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The Western Cape Department of Education (WCDE) is doing everything it can to see that Grade 12 learners in the province finish their matric year.

The department has since launched a campaign focusing on the ‘Future You’ and with matriculants thanking their younger selves for making the right choice to complete their studies.

“Using the AE Face Tool, we filmed three Grade 12 learners from Parel Vallei High School and transformed their faces into older-looking versions of themselves.

“This allowed their future selves to thank their younger selves for choosing to finish their matric year,” the Western Cape MEC of Education, Debbie Schäfer, explained.

The department has also designed a website where Grade 12s can pledge to #CommitToFinish and access various learning resources.

“The learner will receive a notification of their commitment and will encourage them to get their fellow learners to do the same.”

The campaign has been launched on various social media platforms, billboards and directly to candidates via SMS and emails to schools.

Learners will also personally receive an examination support booklet, which will inspire them to soldier on.

The booklet provides advice on the examination, bursary options and support networks, as well as old exam papers for eight high-enrolment subjects.

According to Schäfer, the experience has shown that some learners become despondent at the end of the year, following their trial exams and may decide to drop out.

“This year has certainly been a tumultuous year for our Grade 12 learners and their teachers. Despite the disruptive school year, they have shown true grit and determination. They have shown how resilient they are and I am extremely proud of them,” Schäfer said.

Continuous learning, even during level 5 restrictions, has been reassuring, even though the country is still battling with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Teachers, learners and subject advisors communicated via various social media platforms.

“Learners took the initiative and began self-learning at home, and the use of alternative resources for learning and revision, through our e-portal and website, increased significantly,” said Schäfer.

She said the Class of 2020 is determined and the department is supporting them all the way.

“While matric attendance at schools is at 90%, we do not want to see learners dropping out or self-doubt creeping in.

“These learners have worked so hard for the past 12 years to reach this point and we want to support them to finish their matric year.”

Schäfer believes that the choice will change their life and the life of those around them.

“Hence the campaign line, ‘You will thank yourself later!’”

Grade 12s from the Western Cape can go to www.CommitToFinish.co.za to pledge their commitment to finish the academic year.

The Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS) in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Mondli Zuma, has strongly warned the public to desist from the tendency of discharging firearms at funerals.

The Commissioner’s comments follows Monday’s court appearance of five men who were arrested at the weekend on allegations of discharging firearms at a funeral in Belfast near Hazyview.

The men appeared in the Mkhuhlu Magistrates Court and were remanded in custody. They will appear in court again on 12 October 2020.

“These suspects are alleged to have caused a stir amongst mourners when they drew firearms and fired shots. Their actions led law abiding citizens to alert authorities about this behaviour which was plainly displayed by a group of five lawless men driving in a blue VW Golf,” said Brigadier Leonard Hlathi.

The Tactical Response Team (TRT) members followed the information with necessary caution and spotted the vehicle parked at one of the local taverns.

TRT members approached the vehicle and searched its occupants. Two unlicensed firearms with ammunition were recovered after which the five were arrested.

“The suspects are facing charges of unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition as well as discharging firearms in a public space. The police cannot rule out a possibility of adding more charges in relation to the seized firearms as investigators are underway,” the SAPS said.

Meanwhile, General Zuma has in the meantime strongly condemned the unlawful behaviour displayed by the men.

“We cannot tolerate this irresponsible behaviour which has become like a norm recently where people randomly fire shots at funerals. We are sending a stern warning to those who will in the near future take a cue and emulate the despicable activities done by these arrested men,” he said.

Deputy President and South African National Aids Council (SANAC) chairperson, David Mabuza, has welcomed the appointment of Dr Thembisile Xulu as the SANAC Chief Executive Officer.

Xulu’s appointment  follows the resignation of Dr Sandile Buthelezi, who left SANAC to serve as the Director-General of the National Department of Health.

Xulu is a medical doctor with direct and extensive experience in HIV and TB health matters, including 15 years spent at Right to Care (RTC) as manager of the HIV Expert Treatment Programme and Executive Director of the group, among others.

Mabuza has subsequently appointed Dr Namane Magau to fill the vacancy in the SANAC Board of Trustees. Magau has served in various executive and management roles both in the public and private sectors. These executive roles were in the Development Bank of Southern Africa, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, as well as the South African Broadcasting Corporation and the University Council of the former University of Durban-Westville.

“The work that lies ahead of us as SANAC is immense. We are faced with the triple pandemics of HIV, TB and Coronavirus, which require us to ensure that the strides we have made thus far are not reversed.

