education | Terry Bell Writes

Browsing All posts tagged under »education«

Social, moral & LEGAL obligations to children

March 15, 2025

With the dust having barely settled on the accolades and opproprium heaped on the latest matric results, it seems appropriate to recall what the American educationalist John Dewey had to say about such levels of schooling. He noted: “I have never been able to feel much optimism regarding the possibilities of higher education when it […]

The idiocy of ignoring early childhood development

March 12, 2025

A national investment guaranteeing a range of social and other benefits that equate to a return of between 1,300% and 1,700% over 30 or 40 years would seem to be a no brainer for any government. But while it does exist, it continues to be largely ignored by politicians, a result, perhaps, of them being […]

Easier to build strong kids than repair broken men

March 7, 2025

A national investment guaranteeing a range of social and other benefits that equate to a return of between 1,300% and 1,700% over 30 or 40 years would seem to be a no-brainer for any government. But while it does exist, it continues to be largely ignored by politicians — a result, perhaps, of them being […]

Chaos reigns in the pre-school space

June 30, 2020

Chaos and confusion continues to reign in South Africa’s early childhood development (ECD) sector, with some 2.5 million children under the age of six shut out of 32,000 ECD centres by the Covid-19 lockdown. They are now not only without any structured environment, they have missed out for three months on the one nutritious meal […]

The need to reimagine schooling

September 19, 2018

To equate the power and violence of colonialism with the existing school system — both at the state and elite private level — was bound to raise hackles, however correct the analogy may be. And it is correct since both systems aim to bring about conformity to the existing political and economic order.

Nurses: the essential foot soldiers for national health

February 25, 2018

This item was first published in the City Press, 25.02.2018 One of the policies listed for almost immediate implementation by South Africa’s newly installed President Cyril Ramaphosa in his recent State of the Nation address (Sona), concerned health. “The time has now arrived to finally implement universal health coverage through the National Health Insurance (NHI),” […]

A democratic back to school message for SA

January 20, 2018

Whatever democratic power ordinary people have should always be defended — and fiercely. So SA ctizens, importantly organised labour, should prepare to do battle with a government that proposes abolishing elected school governing bodies that have admittedly failed, but largely because government has failed them.

Repeating the past: SA’s annual ‘matric’ circus

January 12, 2018

Even a cursory examination reveals the level of farce that is played out in South Afrca's annual matriculation announcements. There is, for example, no reference to the massive student dropout rate or to the fact that it now requires a bare 30% to pass. There is also a history to this circus that goes back to the days of exile and apartheid.