The Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Buti Manamela, says the department has rolled out a multi-model approach to support students to regain lost time and finish the academic year. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation requested all universities to adopt a multi-model learning and teaching approach, which includes, but is not limited to, online learning. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe approach includes teaching and learning support through the delivery of print-based teaching and learning material, and material on USB memory sticks. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Department of Higher Education and Training worked with all universities to develop multi-model teaching and learning plans, which were approved by the Minister and funded in part through the allocation of the ring-fenced COVID-19 response grant, which is to be complemented by funding that universities [redirected] from their own council-controlled budgets,\u201d said Manamela on Tuesday when responding to oral questions in the National Council of Provinces. <\/p>\n
The COVID-19 pandemic saw many sectors, including the education sector, having to adapt to a new normal, where many students had to resume learning home after government adopted a risk-adjusted strategy post lockdown. <\/p>\n
Addressing MPs, Manamela said all universities included the allocation of data bundles in their plans, and on average, over 90% of undergraduate students have been receiving data for teaching and learning purposes over the past few months. <\/p>\n
Many universities also included the acquisition of laptops for students. To date, the latest university report shows that on average, 72% of university students indicated they needed a device and they have been supported to obtain one. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe remaining students may be supported to acquire devices through the NSFAS [National Student Financial Aid Scheme]-led process,\u201d said Manamela. <\/p>\n
The ministry and the department also negotiated with mobile network operators for teaching and learning sites of universities to be zero-rated, thereby enabling access without any data costs. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Minister, however, recognises that some students, particularly poor students, may be living in environments which are not conducive to effective online learning. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe universities prioritised these students to return to campus, as lockdown alert levels allowed. Catch-up programmes are being implemented to support the students to successfully complete their teaching and learning programme,\u201d said Manamela. <\/p>\n
Further, the ministry has released the latest protocols from Higher Health for the 2020\/21 examination period in the Post-Schooling Education and Training (PSET) sector. <\/p>\n
The protocols will guide 26 universities, 50 Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges and other post-schooling institutions on how to conduct invigilated examinations during the COVID-19 pandemic. <\/p>\n
A dedicated Higher Health mental health 24\/7 toll-free crisis helpline has also been set-up to assist the higher education sector. The helpline is available on 0800 36 36 36. \u2013 SAnews.gov.za<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Buti Manamela, says the department has rolled out a multi-model approach to support students to regain lost time and finish the academic year. \u201cThe Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation requested all universities to adopt a multi-model learning and teaching approach, which includes, but is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[38678],"class_list":{"0":"post-171685","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-south-africa","7":"tag-sanews","8":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=171685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171685\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=171685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=171685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=171685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}