School in South Africa develops practical agricultural training for female students
Oosrand Commerce and Entrepreneurship School of Specialisation in Reiger Park, Gauteng province, South Africa, has been running a practical agricultural training programme for the second year. It currently has 20 students, most of them girls. Participants were selected based on academic performance and interest in the programme.
As Daily Maverick reports, before the initiative was launched, agricultural subjects at the school were taught purely theoretically. Agricultural studies teacher Joyce Ngkobo said the programme is intended to break stereotypes that farming and agricultural professions are only for men, as well as encourage female students to pursue careers in farming and agricultural research.
Training in greenhouses
In 2024, the non-profit organisation MarketPlace Academy installed a borehole and one horticultural greenhouse on the school grounds. That same year, the Shoprite Foundation set up two more greenhouses. The programme was launched as part of a technical training pilot project at eight schools of specialisation in Gauteng province.
Classes are held after school on Mondays and Fridays. Specialists from Employment Solution Management teach participants crop production, irrigation and soil analysis. The programme consists of four modules and supplements the theoretical knowledge students receive in class. The training is funded by Omnia.
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According to Employment Solution Management chief operating officer Charl Jansen van Rensburg, participants receive credits aligned with AgriSETA and, after each year of participation, a corresponding certificate. When moving into their final school year, they will be able to apply for recognition of prior learning to obtain a full agricultural certificate in addition to their secondary school certificate.
Growing and selling produce
The school greenhouses grow cabbage, spinach, carrots, beetroot, onions, tomatoes and chilli peppers. MarketPlace Academy studied the local community's diet and found that Reiger Park residents consume a lot of chilli peppers. Students grow and dry them for sale to the community, and also sell part of the other vegetables.
Students are also taught to process and market food products. Part of the harvest is not sold: the vegetables are prepared for students as part of the school feeding programme. Two teachers at the school, including Joyce Ngkobo, completed 15 months of agricultural training and qualified as vocational training instructors in February. According to Jansen van Rensburg, they aim to become facilitators of the school agricultural programme next year.
