DBE, DPME & Department of Social Development on progress in the introduction of African languages and Early Childhood Development programmes

Basic Education

19 August 2014
Chairperson: Ms N Gina (ANC)
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Meeting Summary

Presentations were made to the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education on the progress of the Incremental Introduction of African Languages (IIAL) pilot programme and the Early Childhood Development (ECD) programme by the Department of Basic Education (DBE), the Department of Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) and the Department of Social Development (DSD).

The universalisation of early childhood development had been prioritised by the government with the aim of continuing compulsory access to education, as stipulated in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  The DBE said that since 2002, there had been a major increase in children between birth and age four attending educational institutions, in addition to over 800 000 Grade R learners in 2014.  While the data was indicative of holistic growth, there were issues related to the quality of service which required attention from the Department, such as children not being ‘school-ready’ when entering grade R.   There was also the issue of a common curriculum from birth to age four, which determined the quality of learner outputs.  The target was for all learners in Grade 1 to have had access to a formal Grade R programme (DBE) by 2019.  There should be approval of a pre-Grade R year (DSD) and an additional two years before introduction to Grade 1.

Upon evaluation, it had been considered necessary for ECD to be considered from conception, and not age two, and the role of health was central to this stage of development.   Necessities and challenges identified were comprehensive services, poor children accessing ECD, Grade R evaluations, quality issues limiting the impact of Grade R before quantity was increased, and Grade R not having an effect at “rich” schools either.

Malnutrition was a critical factor in respect of ECD.  Evaluations indicated the Department focused on clinical development and neglected nutrition -- 21% of children were stunted and 25% of children were “damaged.”  A report would be submitted to Cabinet in the near future.  Proper growth monitoring was necessary to evaluate behavioural changes and should be integrated into the ECD plan.  The DBE said that the universal definition was from birth to seven or school-going age, but the applicability of the definition was subject to the context and the factors which surrounded it.

A preliminary report on the Incremental Introduction of African Languages (IIAL) pilot programme was presented to the Committee.   The aim of the policy was to relate the languages learners understood to the languages being taught, with the overall intention of improving learning outcomes. The Department aimed to achieve this by means of the introduction of an African third additional language, which would be considered for promotion and progress upon its implementation from Grade 1.  There had been a lack of training in language teaching in the past.  Teachers in foundation phases had been trained in English and Afrikaans, therefore indicating the correlation between good results in these languages compared to African languages.  The performance of learners was inherent in the training and skills of the teachers, particularly in the foundation phase.

The Department proposed that three languages should be offered from Grade 1, with one language being offered in the home language (HL) and two languages in the first additional language (FAL) level.  Only two of the languages should be considered for promotion and progression in the Foundation Phase – the home language and one first additional language. The school should decide on the FAL to be considered for promotion.  The draft policy should be finalised and the offering of three languages should be mandatory for Grade 1.   IIAL implementation for 2015 was targeting schools that did not offer an African language.  A management plan had been put in place that delineated DBE and provincial Department of Education responsibilities.  Provinces should finalise the number of schools and the African language offerings.  A plan for teacher provisioning for the 2015 roll-out would be finalised by the end of October 2014.  The teacher training roll-out and resource provisioning for 2015 IIAL implementation would be completed before the start of the academic year.  The final verification report and public comments would inform the finalisation of the draft policy.

Representatives of the Departments were asked to provide extensive details on the two programmes.  Members expressed their concerns about capacity challenges, the danger of focusing on quantity at the expense of quality, safety issues surrounding the ECD centres, the training of teachers and the need to incentivise teaching in the rural areas.

Meeting report

Opening Remarks

The Chairperson welcomed the Departments and members of the Committee, and noted the challenges and importance of early childhood development (ECD).   She said the relevance of ECD in developing the potential of children and said the topic was pertinent. The Chairperson said that both the Department of Social Development and the Department of Basic Education were instrumental in ECD and said that their collaboration in this endeavour would be described.

