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Joseph Chilton Pearce, author famous for his ideas around the development of children once stated that “Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold.” As an advocate for active and imaginative play, Pearce believed that play cultivates the mastery of one’s environment, which he termed “creative competence.” Children that lacked this form of play developed feelings of isolation and anxiety. Thus, play is integral to a young child’s development. Kagiso Trust, Cotlands and Sesame Workshop are key supporters of making play-based opportunities accessible to children irrespective of their socio-economic status.

Kagiso Trust et. al will be celebrating the 20th Anniversary of World Play Day with over 300 children at the Multi-purpose Centre in Zamdela, Sasolburg on Saturday, 1 June 2019. To raise awareness for this year’s World Play Day¹ theme, “Play is a right”, Cotlands play facilitators have planned a myriad of activities for the children. Takalani Sesame Muppets, Zuzu and Kami, will be joining the children to highlight this year’s theme through song, dance and storytelling.

Sizakele Mphatsoe, Head of Education Development and Civil Society comments, “As much as every child has the right to education, Kagiso Trust believes that every child has the right to play. It is through playing that children learn. Early Childhood Education plays an important role in the foundation of a child’s education and holistic development. As we celebrate World Play Day, we must ensure safe spaces, both emotionally and physically, for children to play and be exposed to learning.”

“With such a large portion of the South African population being in low-resource settings,  we continue to educate caregivers and teachers on the benefits that Learning through Play provides, as one of the most powerful ways for children to learn, develop and overcome setbacks,” said Innocent Nkata, Managing Director of Sesame Workshop South Africa.

Through forging strategic partnerships with Kagiso Trust, Cotlands is the implementation partner responsible to deliver a capacity building project working with early childhood practitioners in Sasolburg to improve and deliver good quality early play-based learning. Kagiso Trust has selected five early childhood development (ECD) centres in the community of Zamdela to help improve the quality of school readiness for young children. The role Cotlands is to assess the needs of the ECD practitioners from the five centres, identify gaps in their knowledge of play-based learning and to introduce a high-quality play-based programme that will increase their skills, and have positive developmental outcomes for the children attending the selected ECD centres.

Dr Monica Stach, CEO of Cotlands comments, “Capacity building is one of the vital programmes that Cotlands offers. Our training is hands-on, with ECD practitioners not only being told to read stories or to do outdoor play.  We show the ECD practitioners how to read the story, we get them to read the story to us and then when they are with the children they are confident and able to make story time a meaningful learning activity.  We follow the same see-practice-do methodology for all the components on the learning plans they are expected to implement in their ECD centres.  Our work is rooted in  best practice ECD principles, when implemented guarantee positive developmental outcomes for the children. We are working closely with practitioners to not only enhance their play facilitation skills,  but we also provide 42 early learning plans to guide the activities children experience, and we help make toys from waste materials, or supply the resources they need through our toy libraries, which all contributes to successfully implementing play-based learning.”

Capacity building initiatives like the one in Zamdela results in more children optimally developing as a result of a range of play-based early learning activities. These activities develop children’s language skills, pre-literacy, social and emotional skills and fosters creativity and imagination. These initiatives build a solid learning foundation for children and will prepare them to reach their full potential in formal school.

^{1 – World Play Day is an annual event that takes place on 28 May, inspired by the International Toy Library Association (ITLA) and is celebrated in over 40 countries around the world.}

The Kagiso Trust (KT) in partnership with the Limpopo Department of Education launched the Kagiso Trust ushers school development programme into the Limpopo region.

Kagiso Trust is one of South Africa’s leading development agencies, with the mandate to overcome poverty through creating and implementing sustainable development programmes in areas of education, institutional capacity building, socio-economic development, fundraising sustainability and special projects.

The programme was piloted in 2004 at 1 school and was later implemented with 8 other schools in the Vhembe District.

The programme also piloted in Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State.

The BNSDP was rolled out in Free State in partnership with the Free State Department of Education where 166 schools in Thabo Mofutsanyana district benefitted from the rand-to-rand partnership.

Kagiso Trust has since invested more than R400m in education development over the past 15 years.

