Question NW2716 to the Minister of Basic Education to ask the Minister of Basic Education

Reply:

(a) The National State of Disaster that was promulgated in South Africa due to COVID-19 pandemic created a unique situation which disrupted the school calendar thus impacting on the implementation of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) for 2020 and 2021 academic year. To mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) worked in collaboration with Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) and other stakeholders such as Teacher Unions and the National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT) to put together a framework for curriculum recovery plans post the COVID 19 lockdown. The framework revised school calendar and curriculum reorganization and trimming as some of the strategies to create opportunities for curriculum recovery. The framework further motivated for a nationally driven process of careful Curriculum Content Mapping (CCM) that informed curriculum reorganization/trimming to cover the curriculum. 

The DBE used Curriculum Content Mapping to develop the Recovery Annual Teaching Plans (ATPs) and to revise the Programme of Assessment as broad policy to assist schools with guided pacing and sequencing of curriculum content and assessment for Grades R-11. The process was done in a manner that the final learning outcomes are not compromised and that teachers to cover the essential core content in each phase, in preparation for the subsequent phase, laying the necessary cumulative foundation for the final examinations and assessment for progression. The DBE further ensured that assessment for learning is placed as an integral to curriculum delivery and completes the learning cycle. The DBE trimmed number of School Based Tasks in all the subjects to ensure that more time is committed to teaching and learning. The June Examination was also removed in all the grades to consolidate teaching and learning. The DBE also increased the number of school days by reducing the school holidays in 2021 to ensure that teaching and learning are prioritised.  

(b) The DBE has encouraged the learning losses are recorded in each and every subject in each province increased the number of school days by reducing the school holidays in 2021 to ensure that teaching and learning are prioritised. The PEDs are encouraged to develop catch-up plans to recover the learning losses. The Recovery ATPs also ensured that they built in content from the previous grades that is core and fundamental as part of revision before starting with the teaching of the new content for the current grades. The DBE in collaboration with relevant stakeholders also broadcast (TV and radio) lessons in various critical subjects to assist learners catching up on the learning losses. The DBE distributed different Self Study Guides (Grades 10-12) in various subjects to assist learners as part of recovering the learning losses.