The Chairperson said that the Department of Social Development would present on the Integrated Programme of Action for Early Childhood Development followed by the Department of Basic Education and the Department of Monitoring and Evaluation.

Integrated Programme of Action for Early Childhood Development

The Department of Social Development presented on the Integrated Programme of Action for Early Childhood Development.  Ms Connie Nxumalo, Deputy Director-General: Social Services, Department of Social Development (DSD), presented on behalf of the Department.

She said that the programme for 2013 – 2016 consisted of eight elements and gave a summary of the progress since the programme’s approval. 

Legislation and Policy Frameworks

The Department will finalise consultations in August.  All departments were required to review their norms and standards in alignment with the policy.  There was a need to harmonise norms.  Amendments to the Children’s Act would be made.  Technical amendments had been identified as hindrances to the policy and required policy evaluations.  There had been debate about the universalisation of access to schools.  The Department had established a concept paper.  The policy articulated the universalisation of access and the notion of access as a public good.

Institutional Arrangements, Coordination and Integration

The Department was proposing an ECD agency in addition to other mechanisms.  There was a need for a feasibility study to be undertaken to present to Parliament

Human Resources, Training and Development Building

Capacity building had been ‘lifted’ and the policy had been gazetted.  There was a need for a strong capacity outlay to ensure quality ECD services.

Comprehensive ECD Programme

The process had been coupled with policy, and included the first 1 000 days of child development.

ECD Infrastructure

A plan had been established to monitor and remain up to date with the emerging ECD facilities.  There was a need for improvement of infrastructure within the policy framework

Funding and Partnerships

This was based on a model with differentiated modalities.  There was a proposal to consider donor funding in order to strengthen funding.  This had not yielded positive results thus far, but they were still engaging with funders.

Research, Monitoring and Evaluatio.

The existing Monitoring and Evaluation frameworks were being reviewed and aligned with the new ECD policy by the DPME.

Communication Awareness

There was a need for an integrated communications strategy.  This was critical but had not received much attention yet.

Revised ECD Registration Process

Proposed amendments had been put forward.   It had been noted that the Department had experienced difficulties regarding funding and compliance with norms and standards.  ECD re-registration had to be completed in terms of the Children’s Act therefore, five years after the promulgation of the Act.  This process had commenced from July 2014, and was scheduled for completion by March 2015.  Three levels of registration had been introduced for compliance - gold, silver and bronze levels, in relation to their percentage of compliance.  Funding, or subsidisation, was required to ensure adequate compliance with ECD.  A percentage of below 39%, indicating no compliance with the norms and standards, would lead to refusal or cancellation of registration, and the process of closure in relation to the Children’s Act would be followed.  The safety of children had to be prioritized and considered.

The Department of Social Development was conducting capacity building sessions in relation to the programme of action, the registration and re-registration process, non-Centre-based programmes and partial care strategy.  Five provinces – Limpopo, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, North West Province and Mpumalanga -- had been capacitated and the remaining four provinces would be capacitated during August 2014.

The details of the roll-out of the programme were not discussed, and the presentation was concluded.

The Chairperson requested that Members of the Committee engage with the Department after all the presentations had been concluded.

Progress Report on Early Childhood Development Programme

The Department of Basic Education presented on the ECDP.

Mr Mathanzima Mweli, Acting Deputy Director General: Curriculum, DBE, apologised for the absence of the Director-General and said that he would be presenting on his behalf.   He would be presenting on interest focus and access, and challenges related to responsibilities.  Parliament had acknowledged progress with regard to access.  Since 2002, there had been a major increase in children between birth and age four attending educational institutions, in addition to over 800 000 Grade R learners in 2014.  While the data was indicative of holistic growth, there were issues related to the quality of service which required attention from the Department, such as children not being ‘school-ready’ when entering grade R.  There was also the issue of a common curriculum from birth to age four, which determined the quality of learner outputs.

