SURPRISE GOLELA UPDATES

  By : Surprise Golela

 ADAPTED More lockdown restrictions loom as South Africa nears 1 million Covid-19 infections The National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) is reportedly to be in high-level meetings, as South Africa continues to see record daily Covid-19 infections, rapidly approaching the 1 million confirmed cases. As of 26 December, South Africa has reported a total of 994,911 Covid-19 cases, falling just short of the 1 million mark. There were 11,552 new daily cases reported, after two record increases of over 14,000 cases on Thursday and Friday this week. There were also 256 new deaths, taking the total to 26,521, while recoveries are now at 839,194, leaving the country with a balance of 129,196 active cases. The surge in cases has been driven by more gatherings over the festive season, as well as a more transmissible variant of the virus that has been discovered in South Africa. According to the Sunday Times, citing a government insider, president Cyril Ramaphosa will recall cabinet ministers

 By: Surprise Golela Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga says government printers contributed to the leaking of two matric exam papers. The High Court in Pretoria ruled against the planned re-write of the Maths Paper 2 and Physical Science Paper 2. Of the more than a million matriculants who wrote the exam, about 195 learners are believed to have illegally received the leaked papers. Investigators have traced the leakages to a company hired by the department to process and print exam papers, as well as the Government’s Printing Works. Motshekga says there are valid reasons to appeal the High Court decision. “The North Gauteng High Court ruling we feel did not deal with the core issue of integrity, credibility and the fairness of the 2020 exams. As we’ve communicated to the public we are going to approach the court because our findings are that the court’s findings are discontent with applicable basic education legislation.”

By: Surprise Golela Basic education minister Angie Motshekga has announced that matric pupils will not rewrite the leaked Maths and Physics Paper 2 exams.   This is in line with the high court in Pretoria’s ruling. The Council of Education (CEM), which consists of the minister and deputy minister of basic education and all provincial education MECs has agreed with the high court in Pretoria’s ruling. On Friday, the court ruled that the rewrite decision was unlawful, irregular and should be set aside. Motshekga says pupils, teachers and parents should take solace in the CEM’s decision. In a statement released on Saturday, the department of education says: “CEM agreed that the class of 2020 has been confronted by many challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic and it would therefore be unfair to further subject the class of 2020, their teachers and parents to further uncertainties and exacerbate the anxieties they currently face," Concerns over judgement While the CEM agrees

 By: Surprise Golela  @Surprise_Golela surprisegolela98@gmail.com Minister Blade Nzimande The minister of Higher Education and Training Dr Blade Nzimande has extended the NSFAS allowances to 2021. In his briefing Nzimande announced that NSFAS allowances will be extended to students who require additional months to complete their academic year. “NSFAS identified some funding to support the extended academic year, and I am pleased to indicate that additional living allowance to cover meals and personal expenses will be made available for those qualifying university students who require additional months to complete their academic year,” said Nzimande. Students from across the country have welcomed Nzimande’s decision to extend the allowances. Tshepang Radebe a student at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) says the extension of the allowances will help them to buy food until the end of the year. “The NSFAS allowances will help us to at least buy food so that we can be able t

 By: Surprise Golela @Surprise_Golela surprisegolela98@gmail.com Lorraine Khoza (23) is a young lady from Malelane in Mpumalanga. She is the founder and chairperson of the Lorraine Khoza foundation, which is an NGO registered with the department of social development. She completed her matric in 2014 at Suikerland Secondary School. After her matric, she moved to Gauteng to further her studies at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) where she was enrolled for a National Diploma in Internal Auditing in 2015. It was in that same year when her life took a turn for the worst. Khoza was just 17 years old and new at varsity in 2015 when she was raped by a stranger while she was looking for accommodation. “Exactly a month into university, still fresh from high school, I was raped by a stranger whilst I was looking for accommodation in Ga-Rankuwa,” said Khoza. She says she was beaten and kicked like a dog. “If it was not for my aunt who called the police from home, I would be dead by now,