Tertiary Education in South Africa - Some developments

Following the developments of Education in South Africa

Education in South Africa - Info SA

I am fortunate enough to be part of a new development in tertiary education. Efforts to establish a new university in Mpumalanga has brought together a number of roleplayers and stakeholders which has resulted in the launch of the Teacher Education Campus in Marble Hall.

The University of Johannesburg provides the academic program -- one that is unique in the sense that it involves a teaching school. Initially introduced at the Soweto Campus, this approach to Teacher Training proves to be successful. Similar in principal to an academic hospital for trainee doctors, the teaching school offers teachers-to-be the opportunity to observe a fully functional, real-world school.

The establishment of a new university in the Mpumalanga province is an opportunity to be based in a rural part of South Africa. The aim with this multi-stakeholder initiative is to train students from rural areas in the hope that they will return to schools in rural areas. The first program is at the Foundation Phase, Grade R to Grade 3. Often, once students from the countryside go to urban-based universities where they also experience the Big City, they are loathe to return to the country-side. It is here, in fact, where South Africa needs young, new-generation, inspiring teachers the most.

Other stakeholders in the Teacher Education Campus at Siyabuswa include the National Institute of Higher Education (Mpumalanga), the National Department of Higher Education and Training and the Mpumalanga Department of Education. In time staff, including myself, will use the University of Johannesburg's offical Social Media Channels. However, I will also share experiences and my personal views on my personal blog, thereby building an online artifact.