Cape Town - South Africa must pay more attention to fixing its education system, upskilling civil servants and fostering a social pact and common vision among all South Africans if it hopes to succeed with its New Growth Path, say economists.

This follows the release last month of the framework for the government's New Growth Path by the Minister of Economic Development Ebrahim Patel.

Iraj Abedian, chief economist of Pan-African Capital, says that if the New Growth Path contained one weakness it would be that it didn't focus enough on how to fix South Africa's poor education system.

He believes the South Africa's education system suffers from a lack of trained and disciplined teachers.

One had to tackle this, rather than take the option of reducing matric standards to improve pass rates, he points out.

Despite what some experts have mentioned, Abedian does not believe that the country's language policy (11 official languages) was a key reason why pupils continued to fair badly.

He singled out the example of India which had numerous languages and said "99 percent" of school children who had never spoken English before, get to grips with the language in their first year of schooling.

The country first had to close the gap in pupils poor performance in maths and science, otherwise the New Growth Path's plan to have 50 000 additional artisans by 2015 and 30 000 additional engineers by 2014, was a "drop in the ocean" for what the country needed, he warns.

Dawie Roodt, economist of the Efficient Group, suggested there was too much focus on pupils obtaining a matric, and that a system similar to that in operation in Germany should be adopted, where after obtaining a Grade 10, pupils could choose to undertake a trade apprenticeship rather than continue with their schooling.

Cosatu economist Chris Malikane believes drafters of the New Growth Path may have opted to focus less on how to fix the education system, as they did not view it as an investment priority.

But Neva Makgetla, Deputy Director General for policy at the Department of Economic Development says there was a tendency by many commentators to fall back on education as the solution to unemployment, however she points out that education alone was not a short-term solution to joblessness. "So you need to focus on other means," she adds.

On top of this, the document does not focus a lot on education as it is principally an economic document.

In its discussion document "Perspectives on an inclusive higher job rich growth path for SA by 2025" released last week, Business Unity South Africa (Busa) pointed to five year issues identified by a recent policy forum the association had held, these are:

- A "back to basics" focus on education which is "world class and placement orientated and accessible to all;
- More relevant and accessible skills development;
- A focus on a state which delivers and is monitored;
- Focus on setting up regional infrastructure;
- Inclusive wage setting which reflects skills and productivity, "with entry wages facilitating access to employment".

The New Economic Growth Plan, agree most economists, won't work unless a social compact and national vision is crafted where all South Africans work together.

DA shadow minister for trade and industry Tim Harris, who recently criticised the New Growth Plan in an opinion piece in Business Day, calling it a "path to poverty", however, said he believed the call for a social pact between labour, government and business was a much needed intervention.

He points to the example of how a social pact in the 1980s between business and labour in Ireland in the 1980s was successful in transforming the country into a Celtic Tiger for some years.

Though Ireland recently defaulted on its debt, there is much the country could still learn from the European country's move 30-odd years ago.

Harris says a social pact at the time had helped cut corporate taxes and a state-brokered deal had moderate wages and labour regulations, in exchange for job creation and up-skilling of labour.

According to the International Labour Organisation, Ireland was suffering from an unemployment rate of 17 percent and inflation was running at an average of about 12 percent in the decade until 1987. With the lack of employment opportunities and decreasing real wages, emigration was at its highest level since the 1950s.

The trade unions, employers and the government, began negotiating in 1987 which resulted in the first social pact, the Programme for National Recovery (PNR).

Azar Jammine, chief economist of Econometrix, questioned how the New Growth Path fitted in with the National Planning Commission.

But Makgetla says while the New Growth Path was a short-term plan, the National Planning Commission would be tasked with long-term plans.

She says the New Growth Path was not a concrete plan, but rather a discussion document which would lead later to the tabling of some of the proposals mooted in the document's framework. - BuaNews

OECD Conference Higher Education in Cities and Regions - For Stronger, Cleaner and Fairer Regions, 10-11 February 2011, Seville, Spain.