The level of qualification of teaching practitioners impacted directly on quality outputs and conditions of service for practitioners were required to establish stability in this regard.   Mr Mweli said that provincial collaboration did not adequately meet the required standard.

Departmental Responsibilities

Ms Marie-Louise Samuels, Director, Early Childhood Development, DBE, discussed departmental responsibility.  The Department intended to collaborate with the Department of Higher Education (DHET) on responsibilities associated with human resources.  Organising events to advocate the importance of ECD was currently being handled by means of Takalani Sesame roadshows.   A programme had been finalised for insertion in the training of Kha Ri Gude (KRG) volunteers on how to stimulate young children

Programmatic Priorities

Medium Term Strategic Framework (2014-2019) involved planning for the introduction of a Pre-Grade R year, to be led by the Department of Social Development.  The target was for all learners in Grade 1 to have had access to a formal Grade R programme (DBE) by 2019.  There should be approval of a pre-Grade R year (DSD) and an additional two years before introduction to Grade 1. Workshops in the Western Cape and Gauteng in August would finalise the provincial consultations on the draft ECD policy and programmes.  There would be consultation on draft policies and programmes thereafter, with a detailed report on progress being submitted to the Social Cluster by the end of September for approval.

Department of Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation on the ECD programme

A delegate from the Department presented a brief presentation on the Early Childhood Development programme, in the absence of his colleagues.

Upon evaluation, it had been considered necessary for ECD to be considered from conception, and not age two, and the role of health was central to this stage of development.

Necessities and challenges identified were comprehensive services, poor children accessing ECD, Grade R evaluations, quality issues limiting the impact of Grade R before quantity was increased, and Grade R not having an effect at “rich” schools either

Malnutrition was a critical factor in respect of ECD.  Evaluations indicated the Department focused on clinical development and neglected nutrition, 21% of children were stunted and 25% of children were “damaged.”  A report would be submitted to Cabinet in the near future.  Proper growth monitoring was necessary to evaluate behavioural changes and should be integrated into the ECD plan. 

The Incremental Introduction of African Languages (IIAL) Pilot Policy

Mr Mweli presented on the IIAL Pilot in Grade 1 in South African schools, and provided the preliminary report on the programme.

He said that the Council of Education Ministers had not received the report and that it was important for this to be shared with Parliament.   In line with the purpose of the legislative mandate, language should be promoted equitably as contained in the Constitution and Section 29(2) of the Bill of Rights.

Language in the education policy had been promulgated in 1996 with the aim of promoting multilingualism, to define the character of education and the country.   In terms of the Department’s rationale, the learning outcomes were influenced by this factor and values and attitudes were coded in language.

Mr Mweli referred to a lack of training in language teaching in the past.  Teachers in foundation phases had been trained in English and Afrikaans, therefore indicating the correlation between good results in these languages compared to African languages.  The performance of learners was inherent in the training and skills of the teachers, particularly in the foundation phase. Teachers “drop out” of the system, which resulted in skills shortages.

Fort Hare was the only university which had broken the teaching language cycle through its introduction of African languages.  Poor learning outcomes were the result of poor language proficiency and utility and little had been done to address this concern.  The Department would collaborate with the DHET to address the shortfall and ensure that outcomes were informed by the educational needs of the country to improve subjects involving numeracy and literacy.  Parliament had great influence to bring the Education Departments together to address this concern.

Mr Mweli said that inadequacies in learner performance occured as the language requirements could not be met.  The performance of African languages was poor in relation to English and many universities did not have the capacity to address the issue immediately.

The learner population in schools had changed, but there was no capacity to change the language of instruction, which compromised performance. In historically disadvantaged schools, Afrikaans was still utilised as a medium of instruction.  The teaching standard in Botswana was better than South Africa, and national senior certificate (NSC) language performance indicated that poor language performance extended beyond the foundation and intermediate phases.

