{"id":265007,"date":"2025-11-05T09:24:40","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T10:24:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/?p=265007"},"modified":"2025-11-05T16:03:23","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T16:03:23","slug":"education-and-evidence-building-a-numerate-responsible-citizenry-for-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/builder\/education-and-evidence-building-a-numerate-responsible-citizenry-for-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Education and evidence: Building a numerate, responsible citizenry for the future"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post<\/a> was originally published on this site<\/a><\/p>

<\/p>\n

How do we change our environment, life situation and political economy? This <\/span>change can be achieved through education. By training our minds and achieving <\/span>capabilities and capacity not only to change the current but to project into the future <\/span>we can create an environment that is predictable risks notwithstanding. The aim will <\/span>be to consistently design inputs and processes that derive change that must be for <\/span>the better. <\/span><\/p>\n

Morena Mohlomi, a mentor to the king of Lesotho, Morena Moshoeshoe,<\/b> makes a distinct difference in the definition of leadership. <\/span>His definition reads thus the point that \u201ca responsible leader pursues peaceful and <\/span>productive alliances, accommodates stakeholders, and uses new instruments of <\/span>power to create intergenerational value through integrated reporting.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

To this end <\/span>Mohlomi was a design thinker who designed a system that is more likely to deliver <\/span>impacts that have been planned for. Measurement was important to him both at <\/span>process level and at the end state point. To this end he emphasised integrated <\/span>reporting as the measurement system and creation of intergenerational value as the <\/span>impact. The process and inputs were mobilisation of stakeholders towards a goal.<\/span><\/p>\n

I was in Mandeni, an hour drive north of Durban, where StatsSA <\/span>with the Mandeni municipality hosted schools that were highlighting the importance <\/span>of evidence. From there I proceeded to Lesotho where I was attending the 80th <\/span>Anniversary Celebrations of the National University of Lesotho. The session was <\/span>preceded by the meeting of UBLS Alumni that holds chapters in Botswana, Eswatini, <\/span>Lesotho and South Africa. The session was held in a town where I went to High <\/span>School. By some coincidence 50 years later I met my classmates who had <\/span>convened to consider what has to be done with Thabeng High School, which <\/span>moulded us as the first crop of matriculants from the school.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Mandeni I connected with primary and high school students who were engaged in <\/span>discussions about the challenges of their municipality. They based their arguments <\/span>and recommendations on data from StatsSA. They weighed such against the United <\/span>Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs). We had run a small survey in <\/span>one school to test the concerns that young learners have as well in their lives.<\/span><\/p>\n

The annual sessions in which I have consistently participated in show that students <\/span>can handle data such that they can engage themselves with the realities of their lives <\/span>and use such evidence as the basis for rationale discussions. But importantly by <\/span>engaging intimately and through evidence in the daily struggles of their municipalities <\/span>a more conscious youth can generate coherent political discourse on their livelihoods <\/span>and futures. Secondly the learners demonstrated that through the endeavour they <\/span>get better at data handling and statistical skills. The added advantage in this is that <\/span>they immediately remove the fear in the use of numbers and their capacity to handle <\/span>dreaded subjects such as mathematics.<\/span><\/p>\n

The study of responsible citizenry is <\/span>enhanced by the interaction of the youth with their municipality and knowledge of <\/span>their immediate environment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Throughout my primary, high school and university studies I was not exposed to <\/span>what the children in Mandeni were exposed to at a conscious data as evidence, I <\/span>reflected on this as I drove through Morija where I went to High School. I could see <\/span>the houses including where we used to sneak out for homebrew at night. I had no <\/span>clue on the size of the village and the living conditions of the villagers around the <\/span>school. I went through that life without broad appreciation of the evidential and <\/span>experiential livelihoods of the villagers at the aggregate level. <\/span><\/p>\n

The programme of <\/span>Census@schools that we initiated at StatsSA two decades ago provide a better <\/span>platform for foresight and outlook by the younger generation. Whilst when we met at <\/span>Thabeng High School we reminisced on generalities from memory 50 years ago, <\/span>the children of Mandeni will be discussing specificities of the history. The evidential <\/span>base as an approach to life will remedy the fear for mathematics and statistics, which <\/span>Prime Minister Verwoed imposed on Black youth, including through Bantu Education.<\/span><\/p>\n

The youth of today as demonstrated by those of Mandeni will have no fear for <\/span>mathematics and they are well prepared for the citizenry of the future where Artificial <\/span>Intelligence is becoming a reality. As HG Wells said a century and more ago \u201cIn the <\/span>future numeracy will be as essential to humanity as is the ability to read and write.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

By pursuing the Isibalo programme we are surely building more than a numerate <\/span>society but one that is compassionate about development. Mandeni municipality by <\/span>adopting Isibalo leads the charge.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr Pali Lehohla is a Professor of Practice at the University of Johannesburg, among other hats.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr Pali Lehohla is a Professor of Practice at the University of Johannesburg, a <\/span>Research Associate at Oxford University, and a distinguished Alumni of the <\/span>University of Ghana. He is the former Statistician-General of South Africa.<\/span><\/p>\n

