By Obakeng Maje

Vryburg- A Zambian woman arrested after Laptops worth R36 000 found at her house North West police said.

Police received a tip-off from unknown person informing them about the woman who is allegedly in possession of stolen goods NW police spokesperson said.

“Police found five laptops at the house of a 42 year-old woman and she alleged that she kept the computers as an assurance from people who owe her” Aafje Botman said.

One of the laptops was linked to the house robbery that took place in Vryburg and she was arrested.

She will appear at Vryburg Magistrate Court on Monday for being in possession of stolen goods.

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By Obakeng Maje

Marikana- North West police arrested three suspects for business robbery took place in Rankelenyane village.

Police were called after three suspects stormed into a Chinese shop and demanded cash.

“Police received a tip-off from unknown person that the robbery is in progress. Police acted swiftly and the robbers flee the scene when they saw the police” Aafje Botma said.

“The police gave chase and two suspects were arrested in the process. Two firearms and ammunitions were recovered” She said.

Other suspect was later arrested after he hide at the nearest mountains.

“He allegedly hijacked a car and it was found next to the hills” Botma said.

Police cornered him after a back-up and another firearm was recovered.

The suspects appeared at Rustenburg Magistrate Court today for bail application.

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North West Premier Thandi Modise says her office will award bursaries to deserving learners, specifically those intending to study science, mathematics and commerce. The North West achieved an 82.2% matric pass-rate.

Modise says it is possible for the province to improve its matric results, as long as education stakeholders commit themselves to making it a reality.

“We are interested in the skills which are scarce in this province which make us underperform. That is in accounting and all the financial disciplines. It is in engineering, medicine, and because we are an agricultural province, it is in agriculture. I did challenge the provincial government to produce 90% or more. It is possible.”

Meanwhile Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande says government is putting a lot of effort in increasing bursaries for poor students. Nzimande also says government is working hard at raising the quality of FET Colleges.

The Minister urged school leavers to explore opportunities to study at institutions of higher learning other than universities.

He says school leavers should consider studying at FETs which cater for those who do not pass grade 12.

“Our own view is that the skills that we are short of as a country and in the numbers that we require them can only be acquired through FET Colleges; therefore we would like to see FET Colleges as institutions of choice for many of our youngsters to go and acquire a variety of skills that are only offered at the FET College. Government is putting a lot of effort in raising the quality of FET Colleges as well as increasing bursaries for poor students.”

BASIC Education Minister Angie Motshekga says the country should focus on the number of matriculants that achieved university entrances rather than the few who performed below 40%.

Speaking yesterday at an awards ceremony for the top performers in Gauteng, Motshekga said: “In the whole country there are only 285 candidates that have passed with between 30% and 40%. Honestly, it is not a crisis because we have 300000 candidates that qualified to study for bachelors degrees.

“People should not panic,” added Motshekga, who said her department was left with only 18 months to deliver on the promises she had made in 2011.

At the time, she said the objectives of the action plan to 2014 were :

lIncreasing the number of pupils who pass mathematics and physical science in Grade 12;

lIncreasing the number of Grade 12 pupils who become eligible for a bachelors programme at a university;

lEnsuring that all children remain effectively enrolled in school up to the year in which they turn 15;

lImproving access to quality early childhood development below Grade 1; and

lImproving access to further education and training beyond Grade 9.

At the ceremony, Gauteng MEC for education Barbara Creecy said she was proud that the province had achieved the highest pass rate at 83.9%.

“This year, 71% of learners passed mathematics compared to 61% in 2011, with a 25% increase in distinctions, to 1817. The pass rate in physical science improved by 10%, to 70%.”

Hoërskool Waterkloof in Pretoria was the best performing school in the province.

Creecy also congratulated township schools, especially those in the Soweto area, for improving.

“There is significant and extremely pleasing improvement in the results from what has traditionally been one of our most challenging districts, Johannesburg Central, which includes Soweto.

for more details go to http://www.sowetanlive.co.za

Durban – South African mountainbike ace Burry Stander died in a crash on Thursday, Cycling SA (CSA) has confirmed.

“He was returning from a training ride in Shelly Beach, on the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) south coast, and was hit by a vehicle,” said CSA spokesperson Mylene Loumeau.

Stander, 25, was fifth in the men’s cross country race at the 2012 London Olympics.

Four years earlier, at the Beijing Games, he had proved his ability when he finished 15th in the cross country event at the age of 20.

