ATC110308: Report In-loco sight visit to Schools of Skills in the Western Cape Province, dated 8 March 2011

Higher Education, Science and Innovation

Report of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education on an in-loco sight visit to Schools of Skills in the Western Cape Province, dated 8 March 2011

 

The Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, having undertaken an in-loco sight visit to Schools of Skills in the Western Cape on 13 April 2010, reports as follows:

 

1. Introduction

 

1.1   The Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, during the consideration of its Second Term Parliamentary Programme, undertook to visit schools of skills in the Western Cape Province to better understand the day-to-day operations and activities of these special schools. The visits would also allow Members of the Committee the opportunity to receive a much broader orientation of the challenges and focus of these special schools and more fully engage with the Provincial Department, principals, educators and learners. 

 

1.2   The visit was undertaken on Tuesday, 13 April 2010. To gain maximum benefit from the visits and create minimum disruptions of classes and workshop activities (an important criteria), the delegation was split into two groups, each group visiting two schools as follows:

 

1.2.1          Group 1 visited De Grendel School of Skills in Milnerton and Westcliff School of Skills in Bellville.

 

1.2.2          Group 2 visited Batavia School of Skills in Lansdowne and Mitchells Plain School of Skills in Mitchells Plain.

 

1.3   Schools of Skills offer a viable alternative to the mainstream schools where learners manifest barriers to learning and are unable to develop or cope in ordinary mainstream schools and classrooms. Schools of Skills are tailor made for learners with special needs who cannot cope or achieve in the NCS. These schools have a very specific place within the education system. Many of these learners are completely disconnected from other learners and educators. The main focus of these schools is to reconnect learners with fellow learners – and to feel valued and develop a sense of belonging. Many learners may never be able to write a matric examination, thus this alternative offers them skills for a better life.

 

2. Composition of delegation

 

2.1 Parliamentary Delegation

 

2.1.1     The delegation from the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education comprised of:

 

Group 1:

·         Hon A Mashishi (ANC)

·         Hon J Kloppers-Lourens (DA)

·         Hon N M Kganyago (UDM)

 

Group 2:

·         Hon G  Saal (ANC)

·         Hon J R B Lorimer (DA)

·         Hon A Mpontshane (IFP)

·         Hon C Dudley (ACDP)

 

2.1.2          The delegation from the Western Cape Education Department comprised Dr M J Theron – Director: Specialised Education Support, Dr C Coetzee – Chief Education Specialist and Mr C Africa – Deputy Chief Education Specialist.

 

2.1.3          Administrative support for the visit included Mr L Mahada (Parliamentary Researcher), Ms X Mnyute (Committee Assistant) and Mr L A Brown (Committee Secretary).

 

3.       Batavia School of Skills

 

3.1   Headed by Mr J C Swart (Principal), Miss S Thiart (Deputy Principal: Academic) and Mr G Van Zyl (Deputy Principal: Technical), the school is located on the corner of Lansdowne and Laurier Road in Claremont, Cape Town. Batavia is one of the largest and most established Schools of Skills in the Western Cape and boasts a learner complement of 730 learners, with a waiting list of over 200 learners.

 

3.2   With the necessary infrastructure, Batavia offers learners both academic courses and technical courses as follows:

 

·         Academic Course

 

o        Grade 7, 8 and 9 – Outcomes Based Education;

o        outcome statements are developed to indicate what the learner needs to achieve - These are reflected in learning programmes;

o        lessons are prepared based on outcomes in the learning area;

o        The syllabus followed and exams written are of the same standard as those of all Schools of Skills in the country; and

o        The Vocational Training prepares learners for Level 1 entrance to a Technical College.

    

·         Technical Courses

 

o        These subjects enable the learners to pursue their interest in a particular manner;

o        theory learned in the classroom is put into practice in the various workshops;

o        this practical specialisation should provide the basis for learners future careers; and

o        technical courses offered include the following:

§   Vehicle Body Repair Work (Panelbeating and Spraypainting)

§   Welding

§   Woodwork

§   Sheetmetal Work/Plumbing

§   Bricklaying

§   Leather Work

§   Upholstery

§   Hospitality Studies and Educare

§   Hairdressing and Typing/Shop and Office/Practice and Computyping

 

(Boys, in their first year at Batavia, will rotate amongst these workshops while Girls must choose one of the above technical combinations from their first year.)

 

3.3               With enrollment, learners should be between 13 and 16 years of age. The curriculum is focused on the Foundation and Intermediate Phase. The course runs over four years with the first year being an orientation year. The school offers all the mainline subjects, covering all eight learning areas. Over a 10 day period, learners would have worked in sections of 5 days in class (theory) and 5 days in workshops (practical).

 

3.4               Learners who are successful leave the school with a Grade 9 school leaver’s certificate and may be accepted into an FET College. Learners also find it easier finding employment in various trades – but learners are also taught how to become entrepreneurs. This offers them the opportunity to participate and give back to their communities.