*** The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Independent Media or <\/span>IOL<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

BUSINESS REPORT<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How do we change our environment, life situation and political economy? This\u00a0change can be achieved through education. By training our minds and achieving\u00a0capabilities and capacity not only to change the current but to project into the future\u00a0we can create an environment that is predictable risks notwithstanding. The aim will\u00a0be to consistently design inputs and processes that derive change that must be for\u00a0the better. Morena Mohlomi, a mentor to the king of Lesotho, Morena\u00a0Moshoeshoe, makes a distinct difference in the definition of leadership.\u00a0His definition reads thus the point that \u201ca responsible leader pursues peaceful and\u00a0productive alliances, accommodates stakeholders, and uses new instruments of\u00a0power to create intergenerational value through integrated reporting.\u201d To this end\u00a0Mohlomi was a design thinker who designed a system that is more likely to deliver\u00a0impacts that have been planned for. Measurement was important to him both at\u00a0process level and at the end state point. To this end he emphasised integrated\u00a0reporting as the measurement system and creation of intergenerational value as the\u00a0impact. The process and inputs were mobilisation of stakeholders towards a goal. I was in Mandeni, an hour drive north of Durban, where StatsSA\u00a0with the Mandeni municipality hosted schools that were highlighting the importance\u00a0of evidence. From there I proceeded to Lesotho where I was attending the 80th\u00a0Anniversary Celebrations of the National University of Lesotho. The session was\u00a0preceded by the meeting of UBLS Alumni that holds chapters in Botswana, Eswatini,\u00a0Lesotho and South Africa. The session was held in a town where I went to High\u00a0School. By some coincidence 50 years later I met my classmates who had\u00a0convened to consider what has to be done with Thabeng High School, which\u00a0moulded us as the first crop of matriculants from the school.In Mandeni I connected with primary and high school students who were engaged in\u00a0discussions about the challenges of their municipality. They based their arguments\u00a0and recommendations on data from StatsSA. They weighed such against the United\u00a0Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs). We had run a small survey in\u00a0one school to test the concerns that young learners have as well in their lives.The annual sessions in which I have consistently participated in show that students\u00a0can handle data such that they can engage themselves with the realities of their lives\u00a0and use such evidence as the basis for rationale discussions. But importantly by\u00a0engaging intimately and through evidence in the daily struggles of their municipalities\u00a0a more conscious youth can generate coherent political discourse on their livelihoods\u00a0and futures. Secondly the learners demonstrated that through the endeavour they\u00a0get better at data handling and statistical skills. The added advantage in this is that they immediately remove the fear in the use of numbers and their capacity to handle\u00a0dreaded subjects such as mathematics.The study of responsible citizenry is\u00a0enhanced by the interaction of the youth with their municipality and knowledge of\u00a0their immediate environment.Throughout my primary, high school and university studies I was not exposed to\u00a0what the children in Mandeni were exposed to at a conscious data as evidence, I\u00a0reflected on this as I drove through Morija where I went to High School. I could see\u00a0the houses including where we used to sneak out for homebrew at night. I had no\u00a0clue on the size of the village and the living conditions of the villagers around the\u00a0school. I went through that life without broad appreciation of the evidential and experiential livelihoods of the villagers at the aggregate level. The programme of\u00a0Census@schools that we initiated at StatsSA two decades ago provide a better\u00a0platform for foresight and outlook by the younger generation. Whilst when we met at\u00a0Thabeng High School we reminisced on generalities from memory 50 years ago,\u00a0the children of Mandeni will be discussing specificities of the history. The evidential\u00a0base as an approach to life will remedy the fear for mathematics and statistics, which Prime Minister Verwoed imposed on Black youth, including through Bantu Education.The youth of today as demonstrated by those of Mandeni will have no fear for\u00a0mathematics and they are well prepared for the citizenry of the future where Artificial\u00a0Intelligence is becoming a reality. As HG Wells said a century and more ago \u201cIn the\u00a0future numeracy will be as essential to humanity as is the ability to read and write.\u201dBy pursuing the Isibalo programme we are surely building more than a numerate society but one that is compassionate about development. Mandeni municipality by\u00a0adopting Isibalo leads the charge.Dr Pali Lehohla is a Professor of Practice at the University of Johannesburg, among other hats.Dr Pali Lehohla is a Professor of Practice at the University of Johannesburg, a\u00a0Research Associate at Oxford University, and a distinguished Alumni of the\u00a0University of Ghana. He is the former Statistician-General of South Africa.*** The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Independent Media or\u00a0IOL.BUSINESS REPORT<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":265009,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-265007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-builder"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=265007"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265007\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":265010,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265007\/revisions\/265010"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/265009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=265007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=265007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=265007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}