The conference will examine ways in which universities and other higher education institutions can best contribute to partnership building and development in their cities and regions. The keynote speeches, discussions and parallel work group sessions will draw from the OECD reviews of higher education in regional and city development and other OECD work. This conference is for policy makers and practitioners, public and private bodies concerned with economic and social development in the cities and regions, leaders and managers of universities and other higher education institutions, as well as those responsible for knowledge transfer, community liaison and regional development at higher education institutions.

For more information please visit the conference website: http://www.oecd.org/edu/imhe/regional/conference

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Known as a reformer and a rebel, Michelle Rhee took a "revolutionary" step Monday, when she posted on her website, her intent to launch an education advocacy group, according to one educator. </img> </img> </img> </img> </img>


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Pretoria - Basic Education Minister Angie Motshegka has no intention of adjusting the 2010 matric results and they will be a true reflection of...

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Pretoria – Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe has called on corporate South Africa to work with government in investing in education upliftment programmes.

Motlanthe, together with Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga and Deputy Minister Enver Surty, had a breakfast meeting with the South African business fraternity on Monday in Sandton.

The Deputy President highlighted the problems which blocked the path to progress in the education sector.

“In addressing these challenges, with the view to achieving our strategic objectives, strong partnerships are needed. As we are already doing in other sectors, we can succeed in overcoming the challenges facing us in education if we work together,” Motlanthe said.

He noted that the country continued to grapple with backlogs in infrastructure and facilities, including classrooms, laboratories, libraries and sporting amenities.

Many learners still left the schooling system under-prepared for the world of work and life challenges, with some leaving even before completing secondary school.

The Deputy President placed emphasis on social partnerships as a means of ensuring the needs of school children were met in a holistic manner, in order to keep them in the education system.

Rural and township schools had the most pressing needs. Motlanthe said contributions were needed in the areas of bursaries, scholarships, teacher development and adult education. - BuaNews

Pretoria – The Gauteng Education Department has issued a circular outlining the appeals process for teachers, who wish to dispute the number of days...

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Pretoria – KwaZulu-Natal Education MEC Senzo Mchunu has condemned the brutal murder of yet another Umsinga educator, who was shot several times...

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The new R75-million (US$11-million) library at Rhodes University opened earlier in November 2010, and is expected to significantly boost the learning environment and quality of graduates at the Eastern Cape institution.

Speaking at the opening event, Minister of Higher Education and Training Blade Nzimande expressed his approval of the facility and said he was pleased by Rhodes’ commitment to building the library and fostering traditional ways of learning in today’s digital era.

The value of a top-quality library that offers access to digital and printed learning resources, and will enhance both learning and research, cannot be understated, said Nzimande, adding that a good library is an important factor in the quality of teaching and research output, and will benefit academics, students and researchers.

“I hope that this new library will be a central station for knowledge-building at Rhodes University,” said the minister. “Good libraries are a key of continued investment for universities.”

Vice-Chancellor Dr Saleem Badat said earlier this year that the state-of-the-art library will play a vital role in the university’s goal of remaining “one of Africa’s outstanding universities, committed to the production of knowledge and graduates who are knowledgeable, critical, competent, ethical and compassionate”.

Despite the fact that it’s a comparatively small university, Rhodes is one of the country’s top academic institutions in terms of research output, said Nzimande. “I have no doubt that the improvement of the library will allow this output to continue.”

Cutting-edge facilities

Rhodes’ brand new facility, which covers an area of 4 500 square meters, has almost doubled the current library floor space. The previous library, which was severely overcrowded, with computer terminals vying for space among the books, is to be refurbished and will later house the greater part of the book collections.

New features include a round-the-clock reading room, group study rooms, and a number of collections categorised under social sciences, science and pharmacy, commerce, and humanities and education.

The as yet unnamed library offers seating for at least 20% of the student body, in line with international standards. The old building seated fewer than 10% of students.

Students have the use of a 54-workstation information commons for online research, a 26-seat laboratory which offers information literacy training to users, and the much-lauded Carnegie Research Commons. This project received a R2.8-million ($407 493) grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, which funds the establishment of learning institutions.

