Education champion Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng, the University of Cape Town’s vice-chancellor, walked seven kilometres on a dusty road to school for lessons under a tree.
But before the trek to school, Phakeng and children in her village would collect water, walking roughly the same distance. School-ready children starting grade one (then known as sub A) had water duties twice a day.
“After fetching water early in the morning, you got ready for school; at that time, watches were rare. So, we used the sun to measure the time — the sun and my grandmother. My cousin and I were like siblings, we’d walk to school together,” she recalls.
That was 50 years ago at Ikageleng…
South Africa Education News