JET Education Services

Have you had a chance to engage with the recommendations of our Teacher Demographic Dividend project (#TDD)? Our TDD website is a treasure trove of research on teacher supply and demand in South Africa. But to make it a bit easier for you, we've commissioned a series of films from Blindspot films helping us to tell the story of our research project. See this short film on some of the recommendations from the project. Access the website link in the first comment.

It’s so wonderful when you see work you support having a positive effect on people’s lives. We got that warm glow when our ECD & Youth Fund manager, Nomsa Muthaphuli, attended a feedback session on research into the experiences of 11 students enrolled for the University of South Africa/Universiteit van Suid-Afrika’s (UNISA) Diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), in 2024. This was the first cohort of students studying towards the diploma at UNISA, and Save the Children South Africa and UNISA spent the year conducting a study aimed at understanding the experiences of these students in their first year of the diploma, and how these experiences changed over the year with the support provided by the two organisations. The research highlighted the challenges and opportunities experienced by the students and the lecturers. Despite the challenges, all the students successfully completed the programme’s first-year requirements. The research, funded by OMT, produced the report “Building a Sustainable ECCE Workforce”, which has given us a clear overview on how to improve the programme. Learnings from this will help inform the sector on considerations for the professionalisation of the ECCE workforce. What the research shows is that: ✅ ECCE is on a strong growth path in South Africa, with many practitioners having a desire to professionalise if barriers such as finances are removed ✅ To sustain this growth path, we need a social compact to advocate for ECCE ✅ It is important to value students’ personal and professional lives, and to champion change in and through their development as a new set of professionals specifically trained to care for and educate children from birth to four years of age Fifty ECCE practitioners completed the Sivulithuba Tertiary Preparation Programme in 2024, which bridges the educational gap between the Occupational Certificate in ECCE at National Qualifications Framework (NQF) Level 4 (equivalent to matric) and the Diploma in ECCE, at NQF Level 6 (higher education-level diplomas and advanced certificates). These students have now been admitted into the UNISA ECCE diploma for 2025, alongside 250 other students, and we look forward to them successfully completing the diploma and ensuring that our children thrive by five! 📌 Sivulithuba is a collaborative partnership between two resource and training organisations based in KwaZulu-Natal: the non-profit Training Tree and Resources in Early Education) and Midlands Community Foundation.

📢 Day 3 of the CHE Higher Education Conference 2025 is in full swing! 🎓✨ Six parallel sessions are currently underway, exploring key sub-themes that shape the future of higher education: 🔹 Quality Implications of Developments in Technology 🔹 Quality Implications of Digital Transformation 🔹 Safeguarding Quality in the Era of Artificial Intelligence 🔹 Enablers of Quality 🔹 Enhancing Quality in Specific Disciplines or Knowledge Domains 🔹 Quality Considerations in Developing Teachers & Future Academics Engaging discussions continue as we navigate the evolving landscape of higher education. Stay tuned for insights! #CHE2025 #HigherEdQuality #InnovationInEducation

The JET Team is at the Department of Basic Education 2025 Basic Education Sector Lekgotla, 27 February – 01 March 2025, under the theme “Strengthening foundations for learning for a resilient future fit education system”. Some of the 2025 Basic Education Lekgotla objectives include "focusing on strengthening early childhood development (ECD) for improved learning in later years; improving foundational skills of Numeracy and Literacy, especially reading and use Mother-tongue based Bilingual Education (MTBBE)." Follow the live stream: https://lnkd.in/eAzREWGy

The annual Basic Education Sector Lekgotla is underway in Johannesburg, Gauteng. The 3-day #EducationLekgotla2025 brings together political and administrative heads in education; representatives of teacher, parent, and learner organisations; local and international academics; experts from the post-school education sectors; and industry leaders specialising in human resources, be it in the private or public sectors. This year's theme is "Strengthening Foundations for Learning for a Resilient Future-Fit Education System" and has been purposefully aligned to the #G20SouthAfrica agenda. The implementation of the social compact for Early Childhood Development and improving foundational skills of numeracy and literacy through the use on Mother Tongue-based Bilingual Education are some of the objectives for the #EducationLekgotla2025. Follow the proceedings on https://lnkd.in/dtGV66Hh

The Council on Higher Education (CHE) Education Conference: The State of Quality of Higher Education in South Africa Three Decades into Democracy takes place in Birchwood, 26 February to 28 February 2025. Shaping the future of higher education in South Africa. Today, we’re part of an exciting session chaired by Zahraa McDonald from the University of Johannesburg. The session delves into "Regulating Micro-credentials - Perspectives from Southern Africa and Europe," featuring the POMISA State of Play of Microcredentials reports. Panellists: - Ntsoaki Mapetla -Lesotho - Professor Romeela Mohee -Mauritius - Sylvia Demas -Namibia - Yuraisha Chetty (South African Qualifications Authority), Andrew Paterson (JET Education Services), and Nolusindiso Kayi (SAQA) -South Africa - Nuala McGuinn, Suzanne Golden and Pamela Devins -Ireland Joining the conversation as a discussant is Maili Vilson -Estonia.