 

3.5               School fees are R 125.00 per month over 10 months. Batavia does receive a subsidy from the Western Cape Education Department on a semester basis. Parents are able to apply for a partial or full subsidy for the school fees. Transfer payments from the budget are made in terms of the set norms and standards. The Department determines these formulas for transfers. The school funds its own feeding scheme and supplies all learners with bread, fresh fruit and nutritional shakes – much of these are donations from businesses in the immediate surrounds.    

 

3.6               The Batavia has also invested in guidance counsellors to oversee youth development and behavioural matters. With a slightly smaller class size, staff at these schools develops an ability to be more than just educators and are able to give a caring education. It is generally difficult to attract teachers, particularly specialists. The school has unfortunately lost at least three posts in the last three years due to lack of funds. There is a real need for a therapist and social worker at Batavia.

 

3.7               The delegation was then taken on a walk-about of the classrooms and workshops. The delegation visited and interacted with educators and learners from the following:

·         Computer Room

·         Hairdressing workshop

·         Nursing and Educare workshop

·         Cooking workshop

·         Upholstery workshop

·         Building workshop

·         Motor-Mechanics workshop

 

The main challenges facing Batavia can be summarised as follows:

·         Currently there was no specific curriculum – although there were plans to   implement a new curriculum.

·         Funding and staff losses remain a concern.

·         An acute need for a therapist and social worker.

 

 

 

4.         Mitchells Plain School of Skills

 

4.1        Mitchells Plain School of Skills is situated on the corner of Weltevreden and The Cedars, Rocklands, Mitchells Plain, Cape Town. The establishment consists of a school principal, Mr G Cupido, two deputy principals, Mrs N Meyer and D Gardner, twenty-four P1 educators and a full-time psychologist. To date the school has enrolled approximately 533 learners.

 

4.2               Mitchells Plain School of Skills started off as a mainstream Primary School (Weltevreden Primary School). In 2003, the staff members sought permission from the Western Cape Education Department to close the primary school and re-open as a school of skills. The Western Cape Education Department supported the idea and in 2007 the Mitchells Plain School of Skills was registered. The Western Cape Education Department spent R 5 million to build and resource three large workshops.

 

4.3               The process of closing the primary school and reopening the school of skills was performed with the necessary applications to the Minister. The premises housed two schools - a mainstream primary school and a school of skills. This was due to community objections as some felt there was a lack of proper consultation with the Minister.

 

4.4               Although the schools have a working arrangement, there remain problems in respect of administration and operational matters as the premises now has two principals and two School Governing Bodies. There is a need to stagger the break-times and school closure to separate the learners and minimise noise levels. In addition, the school of skills has to make special arrangements for special projects and programmes run by the school in order to accommodate the primary school.

 

4.5               It has been argued that within a 3 kilometer radius, there are at least seven primary schools with the necessary space to accommodate the learners of the primary school. Many agree that the best solution would be for the learners of the primary school to be absorbed into schools in the surrounding feeder area (one such school is less than 500 meters away from the existing school). All the surrounding primary schools have the space to accommodate these learners.

 

4.6               The Superintendent-General has received further submissions from those affected on the issue of the closure of the primary school. The community is awaiting her response on the issue.

 

4.7               Mitchells Plain School of Skills also offers learners an Academic and Technical Programme as follows:

 

·                     Academic Programme

o  First Additional Language

o  Mathematics

o  Economic Management Sciences/Entrepreneurship

o  Life Skills

o  Technology (first years only)

o  Visual Arts

o  Music

o  Reading Programme

 

·                     Technical Programme

o  Motor Mechanics

o  Welding

o  Food Studies

o  Upholstery

o  Life Care

o  Clothing

o  Hair Dressing

 

4.8        At the beginning of the second year, learners, on the advice of the educator and their parents choose a technical subject which he/she carries until fourth year. The academic programme is taught as practical as possible at the learner’s level. All classes are multi-grade classes. The school also tries to send learners, in their fourth year, to different work placements. The idea is to find employment when they leave school. The school has only been successful in placing the Food Studies group.

 

The main challenges facing the Mitchells Plain School of Skills can be summarised as follows:

·         Resolving the problem of closure of the primary school to allow the school of           skills to operate optimally.

·         The completion of any outstanding renovations to the school of skills          infrastructure.

·         A need for more Schools of Skills in the area.

·         Problems with the accreditation of learners.

·         Recruiting educators for schools of skills.

·         Learner drug problems.

 

5.       De Grendel School of skills

 

5.1  Headed by Mr. Deon Strydom, the school is located at the corners of Koeberg and Noble Roads in Milnerton, Cape Town. The school is part of a cluster of schools of skills in the Western Cape and has a total enrollment of 600 learners. This is a school for learners with special educational needs.

 

5.2  With the necessary infrastructure, the school offers learners both academic and technical subjects as follows:

 

·            Academic Courses

o        Grades 7, 8 and 9 – Outcomes Based Education;

o        outcome statements are developed to indicate what the learner needs to achieve - These are reflected in learning programmes;

o        lessons are prepared based on the outcomes in the learning area;

o        the syllabus followed and exams written are of the same standard as those of all Schools of Skills in the country; and

o        the Vocational Training prepares learners for Level 1 entrance to a Technical College (level 3).    

