Question NW1262 to the Minister of Basic Education

Reply:

(1) (a) The target has been set in response to the outcome stated in the National Development Plan with regard to learner retention so as to bring South Africa in line with international retention rates such as those of the United Kingdom and Japan; and

(b) The Department of Basic Education (DBE) has established an inter-departmental task team with the Department of Higher Education and Training to develop strategies for alignment and articulation of qualifications and more effective transition to post-school education and training and the world of work.

(2) (a) The audited learner enrolment numbers for 2016 are not yet available. In 2014 12 117 015 learners were enrolled in the public ordinary schools following the National Curriculum Statement Grade R to 12.

(b)The Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) for Technical Schools has only been implemented in Gr 10 since January 2016. The enrolment of learners in Grade 10 is as follows:

Table 1 below shows the number of learners in ordinary public and independent schools, by province in 2015. It further shows that enrolment is generally high in the foundation phase and decline as learners move higher grades within the schooling system.

Table 1: Number of learners in ordinary schools, by province, in 2015

Province	Pre-Grade R	Grade R	Grade 1	Grade 2	Grade 3	Grade 4	Grade 5	Grade 6	Grade 7	Grade 8	Grade 9	Grade 10	Grade 11	Grade 12
Eastern Cape	4 299	119 443	180 501	174 206	166 094	161 692	140 353	131 731	136 336	105 495	127 865	121 577	117 698	110 549
Free State	1 713	38 151	66 770	61 303	58 165	59 797	49 866	44 658	45 055	44 484	46 552	53 869	35 947	30 013
Gauteng	8 949	99 845	213 448	197 773	188 132	179 621	164 068	150 950	146 964	147 832	144 579	168 878	140 453	111 128
Kwazulu-Natal	4 721	192 894	270 085	241 504	231 644	221 815	203 037	184 302	183 102	202 037	200 442	235 429	220 831	162 352
Limpopo	1 862	106 597	148 418	141 710	133 965	129 950	111 945	102 366	103 896	98 500	122 022	169 794	133 475	106 032
Mpumalanga	1 124	62 573	102 840	92 730	87 175	84 444	74 866	67 522	69 734	75 612	72 275	84 591	73 862	52 742
North West	504	51 701	78 142	73 441	67 653	68 289	59 854	54 798	51 034	57 309	51 572	61 547	43 359	30 193
Northern Cape	798	19 487	29 385	25 929	24 564	25 241	22 115	20 535	20 481	20 853	18 751	18 085	14 894	11 066
Western Cape	4 509	67 005	99 662	99 681	93 891	87 192	82 529	78 235	73 186	66 428	63 471	59 784	56 422	52 962
National	28 479	757 696	1 189 251	1 108 277	1 051 283	1 018 041	908 633	835 097	829 788	818 550	847 529	973 554	836 941	667 037

Source: 2015 SNAP survey

Note: please note that the 2016 data is not yet available.

Table 2 below indicates enrolment in technical subjects in the FET phase. It shows that, about 10 334 Grade 12 learners were taking Civil Technology , in 2015, while 6 422 were enrolling for Electrical Technology and 7 295 for Mechanical Technology.

Table 2: Number of learners in undertaking technical subjects, by subject and province, in 2015

Province	Grade	Civil Technology	Electrical Technology	Mechanical Technology
Eastern Cape	Grade 10		1 140	1 182
	Grade 11	1 500	1 076	1 050
	Grade 12	979	746	679
Free State	Grade 10		1 098	1 373
	Grade 11	947	582	725
	Grade 12	672	373	458
Gauteng	Grade 10		2 419	3 200
	Grade 11	3 064	1 765	2 538
	Grade 12	2 240	1 252	1 950
Kwazulu-Natal	Grade 10		2 904	2 735
	Grade 11	2 161	2 522	2 234
	Grade 12	1 852	1 771	1 875
Limpopo	Grade 10		1 843	898
	Grade 11	1 245	1 525	815
	Grade 12	784	953	506
Mpumalanga	Grade 10		741	654
	Grade 11	631	505	689
	Grade 12	354	323	430
North West	Grade 10		1 396	1 244
	Grade 11	1 043	810	926
	Grade 12	707	477	563
Northern Cape	Grade 10		279	312
	Grade 11	331	231	314
	Grade 12	256	143	171
Western Cape	Grade 10		412	657
	Grade 11	2 602	508	810
	Grade 12	2 490	384	663
National	Grade 10		11 134	10 882
	Grade 11	13 524	9 524	10 101
	Grade 12	10 334	6 422	7 295

Source: 2015 LURITS

(3) (a) The DBE envisages that Year 1 of the General Certificate of Education: Skills and Vocational will be introduced in 2018.

(b) The date envisaged for the introduction of the General Certificate of Education as a school leaving certificate has not yet been set by the DBE.

(4) All programmes of the DBE are directed towards improving the quality of curriculum delivery in all schools. Some of the strategies that are aimed towards strengthening inclusive quality education for all are the following:

• Rigorous monitoring of all aspects of delivery through the National Strategy on Learner Attainment, including monitoring of curriculum coverage as outlined in the Evidence Based Reporting System;
• Monitoring of School-based Assessment across all provinces, districts and schools;
• Programme for the institutionalisation of curriculum differentiation;
• Introduction of the Strategy for Supporting English Across the Curriculum;
• Monitoring the implementation of the Policy on Accommodation in Assessment;
• Implementation of the Framework for Remediation and Support; and
• Introduction of the Turn Around Strategy for Special Needs Education Schools.