Ramaphosa, Angie applaud class of 2018
President emphasises early childhood learning
President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for a greater focus on early childhood development and promoting inclusivity among pupils.
The president said this while delivering the opening address at the 3rd annual Basic Education Lekgotla in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni, yesterday.
“We need to do more, work harder and establish greater system efficiencies in the first five years of schooling if we are to rise to the international standards prescribed as minimum benchmarks for reading comprehension, mathematics and science,” Ramaphosa said.
The three-day national event, hosted by the minister of basic education Angie Motshekga, brought together provincial departments, unions, school governing bodies, pupil organisations and academics under one roof.
It is aimed at ensuring that the contemporary pupil is equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills for a changing world.
“We have set out on a path to dramatically improve the lives of our people and lift millions out of poverty through education,” Ramaphosa said.
He said the lekgotla was a platform for researchers and experts to present their findings on pertinent education issues affecting our country, informed by current global philosophies, sound evidence, and an improved understanding of education diversity, agility and modernisation. Ramaphosa said denying children their right to education places the future of the country in jeopardy. He also called on teachers to know their subjects well and also to be able to teach them for the country to grow and develop.
“We cannot redress the injustices of the past, nor can we build a socially cohesive nation. However, despite challenges we are making progress.
“The class of 2018 did us proud by achieving the highest national pass rate recorded, that of 78.2%. In a historic first, during the 2018 NSC [National Senior Certificate] examinations, deaf learners had the opportunity to write South African sign language as a home language as an examinable subject,” Ramaphosa said. Motshekga said they met annually to reflect on what happened within the department the previous year.
“We are not starting anything new but we need to develop plans to mitigate the problems within the education sector. However, I must say that I am impressed with our curriculum stability and we have also managed to close the gap in township schools. As a result the 2018 matric top performing learner is from Soweto,” she said. Motshekga also mentioned that there should be a way to get South Africans to read because only 15% of citizens read and only 5% were advanced readers. Ramaphosa said emerging out of the lekgotla, the basic education sector must be able to tell how to inspire among education practitioners a positive and practical theory of change that leads to improved learning outcomes.
‘‘ As a result the 2018 matric top performer is from Soweto