The national pass rate for the 2014 matric exams dropped to 75,8%, basic education minister Angie Motshekga said on Monday. The past rate in 2013 was 78,2%, Motshekga announced in Johannesburg
Facebook’s recent apology for its Year in Review feature, which had displayed to a grieving father images of his dead daughter, highlights again the tricky relationship between the social media behemoth and its users’ data. The free service Facebook offers to its
It is now Africa’s turn to go to the moon, according to the Cape Town-based Foundation for Space Development. The plan is to land a probe on the moon, or put one into orbit around it, and beam these images back to schoolrooms on the continent, as part of the
Imagine a cellphone that weighs almost 5kg, is the size of a briefcase and costs R75 000 in today’s money? Believe it or not, that’s what early adopters had to put up with in the early days on mobile in the 1980s. To commemorate the first-ever mobile phone call 30 years ago
As long as you don’t think about it too hard, today’s entertainment is great. Think just a little and it’s actually amazing — you can watch it in a theatre; on your television set (old-fashioned pay TV or “over the top” on the Internet); and on your computer, tablet and smartphone
The power grid was constrained but stable on Monday after a spike in electricity usage as people returned from holiday, Eskom said. “We are seeing a lot of demand, but we are able to supply. The risk of load shedding is low to medium
It’s a sobering thought that in 10 years, around 65% of the jobs that people will be doing have not even been thought of yet, according to the US department of labour. In some markets like Australia, there are reports that up to half a million existing jobs could be taken over
Looking back, 2014 was not a good year for keeping things safe under digital lock and key. If a score was being kept, it might seem that the cybercriminals are in the lead, despite the valiant efforts — and own goals — from the cybersecurity profession worldwide. Cast your mind back
In South Africa, as in many countries, the release of senior secondary school exam results, referred to locally as “the matric”, causes a media furore every year. At 18 years old, students either pass or fail and their results are published in
Matriculants who receive suitable results in mathematics and science should pursue tertiary studies in these areas, urged deputy science & technology minister Zanele KaMagwaza-Msibi at the weekend. “Our country has serious shortages of qualified personnel in maths and science