“We are confident that both these women bring the requisite expertise and an attitude of dedicated service to the roles. We have no doubt that their experiences will contribute immensely to the work of SANAC,” said Mabuza.

Both appointments are set to strengthen the national response to TB, HIV and Aids.

SANAC was established by Cabinet to build consensus across government, civil society and business to drive an enhanced country response to HIV, TB and STIs. The Council is supported by a Board of Trustees to deepen coordination, improve monitoring and evaluation, and support government departments and civil society with the implementation of the National Strategic Plan for HIV, TB and STIs.

In an effort to improve access to affordable scrap metal for the domestic steel and other metal producing industry, the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) has introduced changes to the Price Preference System (PPS).

This comes after the commission finalised an initial investigation into the supply of scrap metal as an input to the domestic steel producing industry.

In a statement on Monday, the Commission, which is an agency of the Department of Trade and Industry (dtic), said the PPS was first introduced in 2013 to promote the affordable supply of scrap metal to domestic steel and other metal makers.

Scrap dealers were required to offer scrap to the domestic consuming industry first at a prescribed discount to international prices, before it could be exported to other markets.

Scrap metal is a critical input in the production of steel products by mini-mills and foundries.

“During the COVID-19 National State of Disaster, the dtic received representations from the domestic consuming industry that the PPS was not achieving the intended objectives, causing severe harm to the industry and affecting its recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

“The representations requested that urgent action be taken to remedy the situation, retain jobs and capability in the metals sector,” ITAC said in the statement.

On 3 July 2020, dtic Minister Ebrahim Patel issued a Trade Policy Directive to ITAC to investigate, and if necessary, make changes to the PPS to address the shortage in affordable good quality scrap metal.

“During the period of the investigation, the administration of the PPS and the export of scrap metal was suspended, subject to exceptions, to address some of the immediate challenges with affordable access for domestic steel and other metal makers,” the department said in a statement.

ITAC has completed its investigation and received comments from a number of interested persons and key firms in the sector.

Following considerations of the concerns expressed, ITAC decided to make a number of changes to the PPS, which have been implemented with effect from 2 October 2020.

Changes

Some of the key changes made by ITAC to the PPS include:

• Imposition of an additional discount of 10% where domestic consumers are located in inland provinces and scrap metal is located at the coast to account for transport costs;
• The right for domestic consumers to weigh and inspect the materials to ascertain that material delivered is the same quality, type and weight as agreed to when the offer was made and concluded, and the right to claim reasonable compensation for costs incurred where quality, type and weight differ from what was agreed;
• Increased surveillance by ITAC to ensure that materials (quality, grades and quantities) comply with the approved permit, including the right to take legal action for any misrepresentation from sellers; and
• Ensuring that scrap dealers have adequate facilities for the access, loading and weighing of scrap, failure to provide these will be seen as an impediment and constitute grounds for refusal of a permit application.

Ensuring affordability

The department said amendments to the guidelines are intended to improve the domestic consumers’ access to affordable scrap metal and address the concerns raised by the industry in the interim period.

The introduction of an export tax as a long-term policy measure is currently under consideration.

“Ensuring the affordable supply of scrap metal to the domestic steel industry is critical. The department will thus monitor the supply of scrap closely and the effectiveness of the amendments to the PPS. In the event that the affordable supply of scrap metal to domestic steel makers remains constrained, further measures will be considered by government.

“The South African government continues to put in place measures to support the steel and metals industry. A masterplan for the sector is currently under development through consultation with industry stakeholders, including manufacturers and organised labour,” the department said.

The nomination for eligible candidates to occupy positions on the Board of Trustees to establish the National Council on Gender-based Violence and Femicide (NCGBVF) is now open.

The Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD) is calling on civil society organisations and networks to propose suitable nominees.

According to the department, the applications come after the declaration arising from the Presidential Summit against Gender-based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) held in 2018.

Subsequently, Cabinet approved the Gender-based Violence and Femicide National Strategic Plan (GBVF-NSP) in March 2020.

It also approved the establishment of the Inter-Ministerial Committee to establish the NCGBVF and oversee the implementation of the GBVF-NSP.

“The GBVF-NSP is a government and civil society multi-sectoral strategic framework to realise a South Africa free from GBVF. It sets out to provide a cohesive strategic framework to guide the national response to the crisis of GBVF by government and society as a whole,” DWYPD said.

Civil society is a key stakeholder and co-curator of the GBVF-NSP, serving as the most critical and accessible first responder group on GBVF at community level.