The success of the programme in the Free State has led to the expansion into the Riba Cross District in Sekhukhune Limpopo.

Kagiso Trust aims to bring a comprehensive and tailored programme that will address the challenges rural schools are currently facing in South Africa.

The programme provides the infrastructure and builds the instructional leadership and curriculum capacity in the schools. This aims to improve learner outcomes and the functioning of the educational system at district level.

Key areas of focus for the programme will be fostering community participation and buy-in from local schools.

The BNSDP aims to create environments conducive to teaching and learning and help solve challenges that hamper effective school functioning.

“Cultivating partnerships with the Limpopo provincial department heads is key to achieving the strategic growth and the advancement of this provinces’ education system. We hope that this intervention yields great results and can also be a learning curve for our combined stakeholders,” said Mankodi Moitse, Kagiso Trust CEO.

Moitse further elaborated that, since the programme’s initial piloting in Lwamondo High Schoolthe ripple effect of the programme resulted in an improved matric pass rate of 84%and that Kagiso Trust, along with its stakeholders, hopes for a holistic growth in programme schools in the next 5 years of implementation.

MEC for Education, Ishmael Kgetjepe added that emphasis needs to be given to schools’ infrastructure inrural communities.

“Partnering needs to be deliberate with each region’s mandate in mind. We are pleased that Kagiso Trust is re-visiting Limpopo through the BNSDP and commit to work hand-in-hand to ensure a smooth transition”.

Published on Letaba Herald

Kagiso Trust’s interventions through the Beyers Naudé Schools Development Programme (BNSDP) in rural and township schools in the Free State have paid dividends, resulting in several schools achieving more than a 90% matric pass rate.

Following its success in the Free State, Kagiso Trust will implement the programme in similar schools in Limpopo, with the aim of improving the learning outcomes of thousands of previously disadvantaged pupils.

The BNSDP, an educational model, will soon be launched in the Sekhukhune district in Limpopo.

The programme provides infrastructure to rural schools, ensures quality education by providing expertise to empower teachers and pupils, and develops leadership capacity to teachers, pupils and parents.

Centres of excellence

Kagiso Trust CEO Mankodi Moitse said the Trust wants to spread the programme to other areas, “beyond the areas where we started, so that this can become a model that can be replicated, tailored and implemented across multiple districts in the country”.

Moitse said that in partnership with the Limpopo department of education, the programme has set aside R400m for the Sekhukhune district over the next five years. “The district is a rural nodal area, whose performance has been at its lowest for several years. The BNSDP model has demonstrated over the years that we can convert underperforming rural schools into centres of excellence.”

The Free State’s performance has been consistent since the inception of the BNSDP. The national pass rate was 78.2%, whereas the Free State received 87.5%.

The partnership between the Trust and the Free State Department of Education saw an impressive improvement in matric results in a number of districts. All the districts in the province achieved more than 80%. The Fezile Dabi, Xhariep and Maluti-a-Phofung districts scored more than 92%.

Improvements were also recorded in the Motheo district and Thabo Mofutsanyana, where 25 of the 56 schools scored a 100% pass rate.

“This can become a model that can be replicated, tailored and implemented across multiple districts in the country,” Mankodi Moitse, Kagiso Trust CEO

The province achieved more than 70% in all gateway subjects. These include mathematics, accounting, physical science, economics, English and business studies. This proves beyond doubt that the intervention works.

Moitse said the same approach will be applied in the Sekhukhune and Riba Cross districts. “We would like to replicate the model and Limpopo is best placed to be the next province where the programme should be implemented.”

“Partnering and collaborating with the Department of Education, as well as the MEC in Limpopo, will be pivotal to the success of this programme,” she said.

The aim of the project is to bring a comprehensive and tailored programme that will address the challenges schools face in Limpopo. The programme will provide the infrastructure that many schools do not have, and build instructional leadership and curriculum capacity in the schools. This will, over time, improve learning outcomes and the functioning of the educational system at district level.

Pupils from Lwamondo High School near Thohoyandou, one of the pilot schools for our Beyers Naude Schools Development Programme (BNSDP)

Overemphasis on matric

Moitse said she was confident that the programme will succeed in not only improving matric results, but the schooling system as a whole in the targeted areas.

