Sudáfrica

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South African Education Convention Cancelled After Chaos

Noticias

Sudáfrica/21 de marzo de 2017/Autor: News24/Fuente: All Africa

University of Pretoria AfriForum campus co-ordinator Jaco Grobbelaar said he felt like his humanity was disregarded when the higher education national convention in Midrand was disrupted with calls for white people to leave.

«I am afraid. You look at chairs flying and I see my people in the corner… there was women there and I ran to make sure that they were okay,» Grobbelaar told News24 after the incident on Saturday.

«My feeling is that they don’t see us as being a part of anything anymore. They almost deny my humanity, our human dignity.»

A delegation from lobby group AfriForum left the national convention after students denied them the chance to speak.

The disruptions continued when Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande attempted to speak.

The conference eventually had to be cancelled.

Grobbelaar said he saw no way to remedy the situation.

 «It is a circus. There is no way we will solve the situation if we are not allowed to speak,» he said.

«It is getting violent and I am not willing to risk my life to find a solution.»

Grobbelaar said they would lay a complaint with the police after a student allegedly assaulted an AfriForum member.

Wits vice chancellor Adam Habib said there was a crisis higher education because of intolerance.

«We are not willing to listen to each other. We will not be able to find solutions to the crisis. If we don’t resolve higher education’s crisis we don’t resolve the inequality in the society as a whole,» he said.

Fuente de la Noticia:

http://allafrica.com/stories/201703200558.html

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Instan en Sudáfrica a los jóvenes a aprovechar oportunidades.

Noticias
África/Sudáfrica/14.02.2017/Autor y Fuente: http://www.prensa-latina.cu/
La juventud debe declinar el uso de la pobreza y el desempleo como excusa para consumir drogas, advirtió hoy la ministra sudafricana de Comunicaciones, Faith Muthambi.

Muthambi insistió en las oportunidades de formación que tienen los jóvenes del país, especialmente en el campo de las Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación (TIC).

La funcionaria, quien visitó la provincia de North West para evaluar la marcha del sistema de educación en el área de Lefatlheng, dijo que su departamento está inmerso en el programa de migración digital en el país y tal situación demanda de técnicos y especialistas.

‘Queremos productores de contenido, fotógrafos…’, indicó la ministra, tras enfatizar que ‘la educación es una prioridad para el Gobierno’.

El recorrido de Muthambi ocurre en el contexto del llamado del presidente Jacob Zuma para que su administración priorice políticas y actividades que amplíen la participación de los negros, así como de mujeres y jóvenes, en el sector de las TIC.

Durante el discurso sobre el Estado de la Nación (SONA) el 9 de febrero, Zuma ratificó como prioridades de su gobierno la lucha contra el crimen y otros males sociales, con énfasis en la labor con el segmento poblacional de la juventud.

Según datos oficiales, la población de Sudáfrica se estimó en 55,9 millones a finales de junio de 2016, un tercio de la misma tiene menos de 15 años.

No obstante, disminuyen las tasas de crecimiento entre los jóvenes de 15 a 34 años (grupo con un índice de desempleo de 36,1 por ciento) en comparación con los crecientes índices entre los mayores de 60.

Fuente: http://www.prensa-latina.cu/index.php?o=rn&id=70402&SEO=instan-en-sudafrica-a-los-jovenes-a-aprovechar-oportunidades

Imagen: http://beyondaccess.net/es/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/02/masi-interior-tables-beyond-access-cover3-1000×370.jpg

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Ngugi wa Thiong’o Talks on Decolonising the Mind in South Africa

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Sudáfrica/14 de marzo de 2017/Fuente: All Africa

A lecture by Kenyan writer Ngugi wa Thiong’o was briefly interrupted by students on Friday, with one telling him to ask the «oppressors to leave» the venue before his address.

Wa Thiong’o was invited by the University of Cape Town (UCT) to address staff and students in the Baxter Theatre on the topic of decolonisation.

The Mail & Guardian’s Milisuthando Bongela tweeted that sociology professor Xolela Mangcu went on stage to decline the student’s request, saying it would be disrespectful for Wa Thiong’o to do so.

