The HOD of the department of education Mrs. Mahlasedi Mhlabane spoke on behalf MEC Reginah Mhaule in a meeting with curriculum implementers on the 29/08/2011 in Middelburg.
The meeting was to implement ways to improve education and pass rates in the province.
District managers were given the opportunity to table the challenges they are facing into their respective districts and to find a way forward.
The HOD said teachers are “the actual custodians, specialists and experts on such matters and are best placed to guide and advise us on sustainable models that can or should (be) implemented to remedy the situation”
The organizational state of education in the province; 98% of principal’s post have been filled and processes are ongoing to ensure that all schools principals posts are filled, the department honours its obligations to remunerate all its employees on time. The department targets to obtain 45% in numeracy and literacy in grades 3, 6 and 9. They also intend to improve the grade 12 performance by 10% this year and expect that no school will achieve a pass rate below 20% this year.
The roles of curriculum implementers and circuit managers in the province is to provide subject proficiency of respective subjects, verify if teachers do not have subject knowledge of their respective subject, guide, mentor and advise where its required, ensure full coverage of the syllabi within the prescribed timeframes, engage principals and circuit managers on their observations and if support is required to help address indentified shortcomings and conduct subject content and methodology workshops.
According to the Head of Department, the department made analysis of the performance of schools in all grades and the department saw that there are serious inconsistencies on how schools are performing following that exercise, and after the grade 12 results in January this year a team was established to verify the reasons for these inconsistencies.
The team executed its mandate and presented their findings which were that teachers do not seem to understand differences between the various forms of assessment, there are no programmers’ in place to support failing learner’s, support provided by other department or organs of the state is low, there are no systems that assist and hold educators accountable for indentifying and supporting learners that are not coping with assessment during the year.
“What’s sacrificing if the nation continues to perish in your hands by depriving them education which is their only hope and sustainable pillar for human survival, is it too much to ask you to play your part to improve education in this province said” asked Mahlasedi.
September 14, 2011
Current Affairs