The following season he rose to prominence on the global stage when he won the Under-23 title in the Mountainbike World Cup series.

In 2011, Stander became the first South African to win the Cape Epic stage race in the Western Cape, with Swiss partner Christoph Sauser, and the pair defended their title in 2012.

He was married to elite road cyclist Cherise Taylor in May last year, just three months before he narrowly missed out on a medal at the London Olympics.

An emotional Loumeau said Stander, who was raised in KZN, would be missed by the SA cycling community.

“I had seen him come through the ranks since 2006,” she said.

“He was a fantastic role model, and at the same time he was humble at it.”

Gideon Sam, the president of the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc), said he was “shattered” by the death of Stander, a three-time national champion in his specialist discipline.

“Burry was the epitome of an Olympic athlete Ä talented, ultra-competive but at the same time extremely humble and a true gentleman,” Sam said.

“Sascoc, the cycling fraternity, and the entire South African sporting community mourns his passing and sends our prayers to his wife and family.”

Sam said a concerted effort needed to be made to protect athletes using South Africa’s roads.

“I’ve said this time and again but it is really time to work even harder at protecting both our runners and cyclists who use the roads daily to do their training.” – Sapa

Geneva – Last year was one of the deadliest on record for journalists, with 141 killed in 29 different countries and Syria the most dangerous place on earth for reporters, a media watchdog said Thursday.

The Swiss-based Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), which fights for the protection of journalists, said the figure was up by 31 percent on 2011.

At least 37 journalists, among them 13 working for foreign media, were killed in Syria, it said in a statement.

Four journalists are reported missing or detained: Ukrainian Anhar Kochneva, Jordanian-Palestinian Bashar Fahmi, freelance US reporter Austin Tice and another American reporter James Foley, who has contributed video to Agence France-Presse.

The situation in Somalia has deteriorated dramatically, where 19 were killed, said the PEC.

Three Latin American countries followed among the most dangerous places: Mexico with 11 journalists killed, Brazil also with 11

dead, and Honduras, where six journalists were killed.

The Philippines ranked number seven with six killed, followed by Bangladesh and India with four each, said the PEC.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists for its part said last month that 67 reporters were killed in 2012, up 42

percent from the previous year, due in large part to the Syria conflict, shootings in Somalia, violence in Pakistan and killings of reporters in Brazil.

The Paris-based press rights group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) meanwhile put the number of those killed at 88 last year. – Sapa-AFP

By Obakeng Maje

Bafana Bafana have started serious preparations for the Norway game scheduled for the Mother City next Tuesday, 8 January 2013. The Senior National team arrived in Cape Town on Wednesday, 2 January 2013.

The match is scheduled to kick off at 20h15.

A total of 22 players reported for national team duty, including England-based Kagisho Dikgacoi who arrived on Thursday but missed the first training session at Athlone Stadium. Still to arrive is Dean Furman who plays for Oldham Athletic also in England. The midfielder will feature in an FA Cup clash for his side this weekend and is expected in Cape Town on Sunday, 6 January.

This is the first time the team gets together since head coach Gordon Igesund announced the final 23-man squad that will represent South Africa in the Africa Cup of Nations 2013 tournament.

“It is good to be playing Norway as part of the AFCON 2013 preparations because if you look at the style of play of both Morocco and Cape Verde, it is European orientated.

“So this match will help me a great deal. And I must emphasise that while winning is good that is however, not everything we are looking for. We need to gel and be ready for the tournament, which is the bigger picture,” said Igesund at a press conference in Cape Town.

“There is no point winning against Norway and Algeria and then not deliver on the 19th when we face Cape Verde. This is a very new team and we have some different combinations we need to work on. So these two matches are crucial in that they will help the team to become a unit so that by the time the AFCON kicks off we will play as a unit.”

The coach was excited with his side’s first training session in the morning.

“The players are giving me a very good headache; previously they were fighting to be in the final 23 now they are fighting to make the starting line-up. That is great for the overall picture,” said Igesund.

Captain Bongani Khumalo concurred with his head coach.

“It is a great honour representing your country in such a prestigious tournament and competition for places is stiff because we all want to be in the starting line up. We want to leave our mark as a new generation and we believe we have the ability to do that. The boys are eager to work even harder,” said Khumalo.

City of Cape Town Executive Director, Anton Groenewald said they were proud to host this match as a sign of their commitment and continuous support for Bafana Bafana.

“We are confident that they will do the nation proud,” he said.

