By JOY HINYIKIWILE A Rhodes University Mental Health Day vigil, organised in the wake of the alleged suicide of a Pharmacy student, morphed into a protest against the university management on Tuesday 31 May. The vigil honoured the memory of third-year Bachelor of Pharmacy student Lizo Tshila, who allegedly committed suicide in Cullen Bowles residence on Saturday. On Monday 30 May, the university confirmed Tshila’s death but did not reveal the cause of his death. Several students have been using social media platforms to share their grievances about the university’s attitudes towards student mental health concerns. One alleged there was…
Author: Joy Hinyikiwile
By JOY HINYIKIWILE She grew up thinking she was not ‘girly’ enough to enter beauty pageants, but on Sunday, 16-year-old Siyolise Aviwe Sandi will be flying Makhanda’s flag high at the 2022 Miss Teenager South Africa finals in Johannesburg. Siyolise says she is confident she will do well at the 2022 Miss Teenager South Africa on Sunday. Siyolise, a Grade 10 pupil at Victoria Girls’ High, has successfully gone through preliminary rounds to reach the final leg of the national competition. I wasn’t a pageant girl growing up. I was a jeans and sneakers type of girl, but through my…
The Makhanda-based Legal Resources Centre (LRC) has extended the Department of Basic Education deadline to arrange scholar transport for 129 Makhanda and Fort Beaufort learners and submit a plan for the provision of scholar transport to all learners in need in the Eastern Cape. JOY HINYIKIWILE spoke to two Manley Flats mothers about the impact of the disruptions in scholar transport provision on their daily struggle to get their children to Makhanda schools. Noluvuyo Ndolo and Linda Peter from Manley Flats say sending their children to school has been difficult. They pay about R700 per child every month to ensure…
Book review: Dreaming in Colour by Uvile XimbaReviewed by: JOY HINYIKIWILE In Dreaming in Colour, uLanga recounts her experience growing up as a lesbian in an intolerant society. She shares memories of life moments, sometimes predicted through dreams, that were impacted by her sexuality. One such moment is her matric dance – a moment considered “a big deal” and an experience not to miss. “Everyone insisted I see that, scolded me when I expressed uncertainty about attending, predicted I would live to regret being absent from one of our biggest rites of passage,” says Langa, who gave in to the…
By JOY HINYIKIWILE The Legal Resources Centre (LRC) has given Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga until Friday, 13 May, to organise scholar transport for 129 qualifying Makhanda and Fort Beaufort learners – and as many as 52 000 learners in the rest of the province. If the LRC does not receive confirmation before Monday, 16 June, that the learners will begin receiving transport to school, urgent high court proceedings will be launched to obtain appropriate relief to ensure that learners’ rights to education are respected. The LRC said its offices had been flooded with complaints from parents and schools over…
By JOY HINYIKIWILE They describe themselves as “an incredible group of women who are inspired by faith, fun, caring, and courage; to step up to the plate, empower and make a difference in the lives of others. “Oh, and we like to run (a lot).” The Sole Sisters aim to counter societal messages that encourage women to develop negative self and body images and adopt unhealthy lifestyles to meet unrealistic body standards. They encourage each other to create positive mindsets and give back to their communities. On Saturday, 26 March, 14 women gathered at the Natural Affinity Yoga and Pilate…
By JOY HINYIKIWILE EC Education Head of Department Ntombizanele Naledi Mbude’s precautionary suspension has received mixed reactions from opposition parties. Premier Oscar Mabuyane placed Mbude on precautionary suspension with full pay last week to allow for investigations on matters affecting the province’s state of learning and teaching. The media statement announcing her suspension notes delays in stationery and textbook delivery to schools, the 2021 festive season delays in the payment of educator assistants and the under-expenditure of the infrastructure conditional grant leading to the return of R205 million to the treasury as ‘concerning issues’. Deputy director-general in the Office of…
By JOY HINYIKIWILE The Eastern Cape Department of Education says it has finally managed to deliver textbooks and stationery to all schools in the province. However, some schools report they still have not received them. On 5 April, the department released a statement saying it had delivered textbooks and stationery to 100% of the schools in the province by 31 March. The only shortfall was in the supply of top-up textbook delivery. The top-up project provided schools with additional textbooks from the ones retrieved in the previous year. According to the department, only 77 schools had yet to receive top-up…
By JOY HINYIKIWILE The Eastern Cape Department of Basic Education has promised to meet the Makhanda High Court’s order to deliver stationery and textbooks to schools by 31 March. The order resulted from legal action taken by the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) based on the department’s failure to deliver textbooks and stationery to over 3 000 public schools in the province by the start of the 2022 academic school year. The LRC represented the education organisation Khula Community Development Project and children and parents from Makhanda and across the province. On 15 March, the High Court in Makhanda ordered the department…
By JOY HINYIKIWILE The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has upheld with costs the case by former Rhodes student, Yolanda Dyantyi, to appeal Rhodes University’s disciplinary case against her. Dyantyi was permanently excluded from the university with two exams left before completing her BA degree in November 2017. Along with Dominique McFall and Naledi Mashishi, she was accused of being involved in an incident in which three male students were held against their will during the 2016 #RUReferenceList protests. The #RUReferenceList protests named students accused of sexual harassment and rape. The university held a disciplinary inquiry on the matter. On…