Educator accountability in South Africa: Rethink section 10 of the South African Schools Act

Twenty years after the abolition of corporal punishment in South Africa, shocking videos of educators administering corporal punishment surfaced during 2017. A much harsher approach to prosecuting offending educators as well as those who do not report corporal punishment is, therefore, justified. Although this is a feasible solution to the issue, it immediately poses a problem, because the South African Schools Act, the Employment of Educators Act and the Code of Conduct for educators do not include a clear definition of what constitutes corporal punishment. Without a clear definition, neither the criminal courts nor the South African Council for Educators can effectively prosecute educators. To strengthen the role of the law in eradicating corporal punishment, several legal sources are investigated in order to guide the debate as to what should be included in a definition of corporal punishment. Furthermore, the need to explicitly abolish other harmful forms of punishment, which cannot be classified as corporal punishment, is investigated. It is concluded that sec. 10 of the South African Schools Act should be amended to define the broad ambit of corporal punishment properly and to prohibit other forms of non-physical punishment that cause psychological and emotional harm to learners

English language-in-education: A lesson planning model for subject teachers

South African learners perform poorly in national and international tests aimed at measuring literacy and numeracy skills. One of the reasons for their performance is a lack of critical academic language skills in English as the Language of Learning and Teaching (LOLT). This is noted against the background of previously disadvantaged parents’ high expectations of their children being given the opportunity to learn through medium of English, preparing them for success in a world where English is the lingua franca, and challenges faced by subject teachers with regard to languagein- education. The model for lesson planning and presentation, put forwardin this article, guides the subject teacher through each step of the backwardprocess of lesson design and the ‘forward’ process of lesson presentation. Its key focus is the integration of language and content instruction aimed at ensuring the effective teaching of key competencies in the Additional Language content classroom and thereby raising the quality of teaching and learning in South Africa.Key words: academic language skills; language-in-education; subjectteachers; additional language learners; LAC (language across the curriculum

Are the rights of the disabled a reality in South Africa? Part One

For a long time the rights of disabled persons have been ignored not only in South Africa, but also in the rest of the world. There are many disabled persons who can participate on an equal level with able-bodied persons, but on the other hand, there are many disabled persons who are unable to do so due to the nature and severity of their disabilities. Discrimination against disabled persons leads to exclusion from functioning in a normal way in the community and the denial of the right to function freely in society. Legislation can assist in the prevention of discrimination against such persons and also in their upliftment

Are the rights of the disabled a reality in South Africa? Part two

For a long time the rights of disabled persons have been ignored not only in South Africa, but also in the rest of the world. There are many disabled persons who can participate on an equal level with able-bodied persons, but on the other hand there are many disabled persons who are unable to do so due to the nature and severity of their disabilities. Discrimination against disabled persons lead to the exclusion of them to function in a normal way in the community and the denial of their rights and to function freely in society. Legislation can assist in the prevention of discrimination against such persons and also in their upliftment

Sexual Offences Courts: Better justice for children?

Child victims of sexual abuse are vulnerable witnesses who experience trauma and secondary victimisation when they testify in sexual abuse cases. Sexual Offences Courts aim to alleviate this problem in various ways. The main focus of this article is to examine the prescribed blueprint for Sexual Offences Courts in order to determine whether blueprint-compliant Sexual Offences Courts contribute to better justice for child victims of sexual offences. Each blueprint requirement is therefore analysed with the aim of determining whether possible advantages for child victims can be identified.The conclusion is reached that substantial advantages for child victims are provided by blueprint compliant Sexual Offences Courts. By 2005 54 Sexual Offences Courts were established countrywide and official statistics indicate that these courts are very successful. However, despite numerous commitments by government to establish more of these courts, a moratorium on the establishment of new courts was announced. It is argued that blueprint compliant Sexual Offences Courts do indeed provide better justice for children and therefore more of these courts should be established at a much faster rate

Aligning school discipline with the best interests of the child: Some deficits in the legislative framework

The best-interest-of-the-child concept should guide the legislative framework with regard to the approach followed as well as the disciplinary processes used in schools. Currently schools revert mostly to a retributive and adversarial approach to discipline that is not compatible with the best-interests-of-the-child standard. In this article, the provisions of section 8 of the Schools Act are scrutinised and it is concluded that these provisions are supporting an adversarial and punitive approach to school discipline. This is evident from the lack of prescriptions ensuring that sanctions serve the best interest of children, the insufficient provision for support measures and structures for counselling, the undue focus on the best interests of the transgressor and the lack of guidance concerning the appointment of an intermediary. The introduction of restorative discipline as an alternative approach to discipline is recommended. The latter approach is recommended, because it is submitted that amendments to the existing legislative provisions would not address the key objection to the legislative framework namely its retributive and adversarial character

Sexual Offences Courts in South Africa: Quo vadis?