In her tweet Bongela said the audience clapped in agreement while there were murmurs from some sections.

Later, Wa Thiong’o had to pause his speech when a woman walked on stage carrying a protest poster.

The poster read: «SAn Edukation system is excluding poor, black disabled people.»

Rhode’s absence ‘symbolic’

The 79-year-old Wa Thiong’o apparently asked to read the poster after which he continued with the lecture as the woman remained seated on the stage.

Wa Thiong’o’s lecture was on the inequalities between Africa and Europe.

He recalled seeing a statue of Cecil John Rhodes when he arrived at UCT several years ago, journalist Pippa Green tweeted.

Wa Thiong’o said that he didn’t see it on Friday had symbolic importance, Green said.

Wa Thiong’o also discussed the importance of knowing one’s mother tongue, saying knowing the languages of the world but not your own is enslavement.

Wa Thiong’o said Africa had been told it needs the globe, but can only access it through English, Green tweeted.

The defenders of English in Africa, he said, are intellectuals and policymakers.

Source: News24

Fuente de la Noticia:

http://allafrica.com/stories/201703080075.html

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Sudáfrica: Funding free higher education must be sustainable balancing act – Gordhan

Noticias

Sudáfrica/Marzo de 2017/Fuente: News 24

RESUMEN: Al considerar cómo financiar la educación superior gratuita en el futuro, el gobierno debe abordar el asunto de una manera manejable y equilibrada que no perjudicará el monto del Estado, dijo el viernes el Ministro de Finanzas, Pravin Gordhan. «Tenemos los números, así que tenemos que averiguar cómo, de una manera manejable y equilibrada, cómo el gobierno abordará esa cuestión y esa proposición», dijo Gordhan a la Comisión de Investigación sobre la Educación Superior y la Formación en Centurión. Dijo que cada departamento gubernamental o entidad dentro del gobierno podría justificar por qué necesitaba una porción más grande de la torta fiscal de lo que tenían actualmente, «pero la realidad es que no es así como funciona la vida».

When considering how to fund free higher education in future, government must approach the matter in a manageable, balanced way that will not hurt the state’s purse, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Friday.

“We’ve got the numbers, so we have to work ouRESUMEN: Al considerar cómo financiar la educación superior gratuita en el futuro, el gobierno debe abordar el asunto de una manera manejable y equilibrada que no perjudicará el monto del Estado, dijo el viernes el ministro de Finanzas, Pravin Gordhan. «Tenemos los números, así que tenemos que averiguar cómo, de una manera manejable y equilibrada, el gobierno aborda esa cuestión y esa proposición», dijo Gordhan a la Comisión de Investigación sobre la Educación Superior y la Formación en Centurión. Dijo que cada departamento gubernamental o entidad dentro del gobierno podría justificar por qué necesitaba una porción más grande de la torta fiscal de lo que tenían actualmente, «pero la realidad es que no es así como funciona la vida».t how, in a manageable and balanced way, government approaches that question and that proposition,” Gordhan told the Commission of Inquiry into Higher Education and Training in Centurion.

He said every government department or entity within government would be able to justify why it needed a bigger slice of the fiscal cake than they currently had, “but the reality is that that’s not how life works”.

“There will always be a tension between requirement and what is available in reality,” Gordhan said.

He said there were times where more money was required in a specific department, and other times where good leadership, good management, good systems, good supervision revealed better results.

“And the same amount of money gives you much better impact.”

Gordhan said there was no “necessarily need” for upheavals in order to attract funding because government already had policies in place to address such problems.

“There has been a policy shift in December 2015 or thereabout and that policy shift required that new funds be found, and that those funds be found in a very constrained environment, and we’ve done our best as the government to find those funds and meet some of the immediate needs that we have whilst at the same time, we all acknowledge that we need to do longer term planning.”

Gordhan also questioned whether it was wise for government to react to such upheavals, at the expense of other government programmes.

“Theoretically it’s possible to shut down half the government programmes, shift all the money to where social upheavals require, nothing stops us from doing that, but is that the responsible thing to do as government?”

Balancing act

He said all South Africans had to ask themselves that questions.

“Like most things in life it’s about a balancing act.”

