Govt has prioritised education
EDUCATING the nation is at the top of government’s “to do list” for 2018, according to the Northern Cape MEC for Education, Martha Bartlett.
Once many tearful parents had left their children behind for their first day of school yesterday, the MEC welcomed thousands of pupils from across the Province back to the classroom as the new academic year got under way.
The MEC visited Newton Primary and Northern Cape High School yesterday morning, where she encouraged pupils, teachers, school management and all the various other stakeholders in basic education to unite with the common goal of improving the lives of young people by imparting knowledge.
“The ANC-led government has taken a decision to prioritise education and make it a societal issue,” Bartlett said in her address to pupils at the two schools yesterday morning. “This decision must be understood clearly by all of us.”
The MEC explained that achieving this goal would require a combined effort, with various roles that will need to be fulfilled.
“For pupils, this decision means that you will be at school every day, doing your school work without fail,” she told pupils. “It means you will respect the rules of the school, your teachers and your peers.
“Teachers need to be held accountable and must be on time to teach. It also means they must uphold the integrity of the profession in the eyes of their community at all material times.”
Bartlett added that the school management team (SMT) was tasked with keeping track of both teacher and pupil performance in the classroom.
“The SMT must ensure that the school performs in line with the priorities set out and they must also manage and monitor adherence to curriculum implementation,” she said
Bartlett added that the prevalence of school drop-outs remained a concern that could be combated by providing a quality education.
“The National Development Plan (NDP) sets targets of a higher pass rate in matric with a greater focus on subjects such as mathematics and science,” she said. “It identifies the problem of too many young people dropping out before completing their matric; and it sets goals for improving the quality of teaching in schools to ensure that our young people obtain the best education possible.”
In conclusion, the MEC emphasised that simply aiming to pass was not enough for young people to secure a prosperous future, adding that giving their all in the classroom would certainly improve their prospects of success.
“It is not enough to just pass, you need to pass very well in order to increase your chances for further training. You can succeed despite difficult circumstances, poor backgrounds and humble beginnings. Through sheer hard work, commitment and determination nothing can prevent you from achieving your full potential and your dreams. “
Meanwhile, reports circulated on social media that Kgomotso High School in Pampierstad was prevented from opening yesterday by parents. Danie van der Lith
It is believed that the situation in Pampierstad is the result of unhappiness among parents and members of the SGB over the return of one of the teachers for the new term.
The spokesperson for the provincial Department of Education, Geoffrey van der Merwe, said that the department was still awaiting feedback from some parts of the Province to gauge whether the first day of school was successful.
“At this stage it is too early to state if everything went well, as we are awaiting the detailed reports from our district offices whether any challenges were experienced relating to textbooks, school furniture, pupil transport, shortage of teachers and infrastructure,” Van der Merwe said in response to media enquiries.
“Various political officials conducted visits to schools across the Province to assess their state of readiness for the 2018 school academic year.”
Van der Merwe pointed out that this feedback was key when determining where to place pupils who still need to be allocated a school.
“The main factor currently affecting the reopening of schools remains the admission of pupils,” he said. “Our departmental officials conducted head counts to determine the number of spaces available to place the outstanding pupils.”
He added that the updated statistics on the placement of pupils would be made available today.
“Our priority is to place most pupils by Friday to ensure that these pupils can commence with their 2018 school academic year.”
The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) also conducted inspections at various schools countrywide yesterday, with the union’s deputy general secretary, Nkosana Dolopi, in Postmasburg where he visited Ratang Tuto, Blinklip and HTT BIDI high schools.
He will continue his tour of the Province by visiting Kuruman today and Danielskuil tomorrow.