Education is vital as a catalyst for positive change. Learning empowers and can be used to drive innovation and sustainable development.
Nowhere is the failure to deliver quality learning more apparent than in sub-Saharan Africa where challenges abound, including a lack of infrastructure, facilities and basic amenities like electricity and drinking water and a shortage of trained teachers. As a consequence, minimum levels of reading proficiency have declined and school completion rates are expected to get worse.
UCT is involved in numerous ongoing projects and research initiatives to address the imperative of ensuring inclusive and equitable education. One focus is mathematics learning in multilingual contexts. UCT Vice-Chancellor, Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng, is an internationally rated scholar and was the first black woman in South Africa to achieve a PhD in this field.
The Political Economy of Education Research (PEER) Network, led in Africa by researchers in the School of Education, partners with academics and policymakers in conflict-affected countries in Africa and elsewhere to advise national, regional and global-level policymakers with making socially just decisions about education investments for the most marginalised. The three-year project is a collaboration between UCT, the universities of Sussex and Ulster in the United Kingdom, and Nazarbayev in Kazakhstan.
The Schools Development Unit (SDU), part of the School of Education at UCT, draws on research expertise to help tackle the systemic and structural challenges of South Africa’s education landscape.
UCT has also developed considerable expertise in tertiary education. The UCT Centre for Research in Engineering Education (CREE) is concerned with improving classroom practice and student learning. It explores innovative technologies and methodologies to nurture and facilitate learning.
As education embraces technology and flexibility, UCT has 23 free, high-quality online Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), five of which are among the top 200 across the globe according to a recent international ranking. These cover a range of subjects, from scientific and philosophical to humanising healthcare. And in 2021, UCT launched its UCT Online High School – the first of its kind in Africa – to provide affordable online learning to scholars regardless of geographical location.
Elimu ni muhimu kama kichocheo cha mabadiliko mazuri. Kujifunza huwezesha na inaweza kutumika kuendesha ubunifu na maendeleo endelevu. """Hakuna mahali ambapo kushindwa kutoa elimu bora ni dhahiri zaidi kuliko Afrika Kusini mwa Jangwa la Sahara, ambapo changamoto ni nyingi, ikiwa ni pamoja na ukosefu wa miundombinu, vifaa na huduma za msingi kama umeme na maji ya kunywa na upungufu wa walimu waliozoezwa." Kama matokeo, viwango vya chini vya ustadi wa kusoma vimepungua na viwango vya kumaliza shule vinatarajiwa kuwa mbaya zaidi. UCT inashiriki katika miradi mingi inayoendelea na mipango ya utafiti ili kushughulikia umuhimu wa kuhakikisha elimu ya ujumuishaji na usawa. Lengo moja ni kujifunza hisabati katika muktadha wa lugha nyingi. Profesa Mamokeng Phakeng, Makamu wa Kansela wa Chuo Kikuu cha Uturuki, ni mwanafunzi wa kimataifa na mwanamke wa kwanza mweusi nchini Afrika Kusini kupata shahada ya PhD katika uwanja huu. Mtandao wa Utafiti wa Uchumi wa Siasa wa Elimu (PEER) unaongozwa na watafiti wa Shule ya Elimu, na washirika wa wasomi na watunga sera katika nchi zilizoathiriwa na migogoro nchini Afrika na kwingineko kushauri watunga sera wa kitaifa, kikanda na kimataifa kufanya maamuzi ya haki ya kijamii juu ya uwekezaji wa elimu kwa watu walio chini. Mradi huo wa miaka mitatu ni ushirikiano kati ya UCT, vyuo vikuu vya Sussex na Ulster nchini Uingereza, na Nazarbayev nchini Kazakhstan. Shule ya Maendeleo Unit (SDU), sehemu ya Shule ya Elimu katika UCT, hutegemea utaalam wa utafiti kusaidia kukabiliana na changamoto za mfumo na muundo wa mazingira ya elimu ya Afrika Kusini. UCT pia imeendeleza utaalam mkubwa katika elimu ya juu. Kituo cha UCT cha Utafiti katika Elimu ya Uhandisi (CREE) inahusika na kuboresha mazoezi ya darasani na kujifunza kwa wanafunzi. Inachunguza teknolojia za ubunifu na mbinu za kukuza na kuwezesha kujifunza. Kwa kuwa elimu inashikilia teknolojia na kubadilika, UCT ina 23 bure, online Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), tano ambayo ni miongoni mwa 200 bora duniani kote kulingana na orodha ya hivi karibuni ya kimataifa. Hizi inashughulikia mbalimbali ya masomo, kutoka kisayansi na kifalsafa kwa humanising huduma za afya. Katika 2021, UCT ilizindua shule yake ya sekondari ya mtandaoni - ya kwanza ya aina yake barani Afrika - kutoa elimu ya mtandaoni ya bei nafuu kwa wasomi bila kujali eneo la kijiografia.