Cape Argus 2021-12-13

The Washington Post ’TIS the season of joy, hot chocolate and an avalanche of consumer waste. Bows, bags and other holiday material add a million tons of trash to landfills each week, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Producing and shipping gifts also involves the release of greenhouse gases. Giving doesn’t stop after the new year – there are birthdays and other occasions that contribute to the problem. “Historically, our culture has really strong associations between things and status,” said Alex Truelove, the zero waste programme director at the nonprofit US Public Interest Research Group. But, he added, the holiday season can be a perfect time to re-examine that paradigm. “It'’ become stressful, it’s become lots of expectations,” said Aja Barber, the author of Consumed: The need for collective…

The Washington Post Many people travel to get away from it all. A few travel to get away – and then walk their way back. That’s the idea of Get Lost, an “ultimate adventure challenge” that spirits travellers to a mystery destination and then leaves them alone in a remote landscape. Depending on the location and duration of the (distantly supervised) trek, the cost can start from around $10 000 (about R160 000) and veer into six-figure territory. Luxury travel company Black Tomato introduced the concept – a kind of a blind date for holidays with Survivor elements – in 2017. But with its focus on isolation, Get Lost seems tailor-made for Covid-era travel. Black Tomato co-founder Tom Marchant, who came up with the idea of getting clients “lost”, thought…

Harvest Thwala harvest.thwala@inl.co.za AS the country gears up for the 2022 academic year, Grade 12 learners who qualify for progression to higher learning institutions will start registering for programmes of their choice at various institutions. Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande has raised concerns about the continuing and recently reported cases of bogus institutions awarding honorary doctorate degrees to unsuspecting individuals. This comes after it was found that one of the local celebrities and an entrepreneur, Shauwn Mkhize, known as MaMkhize, received an honorary doctorate in philosophy for good deeds from one of the “malicious colleges”. At the end of October 2021 there were 89 additional bogus colleges, above those previously identified. In a statement, Nzimande said a number of these bogus colleges are not registered with the department as public…

Harvest Thwala harvest.thwala@inl.co.za EVERY parent wants the best education for their children. However, private education in South Africa does not come cheap. A recent report by Business Insider listing 10 of the most expensive schools in the country makes for frightening reading. The reports shows that it’s cheaper to complete a degree at some of the country’s best universities than a year’s study at some of the country’s top private schools. According to the report, KwaZulu-Natal’s Kearsney College is still the most expensive school in South Africa. It is a medium high school for boys in Botha’s Hill. Kearsney College increased its annual fees by 4.9% for 2022, according to Business Insider. This means parents will have to pay R209 000 for tuition fees in 2022, up from R199…

Dineo Mashegoana UNEMPLOYMENT has always been one of the most pressing socio-economic issues in South Africa. According to the latest stats, South Africa’s unemployment rate has hit a record high, climbing to 34.4% of the labour force in the second quarter of 2021. Many people are desperate to find jobs and the Covid-19 pandemic has made it more difficult because companies have shut down while others have retrenched staff due to lack of funds. It’s no surprise that employment scams including fake job listings have been on the rise. Scammers see an opportunity to target the vulnerable. Online job searching is the way to go in the age of lockdown but the downside is that it’s getting easier for scammers to find new ways of taking advantage of…

THE MEC for Education in KwaZulu-Natal, Kwazi Mshengu, wished markers all the best as they resumed marking last week. “We urge them to take this responsibility very seriously and know that each and every script that they mark represents a human being and livelihood,” said Mshengu. The department said KZN-administrated NSC exams of 201 107 full-time and part-time candidates. More than 7 000 markers have been appointed in 29 marking centres in KZN. | Harvest Thwala…