The Executive Board or Board of Trustees will consist of a maximum of 13 members – six from government and seven from civil society, who will be appointed through a process of public nomination.

The public nomination process will be overseen by the Presidency through the Ministry of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, supported by a technical team of no more than five people.

“Broader civil society movements and organisations are therefore invited to nominate suitable candidates who meet the criteria set out in the terms of reference and nomination form,” said the department.

The Board of Trustees is tasked with providing strategic vision and leadership, including, but not limited to, setting the national agenda for responding to GBVF, coordinating plans for the equitable distribution of resources, promoting accountability, strengthening coordination and reducing impunity on GBVF.

The board will also initiate and implement a sustained campaign to end GBVF, inform decisions on resourcing and reprioritising programmes to be implemented, and make appeals for funding.

The nominees must have knowledge and expertise in gender and women’s rights; policy and legal frameworks related to GBVF grounded in lived experiences; a record of participation and influence in GBV matters, and understand the importance of advocacy in ensuring institutional vitality and activism.

More terms of reference and the nomination form can be found on www.women.gov.za under the GBVF tab.

“Any nomination that does not comply with the above requirements or that has not been lodged with the department at the address stated below by the closing date shall be invalid or disqualified,” DWYPD said.

The closing date for nominations is 20 October 2020.

Nominations can be lodged with the DWYPD by post or by hand, or by emailing it to NCGBVF@women.gov.za.

President Cyril Ramaphosa will later today address a virtual high-level meeting to mark the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women, convened by the United Nations General Assembly.

The meeting, to be held under the theme “Accelerating the realisation of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls”, forms part of the high-level week of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA75).

The meeting also takes place in the context of the General Assembly’s anniversary under the theme, “The future we want, the United Nations we need: reaffirming our collective commitment to multilateralism”.

The meeting will present an opportunity to review progress made in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The meeting will also afford Heads of State and Government and other leaders an opportunity to present concrete new actions, and demonstrate commitments to accelerate the realisation of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by 2030, including in support of the role of civil society organisations and youth.

The inaugural Fourth World Conference on Women was held in Beijing, China, in 1995 and adopted the Beijing Declaration – an international blueprint to achieve gender equality and women empowerment.

The Declaration remains an important UN instrument in pursuing the global women’s agenda of a full and equal share in economic, social, cultural and political decision-making and aims to creating an environment where women and men relations are based on a principle of shared power and responsibility, whether in the workplace or in the wider national and international communities.

Following the revision of the school calendar, schools will reopen on 25 January 2021, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said.

“First, let me confirm that schools will reopen on 25 January 2021; second, the school calendar will be gazetted tomorrow, Friday, 2 October, after which it will be publicly available.”

The Minister said this at a media briefing in Pretoria on Thursday.

“We are fully aware that the country needs the school calendar for effective planning purposes, and we have worked hard to ensure it is done properly, taking into account the disruptions that have occurred in 2020,” said Motshekga.

The briefing provided an update on key developments in the basic education sector relating to COVID-19 level 1 restrictions.

With much of the school year obliterated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Motshekga said schools will have to carry over some of the curriculum work into 2021.

“We have done our best to accommodate the interests of everybody, but our priority is the learner,” she said.

With many school days lost this year, especially in the early grades, Motshekga expressed concern at the impact on long-term learning, and the potential increase of inequality in learning outcomes.

This situation, she said, makes it more urgent than before to provide sufficient support to teachers.

“All teachers know that catching up lost learning, or learning recovery, is not an easy, quick activity but requires a lot of dedicated time.

“This will include a concerted effort by both parents and teachers and will need to extend into the 2021 academic year. To allow for this, we have revised the annual teaching plans to extend to next year,” said the Minister.

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has expressed concern for learners who have not returned to school yet, despite schools operating at full capacity under alert level 1 of the lockdown.

“We are concerned that there are learners who have not returned to school yet. In the schools that we have visited, the return rate is between 80% and 90%. While it is encouraging to see the numbers increase gradually, we appeal to parents release their children to return to school,” said the Minister.

Motshekga called on parents and communities to support their children as they return to school under the new normal ushered in by COVID-19.

“The rotation or platooning approach that schools are using means that there are designated days when learners are at school, and other designated days they are not. This again increases the risk of them losing interest, and forgetting critical curriculum topics already covered at school.

“The difficulties in timetabling will be with us for the remainder of the year, as we continue to balance teaching and learning, while saving lives,” said the Minister.