IIAL policy aims

Dr Jennifer Joshua, Director: Curriculum, Implementation and Quality Improvement (GET), DBE, said the aims of the IIAL policy were to strengthen the use of African languages at home language level, to promote social cohesion, to improve proficiency and utility in previously marginalised languages, and to expand opportunities and development of African languages and preserve heritage and cultures.

The progress of the policy had been evaluated.  Support had been provided to 228 pilot schools in grade 1 in all provinces, with the exception of the Free State.   Capacitated training to teachers had been provided by the National Core Training Team (NCTT), which was comprised of officials from all provinces for all language groups.   IIAL provincial teacher training workshops had been held between December 2013 and June 2014, and curriculum resources had been developed and provided, which included workbooks, lesson plans, audio resources, Big Books and posters.

The IIAP Policy had been gazetted for public comments from 11 November until 12 February, and the results were currently being analysed and collated.  The finalisation of the report from the pilot would be informed by the public comment and evaluation findings.

The monitoring and evaluation of the pilot implementation had been undertaken by the Department and an external service provider, with provincial progress reports being submitted to the Department on a monthly basis. The process had been undertaken by means of telephonic interviews with provincial IIAL co-ordinators and headmasters of the pilot schools, and school visits conducted by the Department both before and after the pilot implementation.

Preliminary evaluation report for recommendations

The Department will be required to make a decision on the level of the third language.  Teacher appointments and IIAL resources should be finalised before the beginning of the school year.  There needed to be engagement with Higher Education for pre-service and in-service African language training programmes.   All Foundation Phase teachers should be trained in an African language.

DBE response to recommendations

The Department’s response had been that three languages should be offered from Grade 1, with one language being offered at home language (HL) and two languages at first additional language (FAL) level.  Only two of the languages should be considered for promotion and progression in the Foundation Phase – the home language and one first additional language. The school should decide on the FAL to be considered for promotion.  The draft policy should be finalised and the offering of three languages should be mandatory for Grade 1.

Implications for implementation in 2015

IIAL implementation for 2015 was targeting schools that did not offer an African language (Education Management Information System – 3 738 schools).  A management plan had been put in place that delineated DBE and provincial Department of Education (PDE) responsibilities.  Provinces should finalise the number of schools and the African language offerings.  A plan for teacher provisioning for 2015 roll-out would be finalised by the end of October 2014.  The teacher training roll-out and resource provisioning for 2015 IIAL implementation would be completed before the start of the academic year.  The final verification report and public comments would inform the finalisation of the draft policy

Discussion

The Chairperson enquired as to the definition of Early Childhood Development.

Ms Samuels said that the universally-accepted definition was from birth to eight years of age. The Children’s’ Act reflected that it was from birth to school-going age, and the application of the definition was dependent on the issue.  Within the context of the Department of Basic Education, from birth to school-going age was the applicable definition.

The delegate from the DBE stressed the importance of support for children before birth and during their development, while the delegate from the Department of Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation noted that ECD should be defined from conception, as damage to the baby may occur during this period.                                                                                                                  

Ms A Lovemore (DA) asked the Department to clarify the school-going age.

Ms Samuels responded that the Department’s requirement was that school was compulsory from either age seven or grade 1. Ms Samuels noted that the compulsory age could be governed by social development.

The delegate from the DBE noted the necessity to accommodate children with disabilities with regard to their age.

The chairperson described ECD as having varied interpretations which were informed by the context in which they were applied.

Ms Lovemore said she had capacity concerns and noted that there was no accredited qualification for Grade R students.  It seemed that quantity was being prioritised over quality, as indicated in the budget speech.  She mentioned the National Curriculum Framework and enquired as to whether the ECD had a curriculum.

What was the Department’s proposed form of quality control?   Would there be a standard curriculum and accredited qualifications for practioners?   What did the Department anticipate the norms and standards to cover?

