Tyume Valley

Registered Charity: 1103909

Tyume Valley Schools

An Educational Project in South Africa

Changing South African Children’s Lives through Education

The Tyume Valley

The objective of Ikhwezi is to improve the quality of the schools that are members of the association, and thereby the educational opportunities of the children attending these schools.

We work with this organisation to help them to achieve their Aims and Objectives

Education in South Africa

During the apartheid regime the Tyume Valley was part of the Xhosa Ciskei Homeland, reserved for African 'non-citizens'. The separatist Bantu system of education often lasted a mere two years and the curriculum was narrow, and only delivered in the pupils' mother tongue (in a country that now has eleven official languages and many more that would like recognition).

Until 1994 African and European children were educated in separate schools and were taught different curricula. African schools were starved of resources, and teaching was often of a poor quality.

The Eastern Cape South Africa

The Tyume Valley is about two hours drive from

East London.

It is close to Fort Hare University, which is in the town of Alice,

The Problems

The new Curriculum

Since the end of apartheid education has been integrated and the new curriculum combines previous subjects into new integrated Learning Areas and introduces Outcome-Based Education (OBE).

The Teachers

This integrated approach is very different for teachers trained under the old ‘Bantu’ education system, and many of them are struggling.

Many teachers are under-qualified and poorly paid.

There is an urgent need for teacher retraining which the UK teachers are undertaking in their annual trips.

The Schools and Equipment

Many schools have no electricity, no telephone and no running water.

Equipment and books are often in short supply.

A Science Lesson in Ncera Village School

Walter and his students have attended several activity weeks at Hobbiton.

When they returned to school they showed the other students how to do some of the projects in Science, Maths, English and Art and Drama

Some of the rural villages are quite isolated and the roads are very rough.

However as a visitor it seems unspoilt and beautiful.

Volunteer teachers stay in the villages such as KwaKwa.

The facilities can be a bit of a challenge but the warmth of the people and the fantastic views more than compensate.

The Ikhwezi Rural Education Development Association

Ikhwezi: The Morning Star that heralds the dawning of the day

This is a consortium of village schools in the Tyume Valley area of the Eastern Cape. They are committed to self-help and improvement and give up their time to attend courses and workshops.

The Tyume Valley Eastern Cape