.html

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Advierten en Sudáfrica sobre índices de embarazo en adolescentes

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Sudáfrica/30 marzo 2017/Fuente: Prensa Latina

El presidente sudafricano, Jacob Zuma, advirtió sobre el incremento del índice de embarazo en adolescentes, uno de los retos que enfrenta hoy el sector de la educación en el país.
El problema continúa, alertó Zuma anoche durante la entrega de reconocimientos a los ganadores del 17 Premio Nacional de Enseñanza.

La situación ‘indica que estamos fallando en algún lugar como padres y maestros, en la orientación y la enseñanza de nuestra juventud’, subrayó el mandatario en la ceremonia, celebrada en Midrand, área residencial ubicada en la municipalidad metropolitana de Johannesburgo.

Según la encuesta escolar 2015, más de 15 mil jóvenes gestaron durante el curso académico de ese año.

A principios de marzo, la ministra de Educación Básica, Angie Motshekga, expresó su preocupación por la tasa de embarazos en las instituciones de ese nivel de Sudáfrica.

Zuma también se refirió en su discurso a los ‘graves casos de delitos en nuestras escuelas, como la violencia de pandillas, el uso de drogas y el abuso de alcohol’, al igual que la intimidación que ‘tiene un impacto negativo en nuestros hijos’.

En tal sentido ratificó su enérgico rechazo al castigo corporal reportado en algunos centros. ‘Es sorprendente -dijo- que, independientemente de la prohibición de esta forma bárbara de castigo en las escuelas, todavía oímos hablar de casos en los que los alumnos han sido duramente golpeados por los maestros’.

Enfatizó que cualquier práctica similar es ilegal y que tomarán medidas contra los docentes que violan la ley, así como la dignidad y la seguridad personal de los niños.

Al mismo tiempo, Zuma instó a no renunciar y trabajar juntos ‘para eliminar estos males sociales’.

Fuente:http://www.prensa-latina.cu/index.php?o=rn&id=73781&SEO=advierten-en-sudafrica-sobre-indices-de-embarazo-en-adolescentes

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Sudáfrica: Ramaphosa condemns higher education convention violence

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Sudáfrica/Marzo de 2017/Fuente: ENCA

RESUMEN: La violencia y la interrupción de la Convención Nacional de Educación Superior convocada por el juez general Dikgang Moseneke fue «totalmente inaceptable» y una oportunidad perdida para que los estudiantes expresen sus puntos de vista sobre la espinosa cuestión de los honorarios, dijo el viernes el vicepresidente de Sudáfrica, Cyril Ramaphosa. «Lo que toda la nación vio fue una escena muy fea en una convención que se había llamado a encontrar soluciones con todos los actores, en particular los propios estudiantes. Esta fue una gran plataforma, una gran oportunidad para consolidar sus puntos de vista y presentarlos de una manera muy organizada «, dijo Ramaphosa a periodistas en la Conferencia Nacional de Habilidades en Pretoria el viernes.

The violence and disruption of the Higher Education National Convention called by retired deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke was “totally unacceptable” and a lost opportunity for students to express their views on the thorny issue of fees, South Africa Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Friday.

“What the whole nation saw was a very ugly scene at a convention that had been called to find solutions with all role players, particularly the students themselves. This was a great platform, a great opportunity for them to consolidate their views and put them across in a very organised way,” Ramaphosa told journalists at the National Skills Conference in Pretoria on Friday.

“That is a forum led by an eminent person in our country, a former deputy chief justice. That convention could not go ahead … that is totally unacceptable. It is unacceptable, the type of unruly behaviour when we are trying to find solutions and to craft ways of charting a way forward for the future of our students.”

Ramaphosa emphasised that the unruly behaviour witnessed at the convention had no place in a civilised South Africa, and could not be tolerated.

