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Book review: Naicker, S.M. 2024. Education and the working class: is there hope for an inclusive approach? Stellenbosch: SUN Media. 168 pp. ISBN 978-1-998951-49-9 (pbk), ISBN 978-1-998951-50-5 (eBook)
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Gendered pathways: exploring entrepreneurial endeavours among African graduates
No full textDue to the high levels of unemployment and other structural challenges on the African continent, young people have to find alternate ways of generating livelihoods. While entrepreneurship presents a viable pathway, the gendered nature of entrepreneurial activities must be examined to design policies and support systems that reduce gender-specific barriers. The purpose of the paper is to describe how gender plays a role in the entrepreneurial activities of African graduates. This descriptive-analytic paper draws from a five-year longitudinal mixed-methods study of African graduates who were funded by scholarships and completed their degrees at 21 universities between 2017 and 2020. Quantitative data was collected at three time points while qualitative data was collected annually between 2020 and 2024. The study findings highlight the role of gender dynamics in the entrepreneurial motivations of the participants, revealing distinct patterns. Across the years, more male participants had started business ventures than their female counterparts. From the qualitative interviews, it emerged that a few males were serial entrepreneurs – having started multiple businesses. While participants reported facing various challenges, the profitability of ventures run by females was concerning. The findings capture the entrepreneurial experiences of a diverse cohort of African graduates. Being a multi-site longitudinal study, which uses quantitative and qualitative data, it has afforded a unique opportunity to document the nuances of youth entrepreneurial ventures and draw learnings that have relevance to entrepreneurship promotion programmes across the African continent.
The imprint of education: a longitudinal cohort study of African Alumni of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program: research report
Get PDFCommissioned by the Mastercard Foundation, JanuaryThis report presents findings from a longitudinal cohort study (LCS) of African Alumni of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program conducted over five years. The study entitled The Imprint of Education (TIE) was conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) in a learning partnership with the Mastercard Foundation. Comprising five components, referred to as “learning activities”, the study tracked three cohorts of beneficiaries from the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program across between five and seven sites. A cohort of secondary school Alumni of the Scholars Program from Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda were recruited based on their country of study. In addition, two tertiary graduate cohorts were recruited – one to participate in a quantitative study, the other in a qualitative study. The first group (quantitative sample) comprised Alumni who had pursued their tertiary education in Ethiopia, Ghana, Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda, as well as graduates in the Diaspora (those who had studied at institutions outside the African continent). The members of this cohort were selected on the basis of the location of institutions where they had studied. The second group (qualitative sample) included tertiary graduates from Ethiopia, Ghana, Rwanda, South Africa, the Diaspora and
Uganda, as well as Kenya. The members of this cohort were recruited based on their place of residence in 2019 at the time the study commenced.N/
'Adopt student-centred institutional cultures'
No full textAfrican universities should adopt student-centred institutional cultures and modes of teaching in a bid to produce a cadre of ‘organic intellectuals’ who can change the ways in which society thinks about itself, according to Yunus Ballim, who recently completed a six-year term as the founding vice-chancellor of Sol Plaatje University (SPU) in Kimberley, South Africa, and a former deputy vice-chancellor at the University of the Witwatersrand where he was responsible for the academic programme
Health sector
No full textSurveillance was instrumental in managing the COVID-19 pandemic. Various methods helped track cases, variants, and disease severity. In addition, the data aided authorities in identifying waves, gauging control measures, and estimating transmission rates. Genomic analysis tracked SARS-CoV-2 variants, and hospital surveillance assessed health care impact. Despite low testing, wastewater monitoring caught outbreaks, but excess mortality showed unreported COVID-19 deaths. Household studies highlighted asymptomatic transmission and vaccination?s importance. Serosurveys revealed increasing immunity across waves. Emerging variants, like Omicron, demonstrated the virus?s dynamic nature, emphasising the need for ongoing surveillance and global collaboration. The Delta variant strained South Africa?s health care systems, revealing vaccine rollout challenges. Disruptions to routine services occurred and were worsened by societal unrest. Vaccination efforts targeted high-risk groups, but hesitancy persisted due to safety concerns and misinformation. Advisory committee transparency and clear communication were vital. Overall, continuous surveillance, adaptive responses, and public cooperation were essential in managing the pandemic?s multifaceted challenges.
