Education Handbook 3rd Edition

F OREWO R D

Dear readers, The Sunday Times has been an integral part of South Africa’s weekends for more than 100 years, bringing news, entertainment, views, politics and culture into the homes of many. However, since the late 1990’s – as the paper for the people – we are particularly proud of the role we have played in developing educational resources for our readers, their children and teachers.

The effects of colonialism, apartheid and poor service delivery has resulted in South African children getting the worst deal in health, housing, security and education. According to a recent report from the South African Human Rights Commission and the United Nations Children’s Fund: ! There are 18.6 million children below the age of 18 years old in South Africa today; ! A child born in South Africa today will on average live for 53 years, compared to a Brazilian child who will live to 73 years of age; and ! About seven million children only have access to 1.8 percent of the total national household income.

These children are less likely to have access to adequate sanitation and water – 1.4 million get their main source for water from streams and rivers and 1.5 million have no toilets in their homes.

Only 43 percent of children under five are exposed to early childhood development programmes which are crucial in their mental development and readiness for school and life. And one in five children is stunted in growth as a consequence of chronic deprivation of nutrition. In 2009 alone, 30 000 children in South Africa, under the age of 15, died of AIDS, accounting for 12% of the global share of deaths.

It is, therefore, not surprising that every year, for over a decade, more than two thirds of South African learners have dropped out of school without achieving a Matric Certificate. This is a devastating statistic. We at the Sunday Times believe that in order to improve this statistic children need to have high levels of age-appropriate literacy and numeracy by Grade 6. As parents and teachers we cannot allow them to get all the way to the FET phase in the schooling system before they are held back, drop out or get mediocre Matric results.

This is why Sunday Times is committed to the Foundations for Learning campaign, launched by the Department of Basic Education (DoBE) in 2008. ReadRight in the Sunday Times has underpinned the principles of foundations for learning for over 10 years. In addition, the Sunday Times Storybook adds much-needed reading resources to primary schools. In two years we have distributed 1.65 million storybooks in all official languages free to more than 7 000 primary schools across the country. Through our partnerships with the DoBE, NGOs and many in the corporate sector we believe a village raises a child and in doing so we have to bring our readers and your sector together to improve the standard of education from Grade R to 12.

Our children need us to care for them. They need us to demand accountability from our government to provide them with decent education and resources to learn. They need us to show them the value of leadership, good governance and integrity. Join us and over 160 000 teachers and 3 million parents who read the Sunday Times and help to build a community committed to changing the lives of our children.

Ray Hartley Editor Sunday Times

(Source: South Africa’s Children – A review of equity and child right. Published by the SA Human Rights Commission, Unicef and the Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities, April 2011)

CON T ENTS

COVER

LIST OF ACRONYMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IV

CHAPTER 6 SCHOOL MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP . . . . . . . . . 105

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VII

INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION & OVERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

EDUCATING FOR OUR COMMON FUTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107 LEADERSHIP EDUCATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112 REAL PEOPLE DOING UNREAL THINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116

HANDS UP 4 EDUCATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 OVERVIEW OF 2010 – 2011 FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF BASIC EDUCATION. . . . . . . . . . .5 KEY STATISTICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 EDUCATION IN CONTEXT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 QUALITY OF EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 KEY CHALLENGES FACING CHILDREN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 KEY FEATURES OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN 2010 – 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 OVERVIEW OF THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTEXT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 SCHOOLING 2025: THE VISION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

CHAPTER 7 THE TEACHER AND THE TEACHING CAREER . . . . . . . 117 INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118 HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE INTEGRATED STRATEGIC PLANNING FRAMEWORK . . . . . . . . .120 THE TEACHING FORCE AND WORKING CONDITIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132 STARS IN EDUCATION AWARDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .134 LITERACY PROGRAMMES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .136

CHAPTER 8 TEACHING RESOURCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

CHAPTER 2 GOVERNANCE & FINANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

GOVERNMENT TAKES OVER PROCUREMENT OF SCHOOL BOOKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138

CO-OPERATIVE GOVERNANCE MODEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

TEXTBOOKS AND WORKBOOKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 2011 NATIONAL BUDGET SPEECH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

WORKBOOKS BY THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .144

KEY TRENDS IN EDUCATION SPEND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

THE EQUAL EDUCATION CAMPAIGN FOR SCHOOL LIBRARIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145

“I was born on 21 February 1980 in

DEVELOPING CONDUCIVE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR BETTER EDUCATION . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

QUALITY OF SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150

Lusaka, Zambia; I became an artist at

E-LEARNING AND THE ROLE OF ICT IN EDUCATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .152

the age of 5 being inspired by marvel

CHAPTER 3 TOWARDS IMPROVED COLLABORATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Published by Argo www.argo.org.za, Tel 021 865 2813 or info@argo.org.za.