The Research Commons accommodates about 40 staff and users. It offers a quiet space where senior students and academics can carry out their specialised work using cutting-edge electronic equipment, with experienced library assistants on hand to help with research. Scholars may also use a seminar room with audio-visual facilities.

The building has been designed with care of the environment in mind. It features thicker, more insulating walls, an energy-efficient air-conditioning system, and an automated system that controls and optimises the flow of fresh air.

Disabled and partially sighted users have not been neglected. “This is an area which I am particularly interested in,” said Nzimande, “as I have asked the Department of Higher Education and Training to highlight the needs of students and staff with disabilities.”

Impressive achievement

The library’s budget was originally set at R86-milion ($12.5-million), but final costs are expected to total around R75-million, said Badat.

He attributed this massive saving to sound management by the project team, well as key components that cost less than expected. He added that the achievement is all the more impressive because the bulk of planning and building took place during South Africa’s 2010 Fifa World Cup preparations, when the country was still struggling to climb out of a recession. Building started in 2008 and took about two years to complete.

The national Department of Education granted R50-million ($7.3-million) on condition that Rhodes contributed the balance, whether by fundraising or from its own financial reserves.

The university’s development office has managed to raise some R20-million ($3-million), but because the final costs should come in at 13% below budget, this means that just R5-million ($727 385) is outstanding.

Research on Computer Science and Mathematics Honored in Nation's Premier Science Research Competition for High School Students at Georgia Institute of Technology

Caelan Garrett of McLean, Virginia, Wins Top Individual Prize; Sitan Chen of Suwanee, Georgia, and Tianqi Wu of Lilburn, Georgia, Win Top Team Prize

ATLANTA - Cutting edge research on image processing and recognition and on parallel computation earned top honors tonight for Caelan Garrett and the team of Sitan Chen and Tianqi Wu in the Region Six Finals of the 2010-11 Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology, the nation's premier science research competition for high school students.

The Siemens Competition, a signature program of the Siemens Foundation, is administered by the College Board. Tonight's winners will receive thousands of dollars in scholarships and be invited to compete at the National Finals in Washington, DC, December 3–6, 2010, where the winners of six regional competitions will vie for the $100,000 Grand Prize and national acclaim for extraordinary scientific achievement at the high school level.

"Each year, the Siemens Foundation invites America's high school students to make their mark in the world of science," said Jeniffer Harper-Taylor, President of the Siemens Foundation. "We commend these students on rising to the challenge and pushing the envelope of scientific thought."

The students presented their research this weekend to a panel of judges from the Georgia Institute of Technology, host of the Region Six Finals, Georgia State University and Emory University.

The Winning Individual

Caelan Garrett, a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia, won the individual category and a $3,000 college scholarship for his computer science project, An Image Processing System for Enhancing Perceptual Visibility of Imagery, which attempts to improve on simulations of human optical processing.

Mr. Garrett developed and implemented a novel adaptation of the Retinex algorithm, an equation that allows computers to model how the human eye and brain processes images. He adapted the algorithm to a new system that can enhance images obstructed by smoke, fog, shadows and haze. His research could potentially be used to increase air and marine transportation safety through improved visibility, improve the range of night vision goggles, and enhance commercial imagery.

"Mr. Garrett developed an exceptionally novel approach to the problem. The new algorithm no longer suffers from some of the limitations of the original, allowing for improved contrast and recognition when objects are obscured by either high or low intensity backgrounds," said Dr. Philip J. Santangelo, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology. "His work could have a wide range of applications, from underwater imaging to the transportation industry, where high speed processing could assist in accident avoidance."

Mr. Garrett developed a passion for computer science during his freshman year and became interested in robotics after experimenting with Lego Mindstorms at a US Naval Academy summer program. As captain of the varsity Botball Robotics team, Mr. Garrett led his team to victory for two consecutive years. He is co-director of two a cappella groups and has performed in a number of musicals. Mr. Garrett aspires to become a computer science researcher and work with artificial intelligence and cognitive robotics. His mentor on the project was Dr. Mark A. Livingston of the US Naval Research Laboratory.