“The BNSDP model is about making a systemic change. We do appreciate that there is an implicit expectation of improving the matric results. However, the overemphasis on matric sometimes overlooks the challenges in the schooling pipeline. When instructional leadership improves, it is obvious that matric results will significantly improve over time.

“The BNSDP model is customised to fit the needs of the schools in Sekhukhune. For the model to work we need all hands on deck from all the stakeholders, including the learners themselves.”

Kagiso Trust has invested more than R400m since the BNSDP programme was piloted at Lwamondo Secondary School in the Vhembe district, Limpopo, 15 years ago. The intervention and that of other partners in the private sector has been lauded by Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga and her MECs in the various provinces.

Topic: The connections and disconnections within the education value chain which will influence success during the time of the Fourth Industrial Revolution

From left to right: Masechaba Ndlovu, Dr. Andile Mtotywa, Prof. Caroline Long, Ms. Sonqoba Maseko

Education Conversations

Kagiso Trust in partnership with the University of Johannesburg’s Faculty of Education held its Education Conversations on 24 July 2018.  The Education Conversations encourages our nation to talk and creates a space for an ongoing debate through which diverse voices can be heard. This year’s Education Conversations series has been unpacking the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) as a theme. The second of the three-part Education Conversations series focused on the “Connections and disconnections within the education value chain which will influence success during the time for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”

What is the African perspective on the Fourth Industrial Revolution?

A key part of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in the context of Africa is that inclusive growth should receive attention, ensuring that everyone receives an equal opportunity to be active participants in the economy during the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The vast and growing potential of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is yet to be fully grasped. The ICT sector, industry and governments have a responsibility to unlock its potential for citizen service delivery, customer experience and innovative solutions, for a better life for all.

The Future of Jobs and Skills in Africa report suggests that, in order to prepare for the future of work, the region (Africa) must expand its high-skilled talent pool by developing future-ready curricula, with a large portion of that focusing on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and an interdisciplinary approach to learning where rigorous academic concepts are coupled with the real-world. More importantly, these skills are critical for the development and sustainability of entrepreneurs who are central to the future of South Africa and the rest of Africa.

In his  speech, the Vice Chancellor and Principal of UJ, said “Africa can not afford to be spectators, we must actively participate, we must be activists of the 4IR.”  What we need are active citizens who are driven and demographically diverse, to make a difference in society and ensure that education of Africans becomes the new form of activism.

The panel at the Education Conversations explored the topic further.

Q&A:

1. What have we done right so far in terms of preparing our education system for the 4IR?

Government has begun to talk about the Fourth Industrial Revolution.  At the end of May 2018, Parliament held its conversation about the 4IR, we all hope that their discussions will now culminate into the development of policy and legislation that enables the citizens to effectively participate in the 4IR. For example, focusing on which critical skills our economy needs and access to mobile or internet data which is the heartbeat for the 4IR to function (currently, data is very expensive).  Current research shows that citizens who cannot afford data have the least knowledge about the 4IR. So, we hope this start of policy discussions will ensure that the citizens are enabled to take advantage of the opportunities. Furthermore, the Minister of Higher Education and Training, Naledi Pandor’s budget speech promised to set-up a multi-sectoral task team to advise the higher education sector on how it should take up opportunities associated with the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Basic Education is driving to prioritise STEM in schools and also creating schools that specialise in science and technology. Two of these specialised schools were recently launched in Atteridgeville, and 25 more are planned for Gauteng. These are all critical initiatives that are preparing our education system for the 4IR. We must acknowledge that it is still in its infancy, but we must complement government for piloting these specialised science and technology schools.

When people are empowered with knowledge, they are able to change their behaviour and act on it. Therefore, government must continue to pursue the 4IR by fast-tracking policy and creating an enabling environment and make the equal participation top of the national agenda –  Dr. Andile Mtotywa Managing Director, Business and Social Research Institute.