Published in Stellenbosch, South Africa, May 2011.

By Argo, Devon Valley Road, Stellenbosch, South Africa. Tel: 021 865 2813, info@argo.org.za, www.argo.org.za Managing Editor: Sue Fontannaz Editorial team: Jeanne Reeder, Wendy Viljoen, Janine Nel. Production Manager: Jeanne Reeder Design and Layout: VR Graphics Printing: Paarl Media Disclaimer: While every effort has been taken to ensure that the information contained in this publication is accurate and complete, Argo cannot accept any legal responsibility for action taken on the information given or the opinions expressed on this information. E & 0.E. All rights reserved. The material in this publication may not be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of the copyright holder. Any information from the Education Handbook used in other sources must accurately reference the publisher and the title of the Handbook.

Copyright of photographs resides with the photographers.

ISBN: 978-0-620-50482-9 Education Handbook

SUPPORTING LOCAL ARTIST REST O NE MA A MBO

comics, newspapers short comics

SUSTAINABLE CORPORATE SOCIAL INVESTMENT IN EDUCATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62

CHAPTER 9 EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT AND ADULT BASIC EDUCATION AND TRAINING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

WE NEED A NEW TRIPARTITE ALLIANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66

INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160

of that time. I grew up without much

ALLIANCES FOR IMPROVED EDUCATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68

GRADE R TARGETS AND ROLL-OUT ACHIEVEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161

childhood friends, and this strongly

MICHAEL & SUSAN DELL FOUNDATION SOUTH AFRICA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76

IMPROVED IMPLIMENTATION FOR GRADE R . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163

FINDING THE BRIGHT SPOTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78

developed the spirit of art in me. Art

THE THREE R’S AT ANY AGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .166

SYSTEMS THINKING METHODOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING EDUCATION DELIVERY . . . . . .60

CHAPTER 4 SCHOOLS AT THE CENTRE OF THE COMMUNITY . . . . . . 81 SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES: BUILDING EFFECTIVE PARTNERSHIPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83 HOW DO CHILDREN’S CIRCUMSTANCES HAMPER MEANINGFUL ACCESS TO EDUCATION? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86 BRIDGE COMMUNITY FOR EFFECTIVE PRACTICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91 FUNDA UJABULE – “LEARN AND BE JOYFUL” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92

CHAPTER 5 TOWARDS QUALITY BASIC EDUCATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 LEARNERS’ PERCEPTION AS TO WHAT CONTRIBUTES TO THEIR SCHOOL SUCCESS . . .94

FAIRHILLS GROWING “FORESTS” THROUGH EDUCATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .171 ADULT BASIC EDUCATION AND TRAINING AND LITERACY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174

and people around my community

is my life and I keep asking myself what would I be and what was life going to be with me if I wasn’t? In

CHAPTER 10 HIGHER EDUCATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

2007 was granted 1st prize as the

INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .180

most successful artist at the Ruth

TRANSFORMATION MODEL IN HIGHER EDUCATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .180 PROMOTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .190 STUDENT ACCESS, EQUITY AND FUNDING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .196

Prowse School of Art by SASA, and in 2009 I was awarded Certificate of Recommendation in Oils at

IMPACT OF THE STRIKE ACTION ON THE MATRIC RESULTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98

USEFUL SOURCES OF INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

the South African society of artists

PROJECT FOR THE STUDY OF ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION IN

2011 EDUCATION CONFERENCES IN SOUTH AFRICA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .204

103 annual exhibition. Some of my

SOUTH AFRICA (PRAESA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99

CONTACT LIST: TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .207

MATHS AND SCIENCE LEARNER SUPPORT PROGRAMMES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101

CONTACT LIST: FET COLLEGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .208

THE ANNUAL NATIONAL ASSESSMENTS (ANA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102