He said government was now tasked with meeting new requirements by students on one hand, and sustaining the overall requirements of all other South African citizens on the other hand.

“And at the same time, committing oneself, as government and other stakeholders, to process and dialogue and consensus that will more constructively take us in the right direction,” he said.

The Commission, which was established in January 2016, is tasked with investigating the feasibility of free higher education, which a focus on the broader social, economic and financial implications of implementing a fee-free higher education and training in South Africa.

Last year President Jacob Zuma extended the deadline for the fees commission to complete its report to June 30.

He received the Commission of Inquiry into Higher Education and Training’s interim report in November 2016.

The final report was expected to be completed within eight months.

Fuente: http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/funding-free-higher-education-must-be-sustainable-balancing-act-gordhan-20170304

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Sudafrica: Human rights lawyers issue directive to schools about undocumented children

Noticias

«An Edenvale school governing body threatened to take immigrant pupils to the police — laywers declare ‘children are always entitled to their rights’

Africa/Sudafrica/TMG Digital

Resumen: Los abogados de derechos humanos instan al Departamento de Educación Básica para emitir lineamientos de política publica dando instrucciones a todas las escuelas para detener de inmediato la práctica de la discriminación contra los niños extranjeros e indocumentados al denegar el acceso a las escuelas o cobrándole tarifas más altas. Sugieren en un comunicado conjunto, suscrito por los abogados de Derechos Humanos del Centro para la Ley de Educación Infantil y del Centro de Igualdad de Derecho, que los lineamientos también deben indicar que las escuelas tienen la responsabilidad de ayudar a los niños a obtener sus documentos, dijeron

Human rights lawyers are urging the Department of Basic Education to issue a directive instructing all schools to immediately stop the practice of discriminating against foreign and undocumented children by refusing access and charging higher fees. The directive should also indicate that schools have a responsibility to help children obtain documents‚ Lawyers for Human Rights‚ the Centre for Child Law and Equal Education Law Centre said in a joint statement.

This comes after an Edenvale‚ Ekurhuleni‚ school governing body issued a letter last week that threatened to take immigrant pupils without valid paperwork to the police. Following outrage on social media‚ the governing body called the letter «unfortunate» and said it «unreservedly» apologised for any hurt the letter may have caused.

The human rights lawyers said that although the school has retracted the letter‚ «unfortunately the Eastleigh school incident is not an isolated event».

«At the beginning of each school year‚ and particularly in 2017‚ we receive reports of children being denied admission to school. These include not only undocumented migrant children‚ but also documented refugee and asylum-seeker children and undocumented South African children. Whatever their status or level of documentation‚ children are always entitled to their rights.»

They spelt out the rights of children in this situation:

• Children are never to be detained for immigration purposes. This is an absolute right.

• All children in SA are equally entitled to education regardless of their status or documentation. The Schools Act prohibits discrimination of any form when it comes to admission to school.

• South African courts have found that the right to study is inherent in the right to dignity and that this right cannot be bound to one’s nationality. No child may be discriminated against based on their own status or that of their parents. The Constitution protects the right to education‚ the right to equality‚ and the right to dignity of all people in SA. This includes those without documents or citizenship. This is particularly true when it comes to children.

• The Constitution states that the best interest of the child is of paramount importance when dealing with children. The National Education Policy requires schools to assist the child in obtaining documentation where there is none. The burden to comply with documentation requirements is shared between parents and the school. Where the child is part of a child-headed household, or an unaccompanied child, this burden is shared by the school and the Department of Social Development. These responsibilities are in place to ensure that nothing prevents a child from going to school. A school cannot merely reject a child for having no papers.

The lawyers commented: «It is important to take into account the various factors which lead to children being left undocumented and to consider that these factors are always out of the child’s control. Refugee and asylum-seeker children are entitled, in terms of the Refugees Act, to obtain the same permit as their parent. Yet they often have trouble obtaining or renewing their permits‚ because of widely reported and widespread corruption the Refugee Reception Offices.»

