The 2024 national CSTL Research Symposium hosted by the South African Department of Basic Education (DBE), concluded this week with a resounding reaffirmation of partner commitment to ensuring holistic support and care for every learner and educator.
The 2nd Symposium was held on 3 and 4 September 2024 at Birchwood Hotel and OR Tambo Conference Centre in Johannesburg, Gauteng, under the theme, “A Response to Ending Learning Poverty”. Over 200 participants attended.
MIET AFRICA, as a key CSTL partner, joined the DBE, the National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT), UNICEF and UNESCO for the two-day Symposium.
MIET AFRICA Trustee and former Chairperson of the Board, Prof John D Volmink, presented a keynote address where he outlined the key milestones of the CSTL journey, from its early roots as a small project piloted by MIET AFRICA in three provinces in South Africa, to where it is today, a regional programme adopted by all SADC Member States, including South Africa.
“CSTL started as a small pilot project in South Africa called Schools as Centres of Care and Support (SCCS). Developed by MIET AFRICA, the impetus of SCCS was to support schools to function as hubs of integrated service delivery for the thousands of children affected by HIV&AIDS, so that they could overcome the various barriers to learning they faced,” said Volmink in his address to over 200 delegates of policy makers and policy influencers, education officials, educators and education practitioners, civil society, private sector and development partners.
Director of South African Programmes and Advocacy at MIET AFRICA, Dawn Jones, contributed to a panel discussion on WASH at the Symposium. Although the session included important insights around the challenges faced by schools around water and sanitation, the discussion shone a spotlight on matters relating to Menstrual Health Management as an integral part of WASH. This is an important contribution of MIET AFRICA’s work to the CSTL framework.
“The importance of addressing period poverty is as important as the larger issue of learning poverty – if girls cannot learn because facilities and support are not adequate at school, they cannot succeed,” said Jones.
The Symposium aimed to advance the interface of policy, research and practice for CSTL through collaboration with education stakeholders. Sessions included ‘CSTL training and research at Universities’ which brought together thought leadership and strategies to grow the knowledge and evidence base of CSTL.
The symposium provides an excellent platform for sharing and engagement, where valuable insights are gained – all towards improving the lives of children and youth
Key CSTL Milestones – A Timeline
2003-2005: SCCS is initiated in South Africa
- MIET AFRICA, through strong provincial department relationships, piloted the Schools as Centres of Care and Support (SCCS) programme in three provinces (KwaZulu-Natal, North West and Eastern Cape) in South Africa.
2006- 2008: SCCS is piloted in three Member States
- After a successful evaluation of SCCS in South Africa, MIET AFRICA investigated the potential for a regional pilot, and in 2006, SCCS was piloted in partnership with the education ministries of South Africa, Swaziland and Zambia.
- UNICEF joined the pilot as a partner, strengthening the initiative with its Child-Friendly Schools framework. And today, UNICEF remains a critical CSTL partner in South Africa.
2008-2018: SCCS becomes CSTL
- After a positive evaluation of the regional pilot, MIET AFRICA presented the programme to SADC and in 2008, SCCS was adopted as an official regional programme by the SADC Ministers of Education. Renamed CSTL, the programme was adopted as the way to move forward from the pilot phase, in the process incorporating and expanding on existing care and support initiatives and partnerships.
- Between 2008 and 2018, MIET AFRICA provided technical assistance to seven Member States (the three pilot Member States and an additional four Member States)
- Sustainability of CSTL as a regional programme was a focus from the beginning. Ownership by governments was critical and between 2016 – 2018 this was fully achieved through: (1) the adoption of the SADC Policy Framework on CSTL by the SADC Education Ministers; (2) the establishment of the SADC Technical Working Committee on CSTL; and (3) the harmonization of CSTL indicators with other SADC programme monitoring and evaluation systems.
2022: CSTL moves from implementation to research-informed implementation
- The CSTL Research Programme was initiated by the DBE in South Africa, in partnership with the six Universities, the NECT, UNICEF and MIET Africa. The purpose of this programme is to grow the CSTL knowledge and evidence base – and once again, South Africa is leading the way!
- In 2024, the CSTL research programme was expanded into the region and the SADC CSTL Research Network was established.