History Matters

What to make of the war of words that has erupted between Jonathan Jansen and Jessie Duarte? Briefly, ANC spokesperson Duarte is demanding that recently installed University of the Free State Rector Jonathan Jansen apologise for calling Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga a “lazy and incompetent minister, if one takes into account her record as [...]

By Professor Saleem Badat Although held to be Chinese, the origins of the phrase ‘May you live in interesting times’ is a matter of dispute. Also in dispute is whether the phrase is a blessing or a curse. Be that as it may, what is certain is that currently we ‘live in interesting times’. ‘Interesting [...]

Published in the M&G 30 December 2008 The country’s 2008 matric class received a pass rate of 62,5 %, Education Minister Naledi Pandor said on Tuesday. Of the 533 561 candidates with a full set of results, 333 681 candidates, or 62,5%, met the requirements for a National Senior Certificate, she told a press briefing in Pretoria. [...]

ANC PRESS RELEASE ANC urges public debate on a Roadmap for Education 16 November 2008 Since April 2007, the ANC Health and Education Committee has been involved in a major policy review of education, implementing the resolutions of the ANC’s 52nd National Conference, held in December 2007. The conference declared education and health major priorities [...]

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:””; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}  Professor Jonathan Jansen   The numbers do not look good. For the approximately 10 million youth in the age bracket 15-25 years, [...]

Jonathan Jansen In the 5th Hans Brenninkmeijer Memorial Lecture, Jonathan Jansen reflects on the trails and tribulations of Afrikaner youth and the stable conceptions of the past as well as the apocalyptic understandings of the present, that lead to catastrophic events such as Waterkloof, Skierlik and Reitz. Jansen argues for a post-conflict pedagogy in which [...]

The National Association of Distance Education and Open Learning in South Africa (NADEOSA) is hosting a two-day conference titled Innovation in Open and Distance Education from 18-19 August 2008 in Pretoria. In a period of growing convergence between the use of distance and traditional education methodologies in the pursuit of open education ideals, this conference [...]

A task like no other Like no other job. Teaching is a great way to learn new things. Most teachers lack the time for meta-cognition. I’m a part-timer, and have the privilege to be able to reflect on my own practice. Having been employed and freelanced in many other institutions, I now appreciate that teachers [...]

In April, South African History Online opened an exhibition on the History of Education in South Africa. The occasion was the 350th anniversary since the founding of the first school in South Africa, on 17 April 1658 in the rudimentary structures of the Dutch East India Company even before they build the Castle. The opening [...]