Since the establishment of the first Sexual Offences Court in Wynberg in 1993, various developments have taken place that include, but are not limited to, the following: several investigations into these courts were undertaken; the Sexual Offences and Community Affairs Unit (SOCA Unit) was established; a blueprint for Sexual Offences Courts was drafted and later refined; and, by 2007, the number of Sexual Offences Courts had increased to 59. These courts have performed exceptionally well compared with general regional courts and conviction rates rose to 70 per cent on average. Despite the obvious success of these courts, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development declared a moratorium on the establishment of additional Sexual Offences Courts pending the outcome of an evaluation of existing Sexual Offences Courts. In this article, a synopsis of the development of Sexual Offences Courts is given and the subsequent evaluation commissioned by the Minister is assessed and is supplemented with recommendations to enhance efforts to combat sexual offences through the Sexual Offences Courts

Building the Brightrock Brand through Change

Subject area This case allows students to engage with classical marketing tenets of branding, media and communications decisions and content marketing within a management framework. Study level/applicability This case is appropriate for an undergraduate or graduate-level programme in marketing management. Case overview Suzanne Stevens was part of a group of four former senior employees of a large life insurance firm that decided to establish a new and innovative South African insurance company, BrightRock. They identified a gap in a large and highly competitive (albeit generic and opaque) insurance market and developed a distinctive positioning within the market. There was low consumer understanding of the technical aspects of life insurance products, and no existing life insurance product provided an individualized offering. Stevens developed the company’s brand and marketing strategy by drawing on reputation drivers, traditional advertising and a content marketing approach. BrightRock focused on change moments in consumers’ lives, including getting married, having children or getting a new job, and changed the standard insurance product model by launching an individualized flexible product that could adapt with the consumer through their various life stages. The case study documents the first three years of BrightRock’s operations, with a strong focus on brand and product development, distribution and communication. The case dilemma involves choices Stevens faced at the beginning of 2015 about marketing investments across paid, earned and owned media. Expected learning outcomes This study enables to critique the development of a services brand; integrate paid, owned and earned media to increase communication effectiveness and efficiency; and critique a content marketing strategy. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email [email protected] to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 8: Marketing. </jats:sec

Validation of large-volume batch solar reactors for the treatment of rainwater in field trials in sub-Saharan Africa

The efficiency of two large-volume batch solar reactors [Prototype I (140 L) and II (88 L)] in treating rainwater on-site in a local informal settlement and farming community was assessed. Untreated [Tank 1 and Tank 2-(First-flush)] and treated (Prototype I and II) tank water samples were routinely collected from each site and all the measured physico-chemical parameters (e.g. pH and turbidity, amongst others), anions (e.g. sulphate and chloride, amongst others) and cations (e.g. iron and lead, amongst others) were within national and international drinking water guidelines limits. Culture-based analysis indicated that Escherichia coli, total and faecal coliforms, enterococci and heterotrophic bacteria counts exceeded drinking water guideline limits in 61%, 100%, 45%, 24% and 100% of the untreated tank water samples collected from both sites. However, an 8 hour solar exposure treatment for both solar reactors was sufficient to reduce these indicator organisms to within national and international drinking water standards, with the exception of the heterotrophic bacteria which exceeded the drinking water standard limit in 43% of the samples treated with the Prototype I reactor (1 log reduction). Molecular viability analysis subsequently indicated that mean overall reductions of 75% and 74% were obtained for the analysed indicator organisms (E. coli and enterococci spp.) and opportunistic pathogens (Klebsiella spp., Legionella spp., Pseudomonas spp., Salmonella spp. and Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts) in the Prototype I and II solar reactors, respectively. The large-volume batch solar reactor prototypes could thus effectively provide four (88 L Prototype II) to seven (144 L Prototype I) people on a daily basis with the basic water requirement for human activities (20 L). Additionally, a generic Water Safety Plan was developed to aid practitioners in identifying risks and implement remedial actions in this type of installation in order to ensure the safety of the treated water