Ms H Boshoff (DA) asked which laws were applicable, if bylaws were not being implemented.  Were the ECD facilities run individually, and was a process required for registration?   What were the Department’s proposed methods of control and the requirements for opening an ECD?   There appeared to be a “free-for-all” for teachers without entry-level qualifications.

Mr H Khosa (ANC) asked what would happen to the children if the ECD did not meet requirements after two years, and who enforced the necessary measures.   There was an issue regarding the provision of equipment.  Who would provide it, and how would it be effectively monitored and maintained?

Ms C Majeke (UDM) said that during her constituency work, she had encountered an elderly lady performing the activities of an ECD centre.  However, she had an old qualification and did not receive assistance, payment or input regarding the necessary child nutrition.  This woman was assisting working mothers to ensure that their children were cared for.  Ms Majeke proposed that both Departments perform a check-up and propose suitable support.

Ms D van der Walt (DA) cautioned that ECDs were perceived to be day-care centres, and that the confusion should be suitably clarified.

The Chairperson said that the Department was far from reaching the minimum norms and standards.  She was pleased with the proposal for “no-fee” centres for parents who could not afford it, and said that it would be a “huge breakthrough”.

The delegate from the Department said that centres registered as non-centre based ECDs, such as mobile centres, should provide the same services in order for the children not to be disadvantaged.  If the municipality was non-functioning and a municipal qualification was not acknowledged, then the ECD would not be registered.  The safety of the structure of centres needed to be assessed and confirmed by the municipality for a health certificate to be issued.

Non-compliance would be assessed by means of an organisational development (OD) plan linked to the period of registration. It was also noted that funding was need-based and that the closure of centres owing to a lack of improvement in standards would not result in children being stranded, as the Department would propose the removal of children, in consultation with the parents.

The description of the garage-based ECD had been noted, and a visit would be arranged with a report back.

Mr Mweli said that the provisioning was not aligned with the standard set by the Department and that ECD centres had been established as day-care centres. The integrated plan had been established to create a cohesive system for quality education. For this reason, in line with the NDP and quality of life, the ECD must be considered from conception.

The DBE was responsible for stimulation programmes and practitioner training.  The teaching certificate was offered by 21 providers at National Qualifications Framework (NQF) level 5.  Many teachers had a qualification that was below NQF level 4 and data indicated that there had been a progressive increase in the level of qualification.  Establishing a requirement of NQF level 6 would disqualify many practitioners and there would be a subsequent shortage of teachers.  The Kha Ri Gude programme established this year had the potential to contribute to stimulation at a young age.

Eight to ten years ago, the universal provision of Grade R had shifted from ECD to primary schools. A conference held in 2013 had reaffirmed the need to be mindful of a quality Grade R being provided in some ECDs and that pre-schools with quality programmes could become extensions of primary schools, especially if they had adequate facilities.

The current curriculum for Grade R was CAPS – the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement -- and that from birth to age four, the Department intended to implement the National Curriculum Framework in all ECD centres.  This implementation should be structured and implemented in pursuit of quality. International comparison indicated a formalised structure as measurable regarding impact.

The delegate from the Department of Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation said that the Grade R report had been sent to Committee, and he was surprised that Members did not have it.

The Committee secretary said that he would look for the report.

Ms Lovemore said that the roll-out of the policy was ambitious, and enquired as to whether 13 000 practioners being produced in the current financial year was a realistic goal.

She asked about the action plan for the policy, and whether the appropriate school-readiness assessment was still in progress, as it had not been included in the presentation with accompanying dates.

Ms Van der Walt referred to the issue of school zoning, and requested the use of population figures to replace the percentages that had been used in the presentation, as the correlation was unclear with regard to determining challenges.

Ms N Mokoto (ANC) apologised for being late, and asked whether the definition of the ECD would result in constitutional challenges, with particular emphasis on defining the ECD from conception.  She raised issues of duplication with regard to the funding model presented in the presentation.