The lawyers said they have also encountered unlawful refusals of admissions for children without birth certificates. This was despite the fact that some children cannot obtain birth certificates‚ because the Births and Deaths Registrations Act makes it impossible for certificates to be obtained by children of single fathers where the mother is missing or undocumented‚ children in child-headed households and children in the care of guardians where the parents are alive, as well as children of undocumented parents.

«It is of great concern that the Department of Home Affairs visited Eastleigh in the week prior to the school sending its letter‚ and appears to have exerted pressure with regard to undocumented learners,» the lawyers said. «It is simply not constitutionally permissible for the department to take this approach.»

«While immigration control may be a legitimate government concern and function‚ it should never be addressed through the violation of children’s rights. No reason whatsoever‚ including irregular migration‚ can ever justify harming children through unlawful arrest or the denial of education.»

The lawyers requested that the department issue a directive to all schools clarifying the correct legal principles: «These include that refugee and asylum-seeker children are entitled to be admitted to school, even while awaiting documentation, and do not need study permits to attend school; that school principals will not be arrested or fined for admitting undocumented children, as is the rumour; and that undocumented children are allowed to attend school in SA.»

It also urged the department to amend laws to eliminate unconstitutional exclusions from birth registrations where children were born in SA or to South African parents and «to stop the discriminating practice of requiring expensive DNA tests for people faced with poverty before birth registration will take place».

The Department of Social Development was also asked to intervene in cases where children are in need of care and protection and where parents are unresponsive, in order to assist with the process of obtaining documentation for children.

Fuente: https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/national/education/2017-03-02-human-rights-lawyers-issue-directive-to-schools-about-undocumented-children/

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Sudáfrica: If This Is What It Takes to Improve Education, So Be It – Parents Shut Down Classes

Noticias

Sudáfrica/Marzo de 2017/Fuente: All Africa

RESUMEN: Los padres dicen que las clases no se reanudarán en la Escuela Primaria Mseki en Gugulethu hasta que obtengan una respuesta clara a sus demandas del departamento de educación de Western Cape. La semana pasada las clases fueron interrumpidas en la escuela cuando los padres, los miembros del cuerpo gobernante de la escuela (SGB) y algunos maestros protestaron contra el supuesto hacinamiento y el no pago de los maestros. El martes por la mañana la enseñanza se detuvo cuando padres, profesores y alumnos marcharon a la comisaría de Gugulethu para tratar de obtener un permiso para marchar al departamento. Se les dijo que tendrían que solicitar un permiso de marcha en el Centro Cívico en Ciudad del Cabo y tendrían que esperar siete días para obtener una respuesta. Cuando los manifestantes regresaron a la escuela desde la estación de policía, la mayoría de los alumnos se habían ido a casa.

Phunyezwa Sonqishe, una madre y miembro de SGB, dijo que habían hecho una cita y fueron a las oficinas del departamento el lunes, pero que no recibieron mucha ayuda.

Parents say classes will not resume at Mseki Primary School in Gugulethu until they get a clear response to their demands from the Western Cape education department.

Last week classes were disrupted at the school when parents, members of the school governing body (SGB) and some teachers protested against alleged overcrowding and non-payment of teachers.

On Tuesday morning teaching stopped when parents, teachers and pupils marched to the Gugulethu police station to try and obtain a permit to march to the department. They were told that they would have to apply for a marching permit at the Civic Centre in Cape Town and they would have to wait seven days to get a response.

By the time the protesters marched back to the school from the police station, most of the pupils had gone home.

Phunyezwa Sonqishe, a parent and SGB member, said they had made an appointment and gone to the department’s offices on Monday, but had not received much help.

«We want mobile classrooms, and we want to know what will happen to the two teachers who still have not been paid, even though the department says they have [been].

«We are not going to break windows, burn down the school or cause unnecessary chaos, but we will fight for what we want. Learning will not continue until we are heard,» said Sonqishe.

A parent of a Grade 5 pupil said if this is what it takes to improve education for their children, then so be it.

Spokesperson for the Western Cape education department Millicent Merton said the department was aware of the march and the protest at the school.

«We call on parents not to disrupt teaching and learning.»

She said the SGB had an upcoming appointment with the department officials responsible for infrastructure.

Fuente: http://allafrica.com/stories/201703010069.html

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