Johannesburg – The improvement in the matric pass rate is to be commended, but there is still a long way to go in promoting education in South Africa, a number of organisations said on Thursday.

“[The] improvement in the matric pass rate [is] positive, but many ‘born frees’ [born post 1994] [have been] lost along the way,” civil rights body Equal Education said.

On Wednesday, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga announced the matric pass rate in South Africa had improved in 2012, with 73.9% of grade 12 pupils passing their final exams.

The pass rate in 2011 was 70.2%.

Challenges

Equal Education said many schools still needed functioning libraries and basic amenities like electricity and running water.

“Due to shortages of qualified teachers, inadequate salaries and a lack of incentives to attract teachers into poor communities, schools often have large classes.”

The organisation gave the example of Khayelitsha, in Cape Town, where it claimed between 50 to 60 students were sometimes in one class.

The African National Congress commended the 2012 matric class on its “sterling performance”.

Party spokesperson Jackson Mthembu said that the improvement vindicated the basic education department’s strategies.

Mthembu said young people could help the country by studying.

“We call on the tertiary education institutions to ensure that these matriculants get the necessary help to enrol.”

Quality

Secretary of the Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa), Dennis George, said concerns remained about the quality of schooling in South Africa.

“The standard of basic education is not up to scratch,” he said in a statement.

“Our union members working in the tertiary education sector continually complain about the standard of first-year students enrolled at our universities.”

George said it seemed pressure to produce good results had led to a drop in standards.

“This, then, would be nothing more than a hollow victory.”

The federation believed the skills taught in schools were “too academic”.

“Our economy demands artisans and those with technical skills.”

The ANC in the North West “jubilantly” welcomed the results.

“[We] are overjoyed with the improvement in our overall national results.”

Drop-out rates

Provincial spokesperson Kenny Morolong, however, said the party was concerned about the drop-out rate of pupils.

“We vow to pay attention to this unacceptable phenomenon during this academic year.”

The African Christian Democratic Party’s Chief Whip, Cheryllyn Dudley, said the 2012 results “did not disappoint”.

“First year ‘born-free’ matriculants have certainly made their mark, as 29 000 more learners than last year passed.”

Dudley said the emphasis now had to be on ensuring fewer children dropped out before matric.

United

She said all political parties were united on education.

“We are on the same side – the side of South Africa and all her people.”

The Democratic Alliance Youth was encouraged by the improved pass rates in mathematics and physical science.

“These are key skills needed to grow the economy and create jobs,” federal DA youth leader Makashule Gana said.

Meanwhile the National Congress of School Governing Bodies’ secretary-general, Monokoane Hlobo, said they welcomed Motshekga’s announcement that she was establishing a task team to look at the matter of students’ names being published next to their results in newspapers.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – A man was arrested for allegedly raping a 17-year-old girl in a shebeen in Jabulani, Soweto, on Thursday, Gauteng police said.

“They were having drinks when the man grabbed the girl, took her clothes off and raped her in view of other people,” Warrant Officer Kay Makhubela said.

The girl left to report the crime to a police station. When she returned with the police they found the 22-year-old man still there.

He was arrested and was expected to appear in the Protea Magistrate’s Court on Friday. – Sapa

Seventy-four per cent of matric learners nationwide have not passed their matric well enough to be admitted for a bachelor degree at university. The 2012 matric pass-rate is 73.9%, 3.7% better than 2011’s 70.2%. 

But while the number of those who obtained a bachelor pass has improved at 26 %, most students will have to enroll for lower qualifications if they choose to further their studies. 

Basil Manuel, president of teachers’ union NAPTOSA, says this is worrisome. Provincial Education departments will release their matric results today. 

Provinces will have a lot to boast about, as all of them have improved except the Western Cape which has achieved an 82.8% per cent matric pass-rate, marginally down from the 82.9% per cent last year. 

It emerged last night that the national matric pass rate had edged up to 73.9% per cent an improvement from last year’s 70-point-two per cent. The number of learners who have passed well enough to access tertiary education has also gone up to 54%. 

Provinces have much to celebrate this year. Even historically troublesome provinces such as Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape have improved this year. The Northern Cape also made headlines last year when some learners were prevented from going to school but it would seem the department has made special arrangements for those who did not write. 

Even the quality of the matric passes has improved, more learners than ever have achieved bachelor passes and there were improvements in pass rates in all subjects. 

Today provinces will be analysing their results, Gauteng edged the Western Cape out of position one, and Free State made it third at 81.1 %.

For more details go to http://www.sabc.co.za