 

·               Technical Courses

o        These subjects enable the learners to pursue their interest in a particular direction;

o        theory learned in the classroom is put into practice in the various workshops;

o        this practical specialisation should provide the basis for learners future careers; and

o        there are nine technical courses offered. These are:

§   Hairdressing and Cosmetology (R250 extra)

§   Computer Typing and Office Practice

§   Woodwork

§   Institutional Management, Cooking and Nursing

§   Sheet metalwork

§   Panel beating

§   Spray painting

§   General Maintenance

§   Welding

 

Attendance is rotated per day with one group (300) in a workshop while the other group attends academic classes.

 

5.3  The school offers a four year programme with the first year being the academic year while the other three years focus on skills acquisition.

 

5.4  The skills they offer depends on the job market available in the geographical area of the school.

 

5.5  The school depends on the assessment instrument provided by the Western Cape Education Department to place learners in the school.

 

5.6. The indication was that there are many learners on the waiting list to be admitted to the school which calls for more schools of this nature to be opened.

 

5.7. Dr Theron thanked the Portfolio Committee members for the well intended effort to observe the situation in these kinds of schools. He indicated that if it were not for these schools, the dropout rate would have been higher. It is therefore the aim of the school to pick up potential dropouts and give them qualifications.

 

5.8. The statistics released by the South African National Association for Specialised Education          

        indicated that more than 60% of these learners are placed in employment after leaving school.

 

5.9. The main challenges in the school are:

 

                              5.9.1.  The learners are not issued with certificates.

5.9.2. Schools of the same nature do not follow the same programmes since they         are aligned according to the needs of the particular area.

                              5.9.3. There is no coordination among schools of the same nature and among stakeholders.

                              5.9.4. There is insufficient funding or financial support to run these expensive programmes.

                              5.9.5. The transition of these learners to FET colleges is very difficult or non-

                              existent due to the level of requirements which do not fit this type of learners.

 

6.   Westcliff School of Skills

 

6.1.       The school is in Bellville, Cape Town on the Old Paarl Road.

 

6.2. The delegation met with the Principal, Mr. J.S (Poen) van Schalkwyk.

 

6.3.       The school has 41 personnel. The school has Visual Arts as a course. The courses offered by the school are similar to the courses offered by other schools.

 

6.4.       The school has adopted the Toyota Technical Education Programme (TTEP).

·         The Head Office of the Toyota Motor Company has sponsored the workshop for motor mechanics and spray painting in the school.

·         The programme helps to sharpen the skills of these learners using Toyota equipment and Machinery.

·         This programme has so far produced good spray painters.

·         This is a substantial support from the industry which creates on the job training for leaners.

 

6.5.       Only Northlink College has bridging courses that can accommodate these learners on a      small scale.

 

6.6.       The following are pressing challenges that the school is faced with:

 

6.6.1     Learners are not given certificates upon completion of studies.

6.6.2     Learners are not absorbable into the SETA programmes since their admission requirements are based on theory rather than practical aspects which these learners are more capable to perform.

6.6.3     FET colleges cannot admit these learners because their major requirements are Maths and Science which they lack.

6.6.4     The curriculum in the education system in South Africa does not cater for these

learners.

6.6.5          There is a long waiting list for learners of special needs who are in need of an

opportunity to be admitted to these schools.

 

7.         Recommendations      

           

            The Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, having undertaken an in-loco site visit to Schools of Skills in the Western Cape on 13 April 2010, recommends that                                               the Department of           Basic Education submit to the Portfolio Committee the implementation processes the Department will follow in addressing and facilitating the following:

 

7.1               The issuing of certification for learners at Schools of Skills needs to be addressed. Learners who complete their studies should be issued with valid certificates rather than testimonials in order to enable them to enter the job market with confidence. Umalusi should also be involved in this matter.

7.2               The issue of the long waiting list for admission into these schools needs to be addressed since this affects learners negatively.

7.3               The training of educators with special skills should receive priority. This will enable school authorities to plan for additional classrooms to absorb more learners.

7.4               The establishment of more schools of skills should be prioritised.

7.5               The Department should make bursaries available to aspirant learners interested in pursuing studies in scarce skills.

7.6               Schools of Skills should be established in all provinces to enable learners with learning disabilities to benefit nationally. Currently these schools seem to be concentrated only in the Western Province.

7.7               There should be coordination and communication between all schools of skills in the provinces.

7.8               The transition of learners from Schools of Skills to FET colleges should be investigated and made more user friendly without compromising the standards.

7.9               Learners with learning disabilities experience emotional and psychological problems in the majority of cases. It is strongly recommended that support services by social workers, remedial therapists and educational psychologists be made available to learners in these schools.

7.10            Admission criteria into these schools should be uniform and clear to the general public so that parents of learners with learning disabilities can make informed decisions when they apply for admission.

 

The Committee requests that the Department submits, in writing, an update on progress in respect of all recommendations.

 

Report to be considered.