Reimaging the Democratic Republic of Congo beyond conflicts: power struggles and leadership battles in Central Africa
Get PDFHSRC Policy Brief, JuneIt is a widely known fact that the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) sovereignty has been consistently
undermined by instability and failure to secure control in the eastern region.1 Reports suggest that the March
23 Movement (M23) armed rebels, allegedly backed by external forces from Rwanda, continue to exploit Lake
Kivu and smuggle illegal arms, further weakening Congo’s territorial integrity.2 This prolonged power struggle has led to a relentless humanitarian crisis, marked by widespread violence against civilians, mass displacement, and severe deprivation of basic human needs. Consequently, the ongoing conflict hampers the progressive realization of Agenda 2063’s fourth aspiration – a Peaceful and Secure Africa – highlighting the urgent need for transitional states to prioritize state-building efforts. It is against this background that this policy brief recommends the following key actions essential for all involved stakeholders and shareholders to achieve a
long-term solution for sustainability, good governance, resilience and security in the country.N/
Accelerating action for women and girls in science: what must change?
No full textDespite representing only around a third of scientists worldwide, women and girls hold the key to unlocking new levels of creativity, innovation and economic growth. Experts at a G20 side event, co-hosted by the HSRC and UNESCO, underscored the urgent need for inclusive science, technology, engineering and mathematics policies, supportive family and community structures, and dedicated funding to foster equal participation and to ensure that women everywhere can help shape the future of science.N/
From paper to impact: embedding research evidence in the policy arena
No full textPolicy briefs play an important role in ensuring that research informs responses to today’s most pressing societal and policy challenges. By translating evidence based research insights into practical recommendations, these documents guide decision makers to design policy, and create and monitor intervention programmes in areas such as public health, education and societal justice. Through a combination of writing workshops, retreats and multimedia tools like podcasts and vodcasts, the HSRC’s policy brief work helps to build a stronger connection between research and policy, making it easier for research to contribute meaningfully to public dialogue and decision making.N/
Amplifying global majority youth voices through creating safe(r), brave(r), and riskier spaces: the theatre of climate action (ToCA) project
No full textYouth make up a fifth of the world’s population and will suffer the consequences of the climate catastrophe to differing extents depending on their social and geographical locations. The climate crisis is thus a matter of both intergenerational and racial/imperial injustice. Intersectional and interdisciplinary climate justice approaches are growing in the field of youth climate activism and, more often, these are necessarily engaging with collaborative methods to platform the voices of marginalized youth and those who live the colonial difference. Our paper provides early reflections from a youth climate activism artistic research project titled ‘Theatre of Climate Action: Amplifying Youth Voices for Climate Justice in Guadeloupe and South Africa’ (ToCA). In this project, sixteen young people aged 18-30 from South Africa and Guadeloupe collaborate to design, produce, and create theatre
performances that reflect their exploration of climate justice through their lived experiences using artistic research methods. Specifically, we examine the opportunities and challenges in using the framework of Safe(r), Brave(r), and Riskier Spaces to support collaborative and emancipatory art-making practices that allow youth to become co-creators in this project. Insights revealed that an intentional embrace of safety, bravery, and risk as an
ethic-political basis for art making was critical to cultivate a sense of community, trust, and belonging for youth co-creators.
Editorial: African youth livelihoods
No full textDemographers estimate that by 2030 half of the world’s youth will be African. This burgeoning increase in human beings on the continent usually leads to debates on ‘demographic dividends’ centred on how to cash in on human capital or the threats posed by large number of unemployed and poorly educated people on the African continent. This special issue challenges these conventional framing of young Africans in developmental discourses, questioning for instance, how young Africans are studied, who studies them, from what perspectives and why? Thematically, the contributions cover topics ranging from ‘the digital divide’on the continent to
the role of gender in the entrepreneurial activities of young people, from the motivations behind agricultural
livelihoods to the impact of conflict on income generation, and more. Importantly, the majority of the included authors are young Africans themselves, advancing not only the theoretical, methodological and empirical aspects of research on issues affecting young people in Africa, but also expanding youth participation in academic publishing. This introduction frames some of the critical concerns motivating our need to draw together scholarship on the topic of African youth livelihoods, before summarizing the assembled contributions.