2. What can we do to ensure that the education value chain thrives during the 4IR?

Some of the things that I think need to be done to prepare the education value chain for the Fourth Industrial Revolution include reviewing and assessing what it is we can do differently and asking ourselves what is aligned or disconnected.  We also need to critically ask ourselves, what is going to make us successful as a country and as a continent and integrating those assessments into the education value chain. Curriculum is also an area we need to start reviewing; we need to ensure that the curriculum makes learning real and relatable to what learners and students see around them each day. The school environments need to be assessed in relation to infrastructure appropriateness and create an environment that is conducive for collaboration, creativity and critical thinking.

Having a global view and implementing on best practice will enable us to prepare and equip the education value chain for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.  –  Ms. Sonqoba Maseko Former Chief Operations Officer, Sifiso Learning Group. 

3. To what extent is our curriculum in basic education ready for the 41R?

We need to ensure that children, especially those in rural areas, are not left behind during the Fourth Industrial Revolution.  This can be done by connecting them to technology in the classroom. This can be achieved by training and empowering teachers to use technology as part of curriculum delivery so that they are well equipped to impart content and skills to learners.  In rural or peri-urban communities all households have access to cell phones and we can start by using the available technology and align it to teacher content with the available technology.  Collaboration with the private sector in the ICT and telecommunications is another key component. The schooling system can leverage off their resources.

By using technology for teacher development, teachers are able to be paired and connected with other teachers across the country, continent and the world, so that they are able to share experiences and best practice.  Therefore, technology is key to ensure that teachers and learners from disadvantaged schools are not left behind.  Learners need to be equipped to become 21^st century learners by exploring future robust and emerging jobs as careers in the 4IR. The emerging new jobs identified would include App developers, Driverless car engineers, Big data/ data scientists, Social media, Drone operators and Millennial generation experts just to name a few. Therefore, learners and students will be required to have skills that test their critical thinking, creativity, innovation and the ability to provide solutions to social and economic problems. – Ms. Sizakele Mphatsoe Education and Civil Society Head, Kagiso Trust.

4. We are already in the 4IR, how are students in higher education being prepared to enter the 4IR job market?

From my experience as a teacher in higher education, I think that the most important thing is to instill the idea of agency in students.  In my Maths class, I showed my students the Hidden Figures film.  The film is about three African American women, who were very critical for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Space programme and those three women showed incredible agency against all odds.  My students loved the movie and from that point on anything that showed limitation, I would refer them to the movie for them to gather courage.  One of my students who was present at the Education Conversations came to talk to me, and I asked her “why do you think I showed you that film?” She answered by saying “you showed it to us so that we can tap into our courage.” I think that is the most important thing that students who exit higher education should have, the courage to tackle whichever challenges they may encounter. These challenges could be technological, social or human engagements so long as they have courage and agency they will be able to develop solutions.  – Prof. Caroline Long, University of Johannesburg.

Get yourself a copy of the Sunday Times this Sunday, 19 August to read up more on the discussion we had at the previous Education Conversations.

Kagiso Trust Head of Education and Civil Society, Sizakele Mphatsoe, joins the panel in answering key questions around the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) in education. The panel consists of:

– Dr. Andile Mtotywa, Managing Director, Business and Social Research Institute

– Ms. Sonqoba Maseko, Former Chief Operations Officer, Sifiso Learning Group

– Prof. Caroline Long, Faculty of Education, University of Johannesburg

With technology rapidly changing our economic, cultural and social realities, the question of how to prepare the younger, and even the current, generation for the fourth industrial revolution has been a pressing issue for contemporary higher education.

“How do we educate for the 4th Industrial Revolution? Are our education systems and programmes relevant to the Fourth industrial revolution? And if not, how do we reconstruct our education systems so that they are?” these were the sentiments shared during the Education Conversations Series on Tuesday, 24 July 2018, at UJ’s Soweto campus.

Facilitated by radio and television entrepreneur, Masechaba Ndlovu, the event unpacked how South Africa can prepare the education system for the fourth industrial revolution and contained presentations by Dr. Andile Mtotywa, co-founder and Director of Alchemy Hub; Dr. Caroline Long, Professor: Department of Childhood Education and Ms Sonqoba Maseko, Chief Operations Officer at Sifiso Learning Group.

