My FREE SA
Jayram Daya
My Front for Radical Educational Empowerment of South Africans
Ubuntu-a quality that includes the essential human virtues;
compassion and humanity
What is the Educational Empowerment?
An interactive process in which the pupil acquires
relative control of the learning process, based on a sense of belonging,
independence and generosity toward the “other”.
The objective of this report: To suggest a practical
educational system to create work opportunities (employment), training and
entrepreneurship by introducing skills at all levels of the prescribed
education system. This must fulfill the economic needs of South Africa for the
present and the future.
Benefits that are expected: When the minds of the
learners are trained with the suggested educational programs one must be able
to be self-employed or invited into the waiting employment markets without
obstacles or empower the elderly and the uneducated to aid the economy of South
Africa.
The flexibility of the education system: The education the system must accommodate any individual to stimulate the economy of South Africa
to grow and find work when leaving the Schools or Technical Institution or
Universities.
Motivation: Youth account for 60% of all African
unemployed, according to the World Bank. In North Africa, the youth
unemployment rate is an eyebrow-raising 30%. It is even worse in Botswana, the
Republic of the Congo, Senegal, South Africa, and several other
countries.
No shortage of ideas: There have been other ideas
about how to create jobs. The Brookings Institution argues for a focus on
manufacturing because it is “the industrial sector most closely associated
with employment-intensive growth.” It also urges more investment in
agriculture, tourism, and construction and in projects that employ young people.
“Public works programs provide opportunities for young workers, particularly
rural residents and people with low skills, to acquire initial work
experience.”
South Africa’s failure to address the school education System
Did the new education system bring any good values in the
schooling after the 1995 election? No, of course as the following points of
observation shows that everyone wants to use his democratic right and do
whatever he wants to do and expect to live on grants and the government
handouts with sympathy.
- An average 21-year-old man cannot operate an electric Drill, Grinder and use basic tools like screwdrivers and spanners hand saws and many more to add.
- Most cannot sweep a floor efficiently or maintain good housekeeping. Many cannot wash a car or a floor as they are not taught to use the right equipment.
- Most girls of the age of 21 cannot cook or bake a cake and want to have a baby to be eligible for government grants. When at work calls on a cell phone is a common sight, when restricted the toilet visit increases
- None can do general gardening and especially vegetable gardening which is basic for a learner, to know about even as a hobby to grow some type of food for hard times.
- Basic discipline in the job market of most first-timers is very poor. Late coming, no ethics of addressing the superiors, when reprimanded for work performance they run to the CCMA and the labor department. Body hygiene is very poor as a result they carry an odor that rejects the co-workers working together and traveling together giving a racial disharmony and other behaviors.
- An average matric passed individual cannot read, write and comprehend efficiently making them bad candidates for first-time jobs as a simple thing like stock take, when it is full of errors.
- The only thing that every school-going child knows is to use the cell phone.
What South Africa Needs:
The people of South Africa need a radical process
where basic education must be transformed to develop skills. Skills are many
and the focus must be on the education that will give economic
advantage.
What South Africa has today;
The Skills Development Act aims to develop the skills of
the South African workforce and to improve the quality of life of workers and
their prospects of work. To improve productivity in the workplace and the
competitiveness of employers and to promote self-employment
Skills Development Act and Amendments — Department of
Labour
Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) is a racially selective the programme launched by the South African government to redress the inequalities
of Apartheid by giving certain previously disadvantaged groups (Blacks,
Coloreds, Indians, and Chinese) of South African citizens economic privileges
previously not available to them ...
Black Economic Empowerment - Wikipedia
To be focused let’s consider the ruling governments
manifesto and build an infrastructure to make it possible.