USEFUL LINKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .210

THE QUALITY LEARNING AND TEACHING CAMPAIGN (QLTC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103

GENERAL CONTACT DETAILS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .212

Gallery and at Dorp Street Gallery in

IMPROVED TEACHING QUALITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215

Stellenbosch. ”

www.ed.org.za

www.ed.org.za

art works are currently found in Cape Town at the Everald Read Art

LIST OF ACRONYMS

L I ST OF ACRONYMS

ISATS: Integrated Summative Assessment Tasks JIPSA: Joint Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition

ABET: Adult Basic Education and Training

CTAs: Continuous Tasks of Assessment

GMR: Global Monitoring Report (UNESCO)

ACE: Advanced Certificate in Education

DBE: Department of Basic Education

GP: Gauteng

ADE: Advanced Diploma in Education

DET: Former (Apartheid-era) Department of Education and Training

GPI: Gender Parity Index

LOLT: Language of learning and teaching LP: Limpopo

AIMS: African Institute for Mathematical Sciences

LSMs: Learner Support Materials FET: Further Education and Training

DHET: Department of Higher Education and Training

FS: Free State

LTSMs: Learning and Teaching Support Materials

DoE: Department of Education (national)

HAIs: Historically Advantaged Institutions

KZN: KwaZulu-Natal

DoL: Department of Labour

HBTs: Historically Black Technikons

DoF: Department of Finance

HBUs: Historically Black Universities

MCTE: Ministerial Committee on Teacher Education

EC: Eastern Cape

HE: Higher Education

BCMS: Business, Commerce and Management Science

ECD: Early Childhood Development

HEDCOM: Heads of Departments Committee

B. Ed: Bachelors in Education

ECEC: Early Childhood Education and Care

BEPs: Built Environment Professionals

EFA: Education For All

C2005: Curriculum 2005

EGRA: Early Grade Reading Assessment

CAPS: Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement

ELRC: Education Labour Relations Council

ANA: Annual National Assessments AsgiSA: Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative – South Africa BBBEE or BEE: Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment

ELRU: Early Learning Resources Unit

MDGs: Millennium Development Goals

HEQC: Higher Education Quality Committee

MLA: Monitoring Learning Achievement (UNESCO) MP: Mpumalanga

HEIs: Higher Education Institutions

MTEF: Medium Term Expenditure Framework

HESA: Higher Education South Africa

MTSF: Medium-Term Strategic Framework

HoDs: Heads of Departments

NC: Northern Cape

CATE: Colleges of Advanced Technical Education

EPWP: Expanded Public Works Programme

HRDSA: Human Resources Development of South Africa

NCHE: National Commission on Higher Education

CBOs: Community Based Organisations

ESF: Equitable Share Formula

HSRC: Human Sciences Research Council

NCS: National Curriculum Statement

CBR: Country Background Report: South African Education

ETDP: Education, Training and Development Practices

HWUs: Historically White Universities

NC(V): National Certificate (Vocational)

CDG: Care Dependency Grant

EU: European Union

ICT: Information and Communication Technology

NEEDU: National Education Evaluation and Development Unit

CEM: Council of Education Ministers

GEAR: Growth, Equity and Redistribution

IEA: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement

NEIMS: National Education Infrastructure Management

CHE: Council on Higher Education

GERs: Grade-specific Gross Enrolment Rates INSET: In-Service Teacher Education

CPTD: Continuing Professional Teacher Development

GET: General Education and Training

NEPAD: New Partnership for Africa’s Development

CSG: Child Support Grant

GGLM: Good Governance Learning Network

CSD: Centre for Social Development

GHS: General Household Survey

IV

LIST OF ACRONYMS

IQMS: Integrated Quality Management System IPET: Initial Professional Education of Teachers

www.ed.org.za

NER: Net Enrolment Ratio NEET: Neither Employed, Educated or Trained

www.ed.org.za

LIST OF ACRONYMS

NFF: New Funding Framework

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES

PGCE: Post Graduate Certificate in Education

NGOs: Non-Government Organisations NMF: Nelson Mandela Foundation NNSSF: National Norms and Standards for School Funding NPDE: National Professional Diploma in Education NPHE: National Plan for Higher Education

PIRLS: Progress in International Reading Literacy Study POS: Public Ordinary Schooling QLTC: Quality Learning and Teaching Campaign QIDS UP: Quality Improvement, Development, Support and Upliftment Programme

