Latest news with #PinedenePrimary
The Citizen
17-06-2025
- General
- The Citizen
Former Pinedene girl now teaches next door
VANDERBIJLPARK – From classroom dreams to chalkboard reality. A Pinedene Primary alumna is back in town, not as a learner, but as a teacher. Meet Makhosazana Mehlomakhulu, a grade four teacher at Oakwood Primary School, a stone's throw away from where her future dreams began. Affectively known as 'Teacher Khosi' by her fellow pupils, the 24-year-old's story is living proof that destiny waits for no one. As early as Grade One, Khosi has always wanted to follow in her mother's footsteps, who has been teaching for more than 33 years. It seems the apple didn't fall far from the tree as the Vanderbijlpark-born and bred cool girl nurtures young minds in the very community that raised her. As the nation marks June as Youth Month, Khosi's story is a timely reminder of how far passion and purpose can take you, especially when education leads the way. Speaking to Ster, Khosi shared her life story from her first day in primary school, her matric at THS Carel de Wet, and later taking up her academics at North-West University. 'After completing my grade 12, I furthered my studies at North-West University, where I studied a Bachelor of Education. I passed with cum laude. In 2023, I completed my Bachelor of Honours Degree in Education Management and Leadership and graduated in 2024,' she said proudly. Reminiscing on her foundation phase days when she was asked what she wanted to become, Khosi said she stuck to her calling no matter what. 'I've always known what I wanted, and my mom has always been my biggest inspiration. Her passion, drive, selflessness, and compassion for kids are the reason I wanted to follow in her footsteps,' she said. While her university journey was an easy one, Khosi said her first year in teaching came with its hurdles. 'I was studying postgraduate full-time and teaching at the same time. Juggling those two things was difficult to say the least, but I pushed through,' she said. Sharing her rewarding tale of what it means to be a teacher, Khosi sure seems to enjoy being a mother to hundreds of kids. 'Being a teacher is not easy because you're a mother to more than 100 kids. Every day, you answer thousands of questions. The biggest reward is knowing that you're making a difference in children's lives. For me, knowing that you're someone's safe space in a world of chaos is the biggest incentive,' she said. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
IOL News
10-06-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
UWC study exposes bullying of refugee children in Cape Town schools
UWC study exposes bullying of refugee children in schools. Image: Freepik Congolese refugee children attending schools in Maitland and Parow face relentless bullying rooted in xenophobia, racism, and cultural differences, according to a recent study by UWC Master's student, Adelina Nakatya Ntagerwa. For Ntagerwa's MA thesis, she interviewed 20 parents of adolescent refugees from the war-torn Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which revealed harrowing accounts of verbal abuse, physical violence, and systemic neglect at these schools. The interviews took place amidst the Covid-19 pandemic and a protest by mostly Congolese refugees who were demanding to be repatriated to Canada, Australia and other Western countries. Many Congolese families fled the DRC's Kivu region, an area devastated by decades of conflict, only to find their children subjected to bullying in South African classrooms, according to Ntagerwa. In her interviews, parents reported that their children were frequently called derogatory names like "makwerekwere" and "black boy", highlighting the racial and xenophobic undertones of the abuse. One mother, Sakina, shared how her son was ostracised and physically assaulted by peers who mocked his accent and nationality. "They push him, swear at him, and tell him he doesn't belong here," she said. Another parent, Adelaide, recounted how her daughter was called "swart" (black in Afrikaans), a term hurled with such malice that the girl begged to change schools. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading UWC's Varsity Shield rugby captain Romauld Nsombamanya, 24, who was born in the DRC, although not from Kivu, echoed Ntagerwa's findings, describing his primary school experience as 'quite hard, quite intense'. 'I've been in South Africa since 2011, but I only started school in 2013 at Pinedene Primary in Ravensmead. My primary school experience, I would say, was quite hard because I had numerous (varied) experiences. I was the new kid in school, just trying to fit in. South African kids were very reluctant to accept me,' said Nsombamanya. While the welcome he got at the school was not the greatest, one teacher, Ms McKay, showed great kindness to bridge the language barrier. 'She would take her own time to sit with me for two hours to make English cue cards to learn certain words. It just so happens that she was my English teacher, and it really helped me to develop,' says Nsombamanya. One instance of bullying he encountered at the school was with one of his fellow pupils who teased him about his bad stutter. 'I ignored him until he started spitting in my face. I walked away, and then he came and slapped me from the back, and then I retaliated, which caused a fight. A prefect then came and held me for the other kid to beat me,' said Nsombamanya. He ended up being punished by the principal despite explaining the violent provocation he had endured. The bullying continued at Florida High School, where most of the pupils from his primary school were enrolled. At high school, Nsombamanya became a loner, but this changed when his older cousin from the DRC joined him, and he learned to assert himself. In her research, Ntagerwa found that bullying often escalates into physical violence. A participant called Rodrigue shared that his daughter was taunted for her long name and Congolese heritage, while Imani's son was beaten by classmates who told him to "go back to Congo" after he outperformed them academically. In one tragic case, a child, overwhelmed by relentless bullying over his old clothing, committed suicide. His mother, Mateso, discovered too late that he had left a note detailing his torment. Teachers and school staff are sometimes complicit. A Xhosa-speaking teacher refused to translate lessons for a Congolese student, telling her: "This is not your country; go find someone who speaks your language." Another parent, Shabani, described how a school administrator publicly shamed his daughter for unpaid fees, humiliating her in front of classmates. Beyond peer bullying, systemic issues exacerbate the trauma. Refugee children are often placed in grades below their age level, making them targets for ridicule. Christiane's daughter, once in Grade 10 in the DRC, was demoted to Grade 8 in Cape Town and mocked as an "eagle" for her height and age. Extracurricular activities, a potential refuge, are also marred by discrimination. Several parents reported their children being barred from sports competitions or cultural events due to their refugee status. "They used my son to win athletics matches but disqualified him from finals because of his Congolese birth certificate," Imani said. Despite the hostility, some children find solace in friendships with peers who share similar backgrounds or empathetic teachers. Ayale's daughter thrived after a teacher provided extra books to improve her English, while Riziki's son found protection in a group of friends who stood up to his bullies. Parents who were interviewed urged schools to enforce anti-bullying policies consistently and provide language support for refugee students. They also demanded sensitivity training for educators to address xenophobia and racism. The study underscores the urgent need for inclusive policies to protect refugee children, whose resilience is tested daily. As one parent poignantly noted, "We came here for safety, but our children are fighting another war - this time in the classroom." Cape Times