“Ahead of the conference and his election, Ramaphosa
detailed his election manifesto, emphasizing the need to renew the ANC, grow
and transform the economy, and build the state. From an economic perspective,
he highlighted his six key areas of focus, namely:
Accelerate the process of meaningful radical economic
transformation
Create jobs for young people
Lead a skills revolution
Make ownership of the economy less concentrated
Build South Africa’s manufacturing base
Build a more competitive economy
In combination, these six focus areas have the potential
to lift confidence, investment, and growth in South Africa. However, as usual,
the policy detail together with the public sector’s institutional capacity to
implement key initiatives timeously is crucial.” (Kevin Lings STANLIB Chief
Economist)
The delusions of South Africans:
The ruling party and the Government of South Africa must
focus on the policies and its people. The media and the opposition have dragged
the country in a false hope of having wealth by equating and undoing the past
for the 23 years that have gone bye. This has taken the employment marked on the
crossroads of the wealth creators and the wealth managers. The ruling party has
created a mirage for wealth managers and no one seems to be interested in
wealth creation.
The educational system is only focused on creating
bureaucrat’s and wealth managers so that the few in the government can serve
themselves and their families. Now free education is a new slogan for the
greedy beneficiaries of the sluggish South African economy. Remember the
business community is the key for selling our wealth.
The education system must have wealth creators on the top
of the list. South Africa is fortunate to have the richest natural resources in
the world yet we are struggling and allowing our natural resources to be
abused.
One can understand that the land issue must be resolved
but not at the cost of destroying the economic benefits of the land the country
is receiving. Our neighbor has proven the facts that give the best land to
anyone not qualified and it will be a disaster. The policy of the
Government is to produce wealth managers and not wealth creators so that they can
be in charge of the wealth of the country. Sadly it’s failing by allowing the
wealth creators to take control of the economy. Agriculture and Industries can
be a two-edged sword if the government’s policymakers do not change their
approach.
The focus should be on the wealth creators with relevant
policies that will promise to do away the inequalities of the past.
The wealth creators of South Africa are:
- The farming –Agriculture
- Mining – Natural resources
- Industries – the backbone of a working economy
The government needs to address this with its own agenda
and the first on the list should be “Lead a skills revolution with Educational
empowerment”
Lead a skills revolution with Educational empowerment.
Skill training needs to be introduced in the early stages
of a child’s education. Our problem in South Africa is the choice that one gets
and this democratic right has given the youth no direction. The realization
comes when one cannot find work and it’s too late. This is the time they look
for government intervention when it’s late.
We need a radical change in the education system so that
the youth have skills training when the schooling is done. South Africa with
its wealth needs a user-friendly system that will promise the development of
the minds of the scholars in theory and practise
The 3 population distribution with economic activities
that needs to be addressed in South Africa is:
- The farming communities
- The town dwellers
- And the city dwellers
- Or the rural and the urban population of South Africa. We will address this section when it becomes relevant to our argumentative needs.
There are 3 basic education institutions that play an important role in educating the young minds in South Africa
- Schools
- Technical institutions and
- Universities
These educational institutions should and must play their
basic roles if controlled and executed to a specified goal by the government.
The new system introduces after 1994 was a disaster and the one in use has
eliminated the skills-building subject.
School education in South Africa is in the progression of
2 stages, the primary and the secondary.
Needs a radical change urgently
Primary education must be successful in teaching to read,
write and comprehend with motor skills. Secondary education must focus on
the child’s personal skills and help them train these skills that will give
them careers when they complete their schooling.
A panel of experts needs to identify the problem areas of
South African school education system and give a constructive remedy that will
put our aims from a practical perspective.
The present system needs urgent
attention. Considering the following;
- A simple system to train the adolescent child to read, write and comprehend at an early age.
- Reading, writing and comprehending (or the ‘three R’) efficiently is what South Africa needs. Secondary school students can benefit enormously when teachers of all subjects integrate reading and writing strategies into their instruction, according to Harvard Graduate School of Education Lecturer Vicki Jacobs. These strategies, typical of "reading and writing to learn" and "reading and writing across the curriculum," are problem-solving activities designed to help students move from simply knowing a fact to understanding a fact's significance. Helping students make that leap — from knowing to understanding — represents the very heart of the educational enterprise. This summary is based on Jacobs' article, "Reading, Writing, and Understanding," which appeared in the November 2002 edition of Educational Leadership.
- A simple system to teach them life-supporting motor skills. Mastering both fine and gross motor skills are important for children's growth and independence. Having good motor control helps children explore the world around them and also helps with their cognitive development. Gross Motor Skills: movements related to large muscles such as legs, arms, etc.