Miss Boshoff referred to the bylaws, and said that the Social Development spokesperson had noted registration under the Children’s Act as an non-profit organisation (NPO).   She expressed concern regarding the sanitation facilities in ECDs with gazebos, and mobile ECDs.   What party was authorised to issue safety certificates if the requirements for the safety of the structure were not met?

Mr Mweli said that the timeframe had not been implemented as yet, and that the plan of action going forward would be shared with Members during the workshop.

Mr Mweli said that the school-readiness assessment was a deliverable for the 2014/2015 Annual Performance Plan.  The13 000 teacher output was not a large quantity, and the target was based on precedent and spread out over the provinces.  The Department would report back to the Committee on its status.

The Chairperson enquired as to the Department’s current progress.

Ms Samuels said that teacher training was not beginning and ending in the same financial year.  This process usually occurred over a period of over two years.  There would be a 19 000 trained teacher output for 2013 consisting of at least level 4 qualifications for pre–Grade R, with the focus now being on the development of children below Grade R.

Mr Mweli said that the Department would provide the actual population figures and submit them to the Committee.

Mr Mweli referred to the issue of defining the child from conception, and said that it was preferable for the Department to be criticised for trying to do something right, than for ignoring the opportunity.   There was a litigation risk against the government, but the Department was serious about the quality of life and interventions were necessary from the time of birth.

The delegate from the DBE emphasised the necessity to invest in first 1 000 days, and to consider current services.  Support from the period of conception to two years of age would have an immense impact.

The funding model was based on R15 per child per day, and public availability needed to be supported by statistics regarding access in relation to the relevant age cohort.  The Department was currently busy with the roll-out process in a phased-in approach.

With regard to norms and standards for registration, all areas fell within a municipal ward.   If a municipality could not provide the necessary documentation, registration would not be granted as the children’s safety would be compromised by this lack of verification.

The delegate from the Department of Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation noted an improvement in terms of child mortality figures.  South African figures were still low when compared to other middle-income countries such as Brazil. He said it was critical to address the post-conception stage of child development.

The Chairperson thanked all members for their engagement and expressed optimism for the future of ECD.

Incremental Introduction of African Languages Pilot Programme

Mr Khosa enquired as to whether the Department was ready and the manner in which the teachers would be trained.   He asked if the Department would not lose teachers and if the teachers would be new or current staff.

Ms Lovemore said that although her children had studied Xhosa in school, they were unable to speak the language.   Written language did not assist social cohesion.  She asked about the aims of language in schools and if it was a foundation for conversation.

She noted that the schools in which the pilot project was being conducted were former Model-C schools, and that she was not certain if the pilot would adequately represent the challenges and possible gains.  Would the pilot schools be offering the languages in Grade 2?

Ms Lovemore referred to the standard of languages and the report on the NSC, and commented that apparently indigenous language exams were “too easy” and that the Department should address the language throughout the entire schooling career.

Ms Boshoff referred to the Bill of Rights and the nature of choice of language that a person may be taught in. She said that she was optimistic for 2015, as vacancies had not yet been filled. She asked whether teachers had been identified and were experts.  She expressed concern that teaching in rural areas would need to be incentivised, as schools were stigmatised.

Ms Boshoff said that for the introduction of a third language, a mother tongue speaker did not necessarily qualify as a good language teacher.  South African third languages were necessary but should be by choice and of quality. She expressed concern that the policy was not sustainable as yet and required some more time to be piloted and developed further.   She asked why the Free State had been excluded from the pilot implementation.

Ms J Basson (ANC) said that the concept was good, but implementation had challenges. She enquired as to whether teachers would be added to under-capacitated schools, and what the Department’s proposed method was for choosing the third language, especially in the foundation phase.