Teachers with comorbidities also return to school

Teachers with comorbidities also returned to school following the announcement on 16 September by President Cyril Ramaphosa that the country would be going to level 1, effective from 21 September.

In May this year, an agreement was reached at the Education Labour Relations Council that in lockdown level 3 and 2, teachers with comorbidities would be granted concessions to work from home.

The effect of that announcement was that the Collective Agreement with the unions, which allowed teachers with comorbidities to work from home under lockdown level 3 and 2, ceased to exist.

“Provinces have reported that all teachers have gone back to work, except those teachers who are on maternity or sick leave. We thank each and every one of our teachers for heeding the call to return to school. Health and safety measures remain in place and everybody is expected to comply, as we work to finish the work for the 2020 academic year,” said the Minister.

Learner support interventions

To support matric learners who returned to school since the first week of June and only had a week’s break in July, the department implemented various support initiatives.

Provinces put in a place a whole range of measures to support the learners, including Saturday and Sunday classes.

In addition to the extra classes provided at schools, the department also launched Woza Matrics, in collaboration with the National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT). This is an initiative designed to provide additional support to the Matric Class of 2020, as they prepare for the 2020 National Senior Certificate examination. We thank all the partners involved in the initiative.

“We are really grateful for the commitment, dedication and sacrifice demonstrated by our educators in every province,” said Motshekga.

Extracurricular activities

With the country having moved to alert level 1, the department proposed the resumption of non-contact sport training and physical activities in schools, subject to compliance with measures to prevent and combat the spread of COVID-19.

The department is set to gazette new directions on the resumption of non-contact sport once it concludes its processes.

The countdown to the matric examinations has begun, with just 34 days to go until candidates sit for the 2020 National Senior Certificate examinations.

The writing of the 2020 NSC examination will start on 5 November 2020 and end on 15 December 2020.

The Basic Education Department (DBE) rescheduled the exams to accommodate the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Today, we launch the official countdown to the examinations. It is now 34 days to the start of the NSC examination for the Matric Class of 2020.

“We appeal to parents, guardians, and communities to rally behind all the candidates who will be writing their final exams this year. It is an extraordinary time for them and all of us, but they need the support more,” said DBE Minister Angie Motshekga.

The Minister was speaking at a briefing to give an update on key developments in the basic education sector relating to the COVID-19 level 1 restrictions.

The June Senior Certificate (SC) examination was postponed, and will now be written together with the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination in November 2020.

The examination timetable for the combined June and November examination had to be amended so that this examination commences in November, instead of October 2020, as was initially planned.

“The late start of the examination is intended to allow as much time as possible to cover critical curriculum content, and to ensure that all examination processes are appropriately managed,” said the Minister.

The combined examination makes this the largest public examination that has been administered in the country. A total of 1 058 699 candidates will sit for the examinations.

“We certainly have never had to manage a number that large before. It is going to be a huge task, but one that we will need to ensure is managed and coordinated smoothly.

“All examination centres, both public and independent have been audited in preparation for the 2020 combined examination,” said Motshekga.

A protocol, to ensure compliance with COVID-19 rules, has been developed and distributed to guide all the chief invigilators, invigilators and all other officials involved in the management of the conduct and administration of the examination.

All Provincial Education Departments have secured the extra rooms at existing examination centres, which are needed for the writing of the combined 2020 November Grade 12 examinations.

“It has been a difficult a year, but there is still an opportunity to get tangible work done. We will need to work together with all stakeholders, strengthen our partnerships, intensify our efforts and rescue the country from a possible disaster brought on us by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said the Minister.

Since the country migrated to level 1, the department is operating at fully capacity under strict health and safety protocols.

“We want to continue to ensure safety for everybody. We wish to thank all South Africans for the support we have received. As individuals, we can indeed travel faster, but together, we can travel far,” said the Minister.

South Africa has recorded 1 772 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total to 674 339 cases since the outbreak.

Sixty-seven more people succumbed to the respiratory disease on Wednesday.

Of the latest fatalities, 37 are from KwaZulu-Natal, 11 from Gauteng, nine from the Western Cape, seven from the Free State and three from the Eastern Cape.

This brings the total number of COVID-19 related deaths to 16 734.

“We extend our condolences to the loved ones of the departed and thank the healthcare workers who treated the deceased patients,” said Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize.

A reported 608 112 patients have recuperated, which translates to a recovery rate of 90%.

The information is based on the 4 187 917 tests conducted, with 23 426 having been performed since the last report.

Globally, there have been 33 502 430 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 1 004 421 deaths reported to the World Health Organisation.