Zandile Bangani

Zandile Bangani was born and raised in Cape Town. She writes about matters pertaining to education and is committed to improving the level of education available to working-class and impoverished families.

Stories by: Zandile Bangani

News

14 November 2019: In an attempt to help preserve indigenous knowledge production systems, a third-year student held an Indigenous Games Day at Wits University.

Indigenous games are an educational and heritage trove

A Wits scholar hopes to preserve knowledge production systems passed down from generation to generation in the games children play, which are now at risk of disappearing.

By: Zandile Bangani
7 Jan 2020

News

22 September 2019: Claudine Ndjowo (far left) helped the Ngonefi family with translation as Thethe Nsemuila Antaya speaks mainly French. Donette Ngonefi sits in front of her parents, Donatien Ngonefi Bubu and Thethe Nsemuila Antaya, with her sister Antaya Tabitha Ngonefi and brother Bonheur Ngonefi to the right.

Xenophobia in classrooms harms learners

Teenagers remain traumatised and fearful after xenophobia flared up in their schools and compromised their education.

By: Zandile Bangani
6 Nov 2019

News

21 September 2019: Members of the Commercial, Stevedoring, Agricultural and Allied Workers Union making their way down Darling Street in Cape Town, South Africa, in protest against poor working and living conditions on farms.

Farm workers march for basic rights

Dismal working and living conditions on farms drove farm workers on to the streets of Cape Town in protest against inhumane treatment, gender discrimination and evictions.

By: Zandile Bangani
27 Sep 2019

News

24 July 2019: Colette Seema has a bachelor’s degree in molecular and life sciences, but cannot find work in her field.

Graduates and their unemployment dilemma

South African university graduates are willing to take menial jobs because of the dearth of suitable employment despite being highly educated.

By: Zandile Bangani
7 Aug 2019

Features

28 June 2019: Orapeleng Vivian is a budding acrobatic gymnast who has to rely on makeshift equipment and YouTube videos to teach herself.

Young gymnast hampered by lack of facilities

Orapeleng Vivian has the talent, but a lack of training facilities, coaches and sponsorship is impeding her dream of competing internationally.

By: Zandile Bangani
19 Jul 2019

News

Domestic workers demand to be treated fairly under law

The courts declared it unconstitutional to exclude domestic workers from being compensated for injuries sustained on duty. But legal protection continues to be difficult to access.

By: Musawenkosi Cabe, Zandile Bangani
28 Jun 2019

News

17 June 2019: Domestic workers gather in Church Square in Tshwane in preparation for the start of their march to the Union Buildings in protest against unfair labour practices and low pay.

Domestic workers: overworked, underpaid and unprotected

Armed with brooms and mops, domestic workers took to the streets to demand better wages, recourse to legal protection against unscrupulous employers, proper paid leave and payslips.

By: Zandile Bangani
28 Jun 2019

Features

13 March 2019: Four-year-old Zbusiso Ntshangase does a handstand between activities at the early childhood development centre in Germiston run by Noetsie Elizabeth Brink.

Giving children a solid foundation for learning

A preschool and aftercare centre in Germiston is an apt model for early childhood centres, preparing young children for pre-primary and helping bring older children up to speed.

By: Zandile Bangani
7 Jun 2019

News

Should learners have to choose between sanitary pads and school?

The National Sanitary Dignity Implementation Framework aims to provide pads free in no-fee schools. Ambitiously, its long-term goal is to distribute to all girls in all schools.

By: Zandile Bangani
4 Jun 2019

Features

5 March 2019: Leah Ndanga and her son, Emmanuel, outside their home.

Parental love helps children with disabilities

Battling slow and inadequate government care, parents of children with disabilities both go it alone and set up organisations to help their offspring live full lives.

By: Tebadi Mmotla, Zandile Bangani
2 Apr 2019

News

14 January 2019. Catherine Moema, who suffers from glaucoma and is partially sighted, says applying online for the school’s registration process is a challenge for the sick, elderly and those who are unable to walk.

Gauteng school applications not accessible to all

The application system excludes many guardians and parents who don’t have access to the internet and so can’t easily apply for school places for their children and grandchildren.

By: Zandile Bangani
25 Feb 2019

News

25 October 2018: A woman and child gaze at the destruction caused by the fire that destroyed hundreds of homes in Khayelitsha.

After the Khayelitsha inferno

Blowy residents recall their night of terror as they begin the long labour of rebuilding their shattered lives.

By: Zandile Bangani
2 Nov 2018

Features

4 October 2018: Ntsako Mathabathe has changed for the better since joining the Tembisa Kiddies Book Club.

Tembisa Kiddies Book Club makes learning cool

Township women create safe spaces for children to develop and express themselves through reading.

By: Zandile Bangani
24 Oct 2018

Features

31 August 2018: Lucy Ramohapi completed her matric at 62 years old and is now studying towards a degree in education.

This 66-year-old proves you’re never too old to study

At 66, Lucy Ramohapi is studying education, determined to become a teacher and eventually a principal. She hopes her bravery and dedication will inspire others.

By: Zandile Bangani
5 Oct 2018

Features

20 September 2018. Sindi Mkhize. Her husband, S'bu Zikode, has recently been subject to threats and warnings of an imminent assassination.

Sindi Mkhize: Living in the shadow of death

A conversation with Sindi Mkhize, from Abahlali baseMjondolo, about making family life amid the escalating political repression in Durban.

By: Zandile Bangani
24 Sep 2018

Features

08 August 2018: ‘PHARAOH’ The word that 13-year-old Hlulani Baloyi had to spell correctly in order to win the national championship of the Mzansi Spelling Bee competition.

Meet the ‘golden girl’ of Malamulele

New Frame visits grade 7 learner Hlulani Baloyi who took the top prize at the Mzansi Spelling Bee, a national spelling competition that promotes literacy and a culture of reading among young South…

By: Zandile Bangani
21 Sep 2018

News

2 August 2018: Vhulaudzi Secondary School in Matakani, Makado in rural Limpopo is in disrepair.

‘No-fee’ school is suffering from lack of funding

A lack of funding is placing an added burden on already-vulnerable parents, who must supplement underfunded children at a dilapidated school in rural Limpopo.

By: Zandile Bangani
10 Sep 2018

News

Kwambenya Senior Primary, a school on the outskirts of Bizana in the Eastern Cape.

Infrastructure crisis cripples schools in the rural Eastern Cape

New Frame visited two schools in Bizana, in the Eastern Cape, where basic infrastructure is either absent, grossly inadequate, or in abysmal disrepair.

By: Zandile Bangani
16 Aug 2018