NQF: National Qualifications Framework

LI S T O F FI G U R E S A N D T A B L E S

SEN: Special Educational Needs SET: Science, Engineering and Technology SETAs: Sector Education and Training Authorities SGBs: School Governing Bodies SIAS: Strategy on Screening, Identification, Assessment and Support

LI S T O F FI G U RE S

P A GE

FIGURE 1: Towards an understanding of why some poorly resourced schools manage to perform academically excellent: interrelationship between the six essential qualities of mutual acceptance as primary condition for successful pedagogical dialogue

97

FIGURE 2: School successes

97

SMMEs: Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises

FIGURE 3: A system for identifying and addressing teachers’ development needs

123

NSA: National Skills Authority

QCTO: Quality Council for Trades and Occupations

SNE: Special Needs Education

FIGURE 4: A coordinated, coherent national system for teacher education and development

127

NSC: National Senior Certificate examination

RM: Million South African Rands

SoLG: State of Local Government

FIGURE 5: The number of candidates enrolled (full-time and part-time) for Grade 12 examinations from 2006 to 2010

197

NSDP: National Skills Development Policy

RNCS: Revised National Curriculum Statement

Stats SA: Statistics South Africa

FIGURE 6: Comparison of performance 2008 - 2010

197

TIMSS: Third International Mathematics and Science Study

FIGURE 7: NSC performance 2008 - 2010

198

SACE: South African Council of Educators

NSDS: National Skills Development Strategy NSE: Norms and Standards for Educators NSF: National Skills Fund NSFAS: National Student Financial Aid Scheme

SACMEQ: Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality

TIMSS-R: Third International Mathematics and Science Study-Repeat

LI S T O F T AB L E S TABLE 1: Perceptions of primary and secondary education in South Africa

11

TABLE 2: Departments and services areas covered in the report

45

TABLE 3: Total 2010/11 allocations for focus departments

46

TABLE 4: Percentage of total provincial budget allocated to key sectors by province

46

TABLE 5: Provincial budgets for nutrition sub-programme (R1000)

46

TABLE 6: Per learner allocations per province (Rands)

47

TABLE 7: Budget of national Department of Basic Education (Rm)

47

TABLE 8: Conditional grants of the national departments of education (Rm)

49

TABLE 9: Budgetary share of programmes within provincial education budgets

49

WC: Western Cape

TABLE 10: Electricity source facility grid in ordinary schools

50

OVC: Orphans and Vulnerable Children

SA-SAMS: South African School Administration and Management System

YAC: Youth Advisory Centre

TABLE 11: Water source facility grid in ordinary schools

50

PDEs: Provincial Departments of Education

SC: Senior Certificate

ZAR: South African Rands

TABLE 12: Fencing and security facility grid in ordinary schools

51

NSNP: National School Nutrition Programme NW: North-West NYDA: National Youth Development Agency OBE: Outcome-Based Education

SAHRC: South African Human Rights Commission SAIDE: South African Institute of Distance Education SANLI: South African Literacy Institute

TBVC: Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda and Ciskei UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation

SAPS: South African Police Services SAPSE: South African Post-Secondary Education

ODL: Open and Distance Learning OECD: Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development

TOT: Time On Task

UNICEF: United Nations Children’s Fund UNISA: University of South Africa

SAQA: South African Qualifications Authority

VAT: Value-Added Tax

SARS: South African Revenue Services

VET: Vocational Educational and Training

OSD: Occupation-Specific Dispensation SASA: South African Schools Act, 1996 OTL: Opportunities To Learn

VI

LIST OF ACRONYMS

www.ed.org.za

www.ed.org.za

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES

VII

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES

TABLE 13: Provincial budgets for public special school education programme (R1000)

54

TABLE 14: Provincial budgets for early childhood education programme (R1000)

54

TABLE 15: 2010/11 targets in respect of number of learners

56

TABLE 16: 2010/11 measures in respect of number of school infrastructure

56

TABLE 17: Who will write the ANA IN 2011?

102

TABLE 18: Percentage of 5-year-olds attending educational institutions: 2002 - 2009

162

TABLE 19: Number and proportion of the population aged 20 and above by level of education: 2002 - 2009

175

TABLE 20: Number of learner, educators and institutions in ABET programmes by province: 2005 - 2008

177

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION & OVERVIEW

IT’S TIME FOR ACTION …

INTRODUCTION

2

HANDS UP 4 EDUCATION

4

Join

the

action

leaders

OVERVIEW OF 2010 – 2011 FROM THE DEPARTMENT

in

education, and let’s focus on action, by tracking the top 100 projects on www.ed.org.za

OF BASIC EDUCATION

5

KEY STATISTICS

8

EDUCATION IN CONTEXT

9

to inspire belief in the power of

QUALITY OF EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICA

10

education.

