The study outlines the findings from a case study that explored how the uMkhanyakude education district improved its academic performance in such challenging circumstances of the district. The performance chart of the district tabling results from 2008 to 2020 raised curiosity and interest to investigating the strategies employed by the district turn things around. The study adopted a qualitative method of enquiry employing document analysis and telephone interviews with principals of top-performing schools in the district. The findings revealed that transformative leadership, parental involvement in the form of izimbizo, adoption of schools with high enrolments, use of lead teachers, regular school visits, prescription of learner activities, well-planned extra-classes and introduction of Study camps raised learner academic performance in the district. The study recommends quality teaching and learning across the grades, parental involvement should be encouraged at all levels, two-way communication, regular support by the subject advisors and the unions.

The Department of Basic Education in South Africa is experiencing a shortage of Agricultural Science teachers since their numbers are drastically decreasing. Several schools are failing to recruit appropriately qualified Agricultural Science teachers. This decline seems to be worsening annually. It is not peculiar to the Kwa-Zulu Natal Department of Education Kwa-Zulu Natal province only but seems to be a national phenomenon. This study aims to identify and analyse the causes of the decline of Agricultural Science teachers in the Provincial Department of Education. A qualitative method of research was employed. Data was collected by interviewing respondents on either cell phones or telephones. The findings revealed severe shortages of Agricultural Science teachers in Kwa-Zulu Natal schools. However, it is not peculiar to the Kwa-Zulu Natal Department of Education only, but it seems a national phenomenon. The study recommended, among other things, a clear line of the communication channel between the national Department of Basic Education, Kwa-Zulu Natal Department of Education and the Department of Higher Education and Training to facilitate at local, provincial and national levels, a comprehensive recruitment and training plan for the Department of Basic Education. The study also recommended the introduction of a Bachelor of Education degree with a specialisation in Agricultural Science in some universities, especially in rural areas.

South Africa is facing significant challenges of water sustainability due to water scarcity, poor quality and wastages in most of its water supply systems.  Unless the said challenges are urgently addressed, the socio-economic aspect of the country is under a significant threat. The hope to deal with these challenges rests upon education. The purpose of the current study was to investigate whether secondary school learners in King Cetshwayo district do practice water wastage and the extent thereof. It also aimed to establish whether secondary schools teach water sustainability in their curriculum. The study will propose strategies for promoting water sustainability in secondary schools. A mixed-methods approach was embraced in this study.  Questionnaires, observations and focus group interviews were employed as data collection tools from 120 purposefully selected participants. The findings revealed that secondary school learners practice water wastage and that schools are not promoting water sustainability. Therefore, the study recommended that schools conduct water quantity audits, conduct awareness campaigns, celebrate environmental days, appoint an onsite plumber and install water tanks to harvest rainwater.

Environmental education has been contemplated as the field of study enabling people to live a sustainable livelihood. In recent years, the South African government took an initiative to integrate Environmental Education into all learning areas or subjects. Despite such inclusion, a gap still exists between what is learned in class and what learners are actually doing in their daily activities. Alexander and Poyyamoli, (2014: 1) suggest that Environmental Education is an essential advancement to encourage learners to save, protect and improve the local environment. As a result, the present paper seeks to examine the effectiveness of environmental education programmes in enforcing sustainability behaviours in school children and how it fosters the acquisition of knowledge and understanding, skills, attitude and behaviors compatible to sustainability. The paper employed sustainable indicators as an instrument to evaluation the effectiveness of environmental education programmes in promoting sustainable livelihood. Questionnaires were distributed to teachers, principals and learners from twenty schools in the district. Participants were subjected to pre-test, innovative sustainable living programmes, and post-test assessment. The results of the pre-test portrayed a gap of learners' knowledge, skills and attitude towards their environment, whereas the post-test results confirmed that EE promotes sustainable living when forged with EE programmes.

Various promotion requirements are adopted in the appointment of classroom or subject educators as office-based educators or subject advisors (education specialists) in the Department of Basic Education. This qualitative adopted interpretive paradigm study sought to explore educators' lived experiences on the promotion requirements espoused by the Department for the appointment of qualified educators as office-based educators. Ten educator-participants were purposively selected for a semi-structured, face-to-face interview to collect in-depth data for the study. Collected data were thematically analysed to generate themes for the presentation and discussion of findings. The promotion requirements for office-based educators are inadequately utilised in the selection of suitable candidates for the posts. The study established an unfair promotion process in the appointment of office-based educators, and thus, many qualified educators are disadvantaged. The study recommends that promotion requirements should be adhered to in the selection process, to ensure fairness and social justice for all qualified candidates.