- To develop an economic understanding the trade-related subject must be made compulsory. The IMF Center of the International Monetary Fund, in partnership with the U.S.'s National Council on Economic Education (NCEE), has launched an instructional program for secondary school students about the effects of globalization and the importance of understanding the dynamics of the global economy. Thinking Globally: Effective Lessons for Teaching about the Interdependent World Economy are eight classroom-tested lessons on globalization, comparative advantage, economic growth, exchange rates, and other international topics.
- Essential ‘Do it yourself’ (DIY) skills training in schools. A must for all schools and should be made a compulsory subject. After learning the motor skills the adolescent child needs to get exposed to the real world. Do it yourself (DIY) is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things without the direct aid of experts or professionals. Academic research describes DIY as behaviors where "individuals engage raw and semi-raw materials and component parts to produce, transform, or reconstruct material possessions, including those drawn from the natural environment. Wolf & McQuitty (2011). Understanding the Do-It-Yourself Consumer: DIY Motivation and Outcomes. Academy of Marketing Science Review
- All related subjects offered in schools must be user-friendly with Trade and DIY activities. This will help the students understand applied sciences and mathematics to a new level. They will be ready to use skills that even after schooling it will help them find work.
Building South Africa’s manufacturing base.
Technical institutions
Technical education is a well-defined opportunity to
develop careers with skills in the much needed industrial sectors where job
opportunities are available at all times. These institutions are not conducive
for the Farm Dwellers
In the light of South Africa's critical need for
technical and artisan skills, plus the apartheid legacy that stigmatized
vocational education, the research indicates that the country should develop a
policy framework for making vocationally-oriented education (through specialist
'focus schools' or through general….
Vocational education in South Africa Strategies for….. –
Africa Portal
Skills and educational training in S
A is Most Neglected
In the last few years, much has been done for the urban population of South Africa, in the technical and artisan
skills but has not considered the rural population of South Africa.
Recommendation and prominences should be focused on
- Agriculture
- Cottage Industries
- Small to medium Industries and
- Large industries and mining.
A detailed study should focus on Agriculture and cottage
industries that can be promoted in the rural area.
Some interesting viewpoints:
*A solution to SA’s rural education crisis- Financialmail
*How education can meet the needs of the workplace BusinessDay
*Soft skills lacking in the workplace – ENGINEERING
NEWS
*How we can fix South Africa's skills development
crisis- BusinessReport
Why would My FREE SA make a difference?
High-risk students are unsuccessful not because they do
not want to succeed, but rather due to not having a system that is designed to
meet their needs. My Front for Radical Educational Empowerment of South Africans would be a program that would be based
upon the principle that high-risk students have different needs, learn at
different rates and have diverse learning styles. Currently, these
are not being addressed by traditional schools, technikons and universities,
causing many high-risk students to be disengaged and apathetic toward all
learning institutions.
Whereas many schools focus mainly on providing educational services, My
FREE SA, by contrast, is multi-dimensional. My FREE SA would focus
on a holistic- encompassing the whole body, mind and emotional well-being of a
student. The holistic approach will be taught and promoted throughout the
course of the school year and to continue in the tertiary years. We view
each student as having strengths not deficits and we will adapt our programs
and practices to provide the support each student requires to achieve their
fullest potential.
Public universities in South Africa are divided into
three types:
- Traditional universities, which offer theoretically-oriented university degrees; universities of technology ("technikons"), which offer vocational oriented diplomas and degrees; and
- Comprehensive universities, which offer a combination of both types of qualifications.
- The traditional university education should be to produce bureaucrats and thinkers for government and for multinational job opportunities. The basic entrance requirements must insist on a trade for the eligibility to be accepted in such universities.
Why Apple Still Uses Chinese Manufacturers
Why India is becoming and Industrial power again with all
the wrongdoings of the Mughal and the British Raj. The followers of Sanatan
Vaidik Hindu Dharma has passed on their knowledge through rituals and arts
that have made India so independent. Attached one of its Dharma that which is
passed on for generations;
ARTS RECOMMENDED IN THE VEDIC SYSTEM OF RECEIVING
KNOWLEDGE
