System to track 400 000 learners, 16 000 teachers

LOBAMBA –Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg yesterday announced the development of a system to help track learners and teachers.

In his speech, the minister said government has developed a web-based education management information system. He said this system would be used by all schools in the country both public and private schools.

Rijkenberg said they would use the system to update and capture both learner and staff information using their personal identity number (PIN) and track them in the education system in real time. He said the system would also be of great use in the disbursement of the free primary education (FPE) grants, human resource management for the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) and schools’ assessment for the inspectorate.

Minister Rijkenberg said there were about 400 000 learners and 16 000 teachers that would be recorded and tracked by the system. He also stated that government was piloting a four-year secondary school programme of institutionalising. This, he said, would serve as a build up to the A/AS-levels as a school leaving certificate.

He said the programme would enable learners to access tertiary education regionally and internationally without having to go through bridging courses. The minister disclosed that a total of 32 schools had started implementing the four-year certificate in 2022. In the academic year 2023, he said the

Ministry of Education and Training would be conducting checkpoint assessments for the pilot schools. “This entails developing a series of diagnostic tests to check learning progress of learners and inform teachers about the learning needs of learners,” Rijkenberg said.

He said the Ministry of Education and Training continued to roll out Grade 0 in the public primary schools. To this end, he said the ministry rolled out 80 more Grade 0 classes, translating to 20 per region. “This initiative will also assist in the reduction of inefficiencies in the education sector since studies have shown that the large repetition rates at early grade levels is a consequence of learners who were not adequately prepared for school,” he said.

Progress

“Progress has also been made with the staggered implementation of the competency based education. The programme is now at Grade 5. This is a curriculum reform wherein the country is moving away from the objective based education to competency based. This will ensure that learners have access to a learner-centred and inclusive curriculum.”

Since 2015, he said the Eswatini Higher Education Council conducted institutional and programme assessments for over 40 higher education institutions. As a result, he revealed that there were about 45 registered higher education institutions in Eswatini. In 2023/2024 financial year, Rijkenberg said deliberate focus would be on assessment for accreditation of government funded institutions.