“With chairs flying around, people being assaulted and water bottles all over … we cannot have a South Africa of unruly people. We are supposed to be a South Africa of people who are disciplined, people who are able to tolerate one another, and to tolerate divergent and different views. More importantly, we should be a South Africa of people who always, in adverse conditions, find solutions,” said Ramaphosa.

“Even the most intractable problems should find a way of being solved. That is how we got where we are as a nation. This is what defines us. That is how I became so unhappy with what I saw on television depicting a very ugly side of South Africa. This is not us. That is not how we are and that is not how we have evolved to be as a nation.”

The deputy president said the numerous problems bedevilling the higher education sector in South Africa would not be solved “by breaking chairs and throwing bottles around”.

“You resolve problems by sitting down and talking them through. That is how we resolve problems and that is how we should resolve this one,” said Ramaphosa.

Moseneke had to call off the two-day national convention after repeated incidents of violent disruptions. The convention, which was held at the Eskom Learning Academy, was meant to zoom into various issues affecting the embattled higher education sector.

Other student formations refused to let AfriForum address the gathering.

Fuente: https://www.enca.com/south-africa/ramaphosa-condemns-convention-violence

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Sudáfrica: Youth League wants higher education nationalised, and they’ve actually got a plan

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Sudáfrica/Marzo de 2017/Autor: Ezma Claymore/Fuente: The South African

RESUMEN:  Entre las amenazas del líder de la Liga Juvenil, Collen Maine, contra el ministro de Hacienda, la obsesión de la liga por poner a Hlaudi Motsoeneng en el parlamento y su duro apoyo a Jacob Zuma; Usted podría haber sido perdonado para pensar que era una organización en nombre de la juventud solamente . Al fin y al cabo, el secretario general de la Liga, Njabulo Nzuza, presentó en la comisión de honorarios de Tshwane un plan de acción real sobre cómo, según él, nacionalizar la educación superior en beneficio de todos. Según Nzuza, dejar a las universidades como educación superior independiente, libre de gobernarse a sí mismas, fortalece aún más el legado del apartheid, ya que favorece a los estudiantes más ricos por encima de los pobres.

Not to get too excited about this recent development, but it would seem as if the ANC Youth League has actually come up with a plan that – while maybe only in theory right now – could actually be to the benefit of… wait for it, the youth.

Between Youth League leader Collen Maine’s threats against the finance minister, the league’s obsession with putting Hlaudi Motsoeneng in parliament and it’s die-hard support for Jacob Zuma; you could have been forgiven for thinking that it was a youth organisation only in name.

Not so, after all, as it would have it the League’s secretary general Njabulo Nzuza, at Wednesday’s fees commission in Tshwane, put forward an actual plan of action on how to – according to him – nationalise higher education for the benefit of all.

According to Nzuza, leaving universities as independent higher educations, free to govern themselves, further entrenches the legacy of apartheid as it favours the wealthier students above the poor.

 “Institutional autonomy is the first barrier to fee-free education as it places value on the basis of prestige in qualifications,” he said.

The League argued that, if you assume 70% of the 969 154 students currently enrolled at universities across SA can’t afford their fees, the government would need to free up R38.2 billion to give them all free education.

Nzuza, unexpectedly prepared, had brought some ideas along as to how a nationalised system would be able to carry the financial weight of free education including:

  • Increasing corporate tax
  • Increasing customs and excise duties on imported products
  • Introducing a household tax

Now, while taxing the South African populous might seem like a good idea to someone who’s salary is paid by none other than the taxpayer, Nzuza might find it a little more difficult to get the rest of the tax-paying public on board… especially considering the amount of goods we import just to feed ourselves.

In addition to taxing the population as much as is possible, the League believes that only the poor should have free access to nationalised institutions and that the rest must pay normal fees for what would essentially have become a state service… good luck with that.

Fuente: https://www.thesouthafrican.com/youth-league-wants-higher-education-nationalised-and-theyve-actually-got-a-plan/

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