“It is increasingly clear that the rapid development of technology has changed everyone’s economic, social and cultural status quo- which proves that 4.0 is a reality,” said Dr. Mtotywa.

The 4^th Industrial Revolution is said to be ushered in by advancements in robotics, virtual reality, cloud technology, big data, artificial intelligence, the internet of things and other technologies. It is characterised by the fusion of technologies and the blurring of the lines between the physical, digital and biological aspects of life.

Also speaking was Dr. Caroline Long, pointing out that to prepare to take advantage of what 4.0 brings along, societies must redouble their efforts in educating the workforce of the future. “They can do this by addressing the need for continued and improved training in science, technology and mathematics subjects. It is these subjects that will lay the foundation of prosperity during the fourth industrial revolution.”

“Science and mathematics provide answers to so many of the fundamental questions of nature and enable citizens to gain a better understanding of the world around them,” explained Dr. Long.

The last speaker, Sonqoba Maseko emphasised that the education sector needs to look at how classrooms are attempting to adapt to the 4th Industrial Revolution and the tools they are using or considering. “There is a need to focus on ICT and future technologies, teacher education and lifelong learning for an adaptable and flexible education system.”

The exciting Education Conversations continued zooming in on the connections and disconnections in the education value chain which will influence success during the 4th Industrial Revolution. The first instalment in April saw a passionate debate by UJ students and other members of the public, following presentations by National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT) CEO, Godwin Khosa, and Dr. Jacqueline Bachelor from UJ. Many agreed that Africa should develop and lead its own context-specific revolution instead of blindly jumping onto the bandwagon.

The Education Conversations is an initiative by the Faculty of Education and Kagiso Trust aimed at encouraging the education stakeholders, especially our students, teachers and both ministries of education to talk and create space for debates and discussions through which diverse voices can be heard focusing on what works and how to collectively advance the agenda for an improved and performing public education system.

Article source: https://www.uj.ac.za/newandevents/Pages/UJ-Kagiso-Trust-gearing-education-system-for-the-4th-Industrial-Revolution.aspx

Sharing their Hearts of Gold: Kagiso Trust and the South African Local Government Association – Mandela Day

Kagiso Trust (KT, the Trust) in partnership with the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) spent Mandela Day at Takalani Home for people living with mental disabilities in Diepkloof, Soweto. Takalani provides care to 144 children with disabilities some of whom are orphaned and abandoned. The home has faced many challenges over the past two years and support is needed to keep home sustainable to provide much- needed care for the vulnerable citizens.

KT lives Mandela Day everyday through its development work and vision that aims to contribute towards a prosperous, peaceful, equitable and just society. The Trust’s programmes are all geared to making a positive change in society. The Trust is currently running the Heart of Gold campaign which urges all sectors to show their Hearts of Gold through acts of goodwill.

“Making South Africa a better country is not something anyone can do alone. When SALGA approached us to partner for this year’s Mandela Day, we appreciated it. We are strong believers in the strength of partnerships and working together for greater impact. As I stand here today and see so many of our colleagues who have given of their time to be here, I am humbled,” said Mankodi Moitse Chief Executive Officer of KT.

(Left to right) Kagiso Trust CEO Mankodi Moitse; Takalani Home Director Judgement Gumede; Takalani Home Employee; SALGA Executive Manager: Office of the CEO, Lance Joel; Takalani Home Employee

For the past nine years, SALGA has been doing its bit to share their Hearts of Gold through various initiatives and over 3000 people have benefited from these initiatives. “With an increase in unemployment, poverty, the widening gap between the haves and the have nots, youth being marginalised, women and children being victims of abuse, more collaborations and partnerships are needed to address these social challenges.” concluded Lance Joel SALGA Executive Manager: Office of the CEO.

The two organisations jointly raised R150 000 which was handed over by Ms Moitse and Mr Joel. The money will be used to purchase equipment and other items the Home is desperately in need of. Additionally KT and SALGA staff members made personal contributions which included sanitary towels, groceries, clothing, educational toys and books.