Join us for African Evaluation Association - AfrEA's webinar "Innovative approaches to strengthen evaluation capacity in Africa" this Wednesday, 19 February 2025 (2pm to 3:30 pm GMT). The webinar will be moderated by our very own SAMEA chair, Jennifer Norins. Speakers will include Dugan Fraser, Program Manager at Global Evaluation Initiative, Abdoulaye Gounou, Head of the Bureau of Public Policy Evaluation and Government Action Analysis at the Presidency of the Republic of Benin, and Sakina Mwinyimkuu, Director of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation at the Office of the Prime Minister of the United Republic of Tanzania. Secure your participation by registering now at: https://lnkd.in/dBsUGnhz.

Craig Gibbs

Call for Think Pieces–AI and the Future of Education // Appel à contributions – Réflexions sur l’IA et l’avenir de l’éducation   Le français suit We invite you to contribute to UNESCO’s call for think pieces on “AI and the Future of Education: Disruptions, Dilemmas, and Directions.” Selected pieces will be published in UNESCO’s IdeasLAB, a platform to spark dialogue on the futures of knowledge, learning, and education.   UNESCO welcomes short think pieces (maximum 1500 words) that explore the implications of AI for education. We are looking for cogent arguments, new ideas, and foresight about how education and AI are likely to intersect, and the consequences of these intersections. We encourage contributors to consider not only how AI might influence educational futures, but also how education can proactively shape responses to AI and establish norms, ethics, and expectations to guide uses of this technology.   Submissions will be reviewed on a rolling basis until 30 April 2025. Full details and submission guidelines can be found here: https://lnkd.in/ez4CgTdW   We look forward to receiving your ideas! They will help advance the global discussion about AI and the future of education. Please reach out with any questions to the IdeasLAB editorial team at futuresofeducation@unesco.org.   ++++++++++++++   Bonjour,   Vous êtes invités à contribuer à l’appel de l’UNESCO à la rédaction d’articles de réflexions sur  le thème « L'IA et les futurs de l'apprentissage : évolutions, dilemmes et orientations ». Les contributions sélectionnées seront publiées sur IdeasLAB, une plateforme visant à susciter le dialogue sur l'avenir de la connaissance, de l'apprentissage et de l'éducation.   L’UNESCO recherche des contributions courtes (maximum 1 500 mots) qui analysent les implications de l’IA pour l’éducation. Nous privilégions des arguments clairs, des idées novatrices et une vision prospective des interactions entre l’IA et l’éducation, ainsi que des conséquences qui en découlent. Nous encourageons les auteurs à explorer non seulement comment l’IA peut influencer l’avenir de l’éducation, mais aussi comment l’éducation peut anticiper et façonner les réponses à l’IA en établissant des normes, des principes éthiques et des attentes pour guider son utilisation.   Les contributions seront examinées de manière continue jusqu'au 30 avril 2025. Vous trouverez tous les détails et les directives de contribution ici : https://lnkd.in/e6uhQeD3 Nous sommes impatients de lire vos contributions ! Elles contribueront à enrichir le débat mondial sur l’IA et l’avenir de l’éducation. Pour toute question, n’hésitez pas à contacter l’équipe éditoriale d’IdeasLAB à futuresofeducation@unesco.org. #AI #aied #aieducation #futures #futureeducation #futuresofeducation #researchers #researcher #thinkpiece #thinkpieces

📸 Scenes from the CHE Higher Education Conference 2025! Delegates are actively engaging in insightful discussions under the theme: “The State of Quality of Higher Education in South Africa Three Decades into Democracy.” A gathering of brilliant minds—academics, policymakers, and researchers—working towards a stronger, more inclusive, and high-quality higher education system. Swipe through the moments captured and be part of the conversation! #CHEConference2025 #HigherEducation #QualityEducation #30YearsOfDemocracy #CollaborationForImpact