The Winning Team

Sitan Chen, a junior at Northview High School in Johns Creek, Georgia, and Tianqi Wu, a senior at Parkview High School in Lilburn, Georgia, won the team category and will share a $6,000 scholarship for their mathematics project, Cellular Automata to More Efficiently Compute the Collatz Map . The project looked at the Collatz conjecture, a famous unsolved mathematical problem first proposed in 1937. Mr. Chen and Mr. Wu used a parallel computing approach to simulate the conjecture's mathematical processes. Their mentor was Guanghua Chen, Harland Clarke Senior Software Engineer.

"Mr. Chen and Mr. Wu showed a high level of creativity and of mathematical and computational understanding in attacking the problem," said Dr. Eva K. Lee, Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology. "They developed an elegant and simple approach via cellular automata to improve the computational time needed to verify the conjecture. Their work is an important step towards rapid parallel computation and can have a broad range of applications, including medicine, finance, energy, and climate analysis."

Mr. Chen is an accomplished pianist and violinist who has performed twice at Carnegie Hall. He enjoys fencing and volunteering at his local library and has won awards at the Georgia Science and Engineering Fair and the FBLA State and National Leadership Conferences. He plans to study mathematics, aerospace engineering and music in college and aspires to become a university professor.

Mr. Wu is president of his school's math team and ranks first in his class of 575 students. He was born in Shanghai, China, where he lived for 14 years before coming to the United States. He is a member of Mu Alpha Seta and enjoys Choi Kwang Do martial arts, discussing philosophy, and reading fantasy fiction. He plans to major in mathematics and would like to become a research mathematician.

Regional Finalists

The remaining regional finalists each received a $1,000 scholarship. Regional Finalists in the individual category were:

* JooHee Choi, Langley High School, McLean, Virginia
* Sanjeet Das, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria, Virginia
* Sophie Janaskie, North Broward Preparatory School, Coconut Creek, Florida
* Srikar Reddy, Lake Highland Preparatory School, Orlando, Florida


Team Regional Finalists were:

* Arjun Bhattacharya and Karthikeyan Ardhanareeswaran, William G. Enloe High School, Raleigh, North Carolina
* Carlos del-Castillo-Negrete, Scotty Chung and Yajit Jain, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge, Tennessee
* Eric Huang, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, Aurora, Illinois, and Jamie Chen, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, Durham, North Carolina
* Mathilda Lloyd and Yiwei Li, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge, Tennessee


The Siemens Competition

The Siemens Competition was launched in 1998 to recognize America's best and brightest math and science students. Every fall, America turns its eye to the brilliant young scientists competing in the Siemens Competition. 2,033 students registered to enter the Competition this year for a record number of 1,372 projects submitted. 312 students were named semifinalists and 94 were named regional finalists, representing 36 states. Entries are judged at the regional level by esteemed scientists at six leading research universities which host the regional competitions: California Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Notre Dame and The University of Texas at Austin.

The Siemens Foundation

The Siemens Foundation provides more than $7 million annually in support of educational initiatives in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in the United States. Its signature programs include the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology, Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement, and The Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge, which encourages K-12 students to develop innovative green solutions for environmental issues. By supporting outstanding students today, and recognizing the teachers and schools that inspire their excellence, the Foundation helps nurture tomorrow's scientists and engineers. The Foundation's mission is based on the culture of innovation, research and educational support that is the hallmark of Siemens' U.S. companies and its parent company, Siemens AG. For more information, visit http://www.siemens-foundation.org.

The College Board

The College Board is a mission-driven not-for-profit organization that connects students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the College Board was created to expand access to higher education. Today, the membership association is made up of more than 5,700 of the nation's leading educational institutions and is dedicated to promoting excellence and equity in education. Each year, the College Board helps more than seven million students prepare for a successful transition to college through programs and services in college readiness and college success – including the SAT® and the Advanced Placement Program®. The organization also serves the education community through research and advocacy on behalf of students, educators, and schools.

SOURCE The Siemens Foundation