Author: Loknath Das

A task team appointed by Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga has recommended that history be made compulsory in schools. As Huffington Post reports, the History Ministerial Task Team (MTT) was set up in 2015, and after three years, its findings were finally made public on Thursday. According to MTT’s recommendation, history should replace Life Orientation (LO) as a compulsory subject between Grades 10 and 12, which should only remain compulsory until Grade 9. The team came to these findings after spending three years researching how 12 other countries have taught history in their schools. “History education at school has the potential to offer explanatory, analytical…

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The news that ex-offenders wanting to study at university will no longer have to declare their criminal convictions is welcome, though long overdue. Announcing the move Ben Jordan, from the university admissions service, Ucas, said he hoped the change in policy reaffirmed that “higher education is open to everyone”. It’s better late than never. But our high seats of learning should not expect an avalanche of applications from those with criminal convictions. By and large, offenders tend to come from more fractured backgrounds than those who walk the straight and narrow, and this is reflected in the educational statistics from our jails.…

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 A weird thing happened to me recently. I was daydreaming about hanging out with someone I’d met, someone I liked, when suddenly I had a realisation: I wasn’t just imagining us together. I was imagining how we’d look together if another person was watching footage of us on Instagram Stories. The extent to which social media — and the exhibitionism and voyeurism upon which it depends — had embedded itself into my unconscious fantasies shocked me. But really, it shouldn’t have. The fact is: to be a hyper-connected millennial today is to exist in multiple realities. To be both present…

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Whether you’re looking for followers, running a business or simply looking for fame, social media can make or break your success. Innovative programs like the Social Media Rockstar Bundle are helping people all over the country learn what it takes to have a killer social presence without having to spend any coin on followers. Twitter Bootcamp Sure, Twitter may seem easy to use, but crafting the perfect viral tweet is a skill (just ask Chrissy Teigen). The Social Media Rockstar Bundle includes a Complete Twitter Marketing Boot Camp where you’ll learn all about how to use Twitter to not only gain followers, but to build…

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After previously confirming that Nintendo Switch will be home to the next major Pokémon games, the series’ handlers confirmed exactly how those games will look via a Tuesday night media event and trailer. The event saw developer Game Freak and publisher Nintendo confirming previous rumors of the games’ titles: Pokémon: Let’s Go Pikachu and Pokémon: Let’s Go Eevee. The games will arrive on Nintendo Switch on November 16, but anybody expecting these games to play identically to the series’ Game Boy and DS/3DS versions may be in for a rude awakening. For starters, it looks a whole lot more like the smartphone-only game Pokémon Go,…

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While video gamers in the West might frown at the idea of paying to get an upper hand in games, many of their Chinese counterparts find the practice perfectly acceptable. Video game companies will want to take notice of that difference. Such cultural elements influence how companies can make money in the increasingly competitive — but increasingly lucrative — industry, said Tom Wijman, a consultant with market research firm Newzoo. Noting that the practice of “pay-to-win” in video games is “generally not accepted by Western gamers,” Wijman contrasted that to how many in China accept games that sell progress rewards…

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The chief financial officer of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has resigned after four years in the job. The bank, which is 72% owned by UK taxpayers, said Ewen Stevenson would “take up an opportunity elsewhere”. Mr Stevenson had previously been tipped as a potential successor to Ross McKewan as RBS chief executive. The announcement comes amid reports that the government could announce the sale of part of its stake in the bank as soon as this week. RBS did not say when Mr Stevenson would depart, only that he “would remain in his position to oversee an orderly handover…

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The latest analysis and commentary by stock market guru Sandeep Wagle on what is moving the markets today. Check out his top stock recommendations. He spoke at length about Equitas and Shriram Transport Finance. Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on CNBCTV18.com are their own and not that of the website or its management. CNBCTV18.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. cnbctv18.

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An internal tussle in the Congress over the party’s approach in dealing with the Janata Dal (Secular) at the national level and in Karnataka is delaying the state Cabinet’s expansion, a senior party leader familiar with the development said on Tuesday. The central leaders of the Congress are willing to concede the finance portfolio – a bone of contention between the two parties — to the JD(S), keeping in mind the need for broader Opposition unity ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. But Karnataka Congress leaders have remained adamant on their demand for the key ministry, arguing that yielding…

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The world is in the midst of an education crisis, as half of the planet’s young people are failing to learn the basic skills needed to secure a more prosperous future. One former child soldier and soon-to-be law student promotes a strategy for putting money behind politicians’ platitudes. NEW YORK – My family was murdered before I could tie my shoes. As a young boy in Sierra Leone, years that should have been playful and carefree were spent fighting in someone else’s war. For me, childhood was a nightmare; escape always seemed impossible. But when the war officially ended, in 2002,…

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