Tragic plight of qualified young people who cannot get jobs

IWANT to comment on the dire need for jobs in the Eastern Cape and the country as a whole. read about a teacher who had moved to East London in search of a position. I sympathise with her plight.

I am a qualified teacher myself, having graduated in 2008.

I have been looking for a position since then, and have tried time and time again but as usual am unsuccessful.

I have even applied for other career positions in the hope my two degrees would count for the skills asked. Yet again, no luck.

I want to ask: Where does one gain the experience to gain work? I thought you gained this experience on site. If not, when does one get the chance?

At this stage I have to resort to doing other kinds of work – but this is not what I studied for. My thoughts go out to all who share the same agony every day that I do. — Nick, via e- mail concerning the teaching of (and in) isiXhosa at former Model C schools in the Eastern Cape, I am in total agreement.

How is it possible that a school in the heartland of isixhosa-speaking people, which has more than 300 isixhosa mother tongue speaking learners and less than 50 Afrikaans mother tongue speaking learners, can only offer English at the mother tongue level and Afrikaans as a first additional language?

Are Xhosa people expected to give up learning about, and in, their own language? No society in the world that I know of has voluntarily given up their mother tongue.

It is indeed time for parents and school governing bodies to revisit this matter.

Gonubie Primary is but one school – this is happening all over as I understand it, and it makes no pedagogic sense.

This new CAPS now places a burden on African children.

The requirement to pass a language you only hear in the classroom in Grade 1 is not workable, whether it is English First Additional Language (FAL) for poor black children or Afrikaans FAL for middle class black children in ex-model C schools.

The CAPS policy is not aligned to the Language in Education Policy (1997), which places high premiums on the home language. It is the black child who will suffer as usual, as English and Afrikaans are more closely aligned.

Surely we owe our learners a more equitable linguistic learning environment?

We now run the risk, after 18 years of democracy, of masses of children failing Grade 1 because they cannot pass an additional language, never mind the fact that they cannot even read and write in their OWN mother tongue because it is simply not taught. — Professor Russell H Kaschula, Head, School of Languages & professor of African Language Studies, Rhodes University JULIUS Malema is suffering from grandiosity and hallucinating (“Malema insists he will lead ANC”, May 15).

With such ugly behaviour it is completely impossible for him to come back. All those who are using him to score cheap political gains will be defeated like he has been.

The ANC is bigger than Malema and his handlers. The Mangaung elective conference can't be reduced to a discussion about Malema's future.

His perception of the coming ANC conference tells us clearly that he does not understand how the ANC operates. He can shout – as long as it is outside our glorious movement.

This is a people’s movement. Our struggle is a noble struggle and we pursue it as disciplined forces of the left.

We will not howl at media briefings, all we will do is speak at the conference with a loud and clear voice. We will go to Mangaung and come back without Malema. — Siya Zangqa, Ngcobo I WANT to take my hat off to the superintendent-general of the department of health (Dr Siva Pillay).

He has stuck to his principles of zero tolerance of parasitic people who want to hijack the gains made by those who selflessly fought for our democracy.

People have tried to paint the S-G with all the colours one would use when describing a bad person, but many of us would have long resigned.

Earlier this week we read that fraud of R200-million had been uncovered involving health department officials.

This could be just the tip of the iceberg, but ja, Special Investigations Unit – a job well done. The public from whom these thieves have been stealing want to see them face the full wrath of the law.

They must be prosecuted and convicted where guilty and be forced to pay back what they have stolen.

I concur with Nkosinathi Kuluta (the COPE MPL) – the department of health has indeed become a cash cow, but the cow must resist being milked any more. Stop corruption. — Thamie Ka Konkie, Dawn THE intersection of the R72/settlers Way and the R346/cove Rock/buffalo Pass road is a huge traffic danger spot, in my opinion.

There are regularly accidents at this intersection and the potential for loss of life through a serious motor accident is enormous.

The danger is compounded by a herd of goats, which graze unattended in the area and traffic authorities seem incapable or unwilling to do anything to control this problem.

Just 10km down the road towards Kidd’s Beach there is a dairy farm where cattle are occasionally driven across the R72.

Traffic authorities have seen fit to install rumble strips as well as speed restrictions here.

I believe that in the interests of road safety, something needs to be done urgently about the intersection I have mentioned: rumble strips, speed restrictions, a fourway stop, or first prize – traffic lights.

I appeal to our traffic/road authorities: please do something! — Werner Illgner, via e-mail