This paper analyses poor service delivery at local government level, which is attributed to the politicisation of administrative components in municipalities, resulting in poor local governance. The public service delivery system has been perceived as one of the most important ways of reducing poverty through poverty alleviation programmes. As part of the South African government's cooperative system, key stakeholders in municipalities ought to adopt an integrated approach to public service delivery. An integrated approach to public service delivery demands that local municipalities, together with relevant stakeholders, integrate processes and services to ensure effective and efficient service delivery. This ultimately will result in an improved standard of living and sustainable livelihood for communities. With regard to public service delivery, local municipalities have the obligation of creating income opportunities people, especially the poor, with the sole aim of contributing towards poverty reduction and the realisation of the expectations of people, as stated in the South African government's White Paper of transforming public service delivery. The political interface in local municipalities greatly affects effective and efficient administration, as well as growth opportunities. Administrators, therefore, have the important function of ensuring that explicit assignments of objectives and administrative functions are wholly separated from the policymaking activities of government. This paper, therefore, suggests that municipalities adopt the merit system and abandon the spoils system that is highly characterised by political favours and political interferences. Political favours and interferences are dominant in local South African government, and they hinder the process of providing services equally.

The third quarter of 2020 marks the closure of on-campus face-to-face pedagogies in South Africa’s institutions of higher learning due to Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The need to maintain social distancing necessitated the transition to emergency remote teaching. A few institutions of higher learnings could move their classes effectively to online and distance education platforms because of their pre-existing experience and some grapple with managing the ‘new normal’. This article reflects on the challenges and opportunities of an emergency remote teaching in institutions of higher learnings during the COVID-19 pandemic. The article adopted a qualitative approach through relevant literature and policy reviews to critically analyse emergency remote teaching during the era of COVID-19. The findings indicate that some staff and students experience challenges related to the lack of resources and exposure to remotely use information and communication technology. The article acclaims that institutions of higher learnings should acquire suitable information and communication technology equipment and develop the requisite facilities, implement rules and regulations for their availability, and adequate maintenance. This recommends promoting technologically compliant ethics within the institution, provide easy access to teaching and learning by both students and academic staff at an affordable and fixed (secure) cost in safe, conducive, and unrestricted environments for students.

Traditionally, the key principle of assessment was based on the depth and intensity of the knowledge taught in class. In our modern state, the notion of assessment is more about learning and less about whether it is deep or surface learning. This could be attributed to challenges facing higher education, such as marketisation, massification, access and success. This article aims to demonstrate the significance of assessment as a pedagogical and measuring tool to promote deep learning in institutions of higher learning. It analyses how different types of assessment could contribute to deep learning while enhancing critical thinking and analytical skills. The article adopted the qualitative research approach to appraise critically and examine the literature on assessment in higher education. The sequence in which assessment tasks are presented, the pedagogical approaches adopted and measurement tools used should aim to present general non-threatening questions. The article recognises Bloom’s taxonomy as it classifies educational learning objectives in the manner that accommodates deep learning. This article suggests that assessment should be made explicit, aligned with learning outcomes that consider deep learning in terms of acquisition of knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and understanding of basic concepts in what is learnt. It concludes that students need to be engaged in their assessment to enable them to develop skills and dispositions that prepare them for the future as socially responsible citizens. Research needs to be conducted on the higher education challenges that compromise the quality of assessment as this could have negative effects on the development of deep learning.

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