Mr D Mnguni (ANC) said that more languages were necessary.  Coherent feeder schools were needed, and the aim of language education was social integration and 100% pass rates. However, staff provisioning had to be considered in terms of workload.

Mr T Khoza (ANC) said that he had visited schools and had been impressed by witnessing a debate in SiSwati.

The Chairperson emphasised the need to learn from observations within the pilot project, and the choice of the schools in which the projects had been implemented.

Mr Mweli said that the lessons of the pilot would influence the structure for implementation.  The Department would act in the best interests of education and would avoid creating negative perceptions through improper implementation.  He referred to the school selection criteria and said that schools, even without the pilot, were ready to implement.  Schools could have made advances with the necessary support and resources, and FEDSAS (Federation of Governing Bodies of SA Schools) had said that they wanted to implement the policy, but were waiving resources.

Mr Mweli said that the Department would be appointing teachers and that the budget had been set aside by the Department.

He referred to multilingual communities, and said that provinces such as Gauteng posed challenges.  However the Department would be reliant on school governing bodies (SGBs) and parents to choose the languages implemented.  If the situation became more complex, suitable people would be approached.

He said that the Free State was not ready, and would have prolonged the pilot process. There was an agreement with Free State that they would learn from the other provinces.

Qualified teachers would be trained to teach the language, and the Department was currently reviewing an incentive scheme to attract teachers.

A grid had been developed, to aggregate the standard and structure of all languages in terms of outcomes and curriculum.   With regard to more distinctions being achieved in Afrikaans and English than in African languages, the Language Framework had been established to standardise this.

Mr Mweli said that some provinces were inclined to continue the policy with the same teachers and learners in Grade 2.   However, this had not been decided and the implicit recommendation had been noted.

The aim of the policy was to relate the language learners understood to the language being taught, with the overall intention of improving learning outcomes.

Teacher training was going to utilise current teachers, and an audit had been conducted.   The Western Cape had used teachers assigned to a number of schools -- itinerant teachers -- as African languages required two hours’ teaching a week.

Ms Joshua said that the Department had used different teacher models in the pilot.   Existing teachers had been used, and some schools had employed retired teachers with the qualifications and understanding of the language, in the foundation phase. Teachers were given an orientation for the additional two teaching hours.   Gauteng used existing teachers, Mpumalanga used retired teachers, KwaZulu-Natal employed newly qualified teachers in transformational posts, and the Western Cape utilised the itinerant teacher model.  The resources were prepared in all languages and had been well received.  

Ms Lovemore enquired as to when a report on the pilot would be available.

The Chairperson said that the report would be available after October.

Ms Boshoff referred to the lack of involvement of the Free State in the pilot programme, and enquired as to the possible consequences of the province’s incorrect implementation of the policy.  She further enquired as to whether sufficient national budget was available to cover all aspects of the implementation.   Would existing teachers be employed and would they receive extra incentives for their time?

Mr Khoza asked about the placement of itinerant teachers.

Ms Van der Walt asked if the teachers which had been trained for the pilot would be utilised.  She recommended that the performance of learners should be taken into account first, in addition to the availability of facilities.

Ms Mokoto requested a list of the pilot schools, and asked about the proposed manner in which the schools which were already on the roll, would have the pilot enforced and supported.

The Chairperson enquired about the effects of the policy on the stipulated teaching time.

Mr Mweli said that the additional language would be accommodated within the stipulated seven hours of teaching time, and that negotiation was therefore not required.   He added that schools which were not supported, ‘dropped’ the programme.

The list of pilot schools would be made available.   With regard to itinerant teachers, circuit or district offices would offer an ideal placement.

Overtime would be incentivised, and the Department had provided resources.  However, schools should contribute to this.

Mr Mweli said that the programme for training was similar to Computer Applications Technology (CAT) and that the Department was confident about it.

New classrooms would not be needed, as new learners were not being introduced in the process.

The Chair thanked the respective Departments for their presentations.

The meeting was adjourned.

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