Education Matters

In a briefing to lawmakers, the Department of Basic Education admitted the challenges faced in the implementation of the National Curriculum Statement included: overload and administrative burden; lack of clarity on what and how to teach and to assess, as well as learner underperformance in international and local assessments. Key areas investigated by a Ministerial Task Team in 2009 were curriculum policy and guideline documents and the transition between grades and phases. Assessment, particularly School Based Assessment (SBA) and Learning and Teaching Support Materials (LTSM), particularly textbooks, and teacher support and training for curriculum implementation were also reviewed.

Following the report by the task team, a single Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) was developed for every subject from Grade R to 12. With the introduction of CAPS, every subject in each grade has a single, comprehensive and concise policy document that provides details on what teachers need to teach and assess on a grade-by-grade and subject-by-subject basis. CAPS lessens the administrative load on teachers, and ensures that there is clear guidance and consistency for teachers when teaching.

Teachers need training in the various aspects of formal assessment tasks, such as the use of cognitive levels, forms of assessment and weighting of assessment with regards to time and marks. The concept of teaching for mastery and not assessment is not fully understood. Accommodation and concessions for special needs learners needs further attention. The reading level of learners remains a cause for concern as does the development of 21st century skills.

Specific subjects will be addressed in the medium term, including mathematics in the Foundation Phase, Economic Management Sciences, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Computer Applications Technology (CAT) and Life Orientation. Long term plans include a review of the proposal to make History a compulsory offering and the separation of Physical Science into two subjects, i.e. Chemistry and Physics, as is international practice. Subject specialisation in Grade 3 will be considered to facilitate the transition to Grade 4. Key to long term plans is the decolonisation of the CAPS by including the introduction of KiSwahili, Indigenous Knowledge systems and practices and plans to introduce mother tongue instruction in the Intermediate Phase and upwards.

MPs voiced concern about how slow learners were accommodated by CAPS as the teacher had to cover the curriculum and had to move on but pupils had not learned the work and teachers left behind slow learners. Other concerns that were raised were about: the provision of textbooks, the need for mother tongue education, if deaf pupils were accomodated and it CAPS is monitored by all Provincial Education Departments

The other area covered by DBE, is the Implementation of the Introduction of African Languages (IIAL). IIAL is being introduced as a strategy for implementing the National Development Plan to ensure social cohesion and multi-lingualism, and all policies facilitating the implementation of IIAL are in place. IIAL is intended to strengthen the use of African languages at a home language level and improve proficiency in, and access to, previously marginalised African languages in order to promote social cohesion. Provinces, depending on their contexts, are using different teacher provisioning models which include: new appointments, teachers in addition, retired teachers, teachers from existing staff establishment and itinerant teachers. All 842 schools currently implementing IIAL have teachers. Sixty schools that are implementing the IIAL will be monitored as part of the Medium-Term targets. Challenges include the teacher provisioning and budgetary constraints and a bid has been made to National Treasury. Provinces are currently utilising available staff. Currently 3 558 schools are not offering an indigenous language. DBE provided support by means of the Foundation Phase Second Additional Language (SAL) Toolkit comprising a full set of LTSM to facilitate learning and teaching. The attitude towards African languages is another challenge but which is being addressed via advocacy. The Committee was enthused and excited about the developments in the IIAL, however there was a concern about whether learners would take the teaching of indigenous languages seriously. There was some dissent amongst Committee Members about whether English and Afrikaans were foreign languages.