KEY CHALLENGES FACING CHILDREN

13

KEY FEATURES OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN 2010 – 2013

14

OVERVIEW OF THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTEXT

24

SCHOOLING 2025: THE VISION

28

PURPOSE OF THE EDUCATION HANDBOOK

W ELCOM E TO THE SECON D E DITION OF TH E E D UC A TION H ANDBOOK This edition of the Education Handbook profiles the work of key education leaders, to encourage cross-sectoral collaboration. The Education Handbook aims to provide key stakeholders in the public and private sectors with a comprehensive overview of the state of education in South Africa.

The focus is on supporting our Government’s Action Plan to 2014: Towards the Realization of Schooling 2025. It is also designed to encourage collaboration on research and connecting with other education leaders to ensure that it offers education leaders a comprehensive reference to the policies, frameworks, projects, research, collaboration and initiatives that shape the future of education.

THIS HANDBOOK OFFERS YOU: ! a snapshot of statistics (with access to more detailed online resources) ! an overview of the latest Government strategy and policy implementation strategies ! an overview of education projects initiated by education action leaders in the private sector ! further understanding of the context and challenges faced.

And above all, we offer a positive viewpoint and ways forward. We believe that forward movement comes from celebrating every success without naively downplaying the realities and challenges faced.

It is a remarkable example of collaboration and participation that connects various role-players in a pro-active way to make a discernable difference in education and we would like to thank all the contributors that have contributed to this edition.

From the Argo Team

We would also like to encourage collaboration on the third edition of the Education Handbook, by inviting education leaders to send through research, insights and opinions to info@argo.org.za or to visit www.ed.org.za.

www.ed.org.za

www.ed.org.za

CHAPTER 1 | INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

3

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LET’S SUPPORT ALL LEARNERS TO BECOME THE SUCCESSFUL WORLD LEADERS OF TOMORROW – WE KNOW THEY CAN!

STATISTICS

EDUCATION IN CONTEXT

ST A TISTICS

E D U C A T I O N I N C O N T E XT

Mere numbers cannot depict the epidemics and issues that lies within our education system. However, statistics can highlight direct circumstances, injustice and areas where action would have the most impact. The statistics overview includes summaries of key numbers, which were described in the first edition of the Education Handbook.

While we celebrate the gains freedom has brought in terms of laws and policy, it will take a far longer “walk to freedom” to step out of the cycles of poverty which still overshadow education. A child cannot concentrate on new facts when they are hungry, cannot do homework in the dark and cannot discover their full potential in an ill-equipped school.

GENERAL SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTEXT

TEACHER STATISTICS

31.1:1 – National average learner to teacher ratio.

80:20 – Ratio of personnel costs to non-personnel costs,

POPULATION STATISTICS

10% (4.7 Million) South Africans are completely illiterate 28.5% Unemployment rate in the 25-34 year age group 50.2% Unemployment rate in the 15-24 year age group 42.2% of South Africa’s population of 47.9 million is under 20 years

down from 90:10 in 1995

Achievements:

!"""45 % – Population in undeveloped rural areas !"""21.3% – Households with no electricity !"""13.9% – Households with no access to piped water

!"""21.2 % increase in number of children receiving child grants between 1995 and 2003. !"""R13.2 billion allocated to social security in 2009 budget to protect the poor from economic downturn.

CHALLENGES 22% of children aged 0-14 eligible to receive child grants are not receiving them.

IMPACT OF HUNGER LEARNER STATISTICS

National Schools Nutrition Programme was implemented:

Achievements

14 167 086 – Learners in all sectors of the educational system.

200 000 – Children between the ages of 7-15 currently receive

!"""with aims to feed Gr R – 7 year olds for 156 of 196 school days !"""community involvement

!"""R1 billion invested !"""6 million meals served at 18 000 schools !"""6 226 schools established vegetable gardens !"""60% more children fed than first projected

CHALLENGES

Ways Forward: OECD suggests improved:

OECD observed that: !"""Annual budget increases fall short of food price inflation !"""Delivery to rural areas inhibited by poor roads !"""Fraud in tendering !"""Food misdirected to other beneficiaries

!"""tendering transparency !"""supplier payment transparency !"""school and provincial accountability

no form of schooling

Percentage of SA Adults who have completed High School Grades 30% (Gr12)

SCHOOL STATISTICS

476:1 – National average learner to school ratio IMPACT OF HEALTH and HIV/AIDS

50% (Gr 9) GRADUATE STATISTICS 75% (Gr6)

15% - Average national undergraduate graduation rate 13.5% - Percentage of total national education expenditure spent

!"""17.4% (over 2 million) children have lost a parent to AIDS !"""3% (371 000) children orphaned by AIDS !"""5.4% HIV infection rate, children aged 2-18

Initiatives

CHALLENGES

Ways Forward:

HIV/AIDS impacts education as learners:

!"""NGO’s with further connections and various strategies add to the struggle against HIV/AIDS Eg. Lovelife, GOLD – peer education

!"""HIV/AIDS: peer education programmes !"""Health and Hygiene: 42 000 playing cards !"""Food Safety: 18 403 training files distributed

on higher education

!"""leave school to care for the sick !"""leave school to work to support households !"""experience depression due to bereavement and their own HIV positive status

“My teacher says my writing is better. That candle it was no good, now I can see my book at night.” Nkosinathi, 12

SAFETY

“I can’t say I am an unlucky person. My friend must wake up and walk two hours to school and I walk only one hour.” Unathi, 8

!"""77% of children in South African schools do not feel safe in their classrooms.

“Now I am coping. My brother is 2 and my sisters are 4 and 6 years.

Without help from these people I do not know how I could still go to school.” Naledi, 15

8

CHAPTER 1 | INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

EQUALITY: RACIAL and GENDER The Department of Education believes in supporting values that build community and social cohesion.

Initiatives: !"""Events to commemorate significant days !"""My Country, South Africa – Opening Our Eyes: a training manual for addressing gender-based violence.

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CHAPTER 1 | INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

9

ONLY HALF OF METRO ADULTS FEEL THAT SA’S QUALITY OF EDUCATION IS GOOD

ONLY HALF OF METRO ADULTS FEEL THAT SA’S QUALITY OF EDUCATION IS GOOD

O N LY HA L F OF METRO AD U LTS F E E L T HAT SA’ S Q U ALI T Y O F EDUCATION IS G OOD Onl y h a l f o f S o u t h A f r i c a ’ s m e t ro dwellers feel that the quality of edu c a t i o n i n t h i s c o u n t r y i s g o od. This is according to a survey released

by T N S R e s e a r c h S u r v e y s , S o u t h Africa’s leading marketing and social insi g h t s c o m p a n y .

MIXED FEELINGS The quality of education is under the spotlight. Whilst the matric pass rate amongst full-time learners rose, it is generally agreed that the foundations begin at primary school level. With this in mind, TNS asked people to agree or disagree with two statements: The quality of primary education in South Africa is good ! Agree – 54% (black – 60%; white – 42%; coloured – 50%; Indian/Asian – 43% ! Disagree – 36% ! Don’t know – 10% The quality of secondary education in South Africa is good ! Agree – 50% (black – 53%; white – 39%; coloured – 54%; Indian/Asian – 43% ! Disagree – 38% ! Don’t know – 13% Younger people are much more positive: Agree that quality of primary education is good ! Under 49 years – 56% ! 50 years and over – 44%

Agree that quality of secondary education is good

TABLE 1: Perceptions of primary and secondary education in South Africa. % Quality of primary education is good

Quality of secondary education is good

59

50

61

53

Johannesburg excl Soweto

60

52

East Rand

62

55

West Rand

53

60

Soweto

57

50

Vaal Triangle/South Rand

74

50

Pretoria

50

39

Cape Town

48

48

Durban

49

52

Eastern Cape

44

44

Port Elizabeth

43

46

East London

47

40

63

50

Gauteng Johannesburg and environs

! Under 49 years – 51% ! 50 years and over – 41% (especially those aged 60 and over – 36%) Bloemfontein

There is little variation in the results for those having children at home compared with those who do not.

Amongst the black language groupings, those whose home language is Sotho were more positive about primary education (67% feel it is of good quality compared with 54% of those whose home language is Xhosa), whilst Zulus are more positive about secondary education (57% say it is good quality compared with 44% of Tswana speakers).

DIFFERENC ES BY ARE A There are quite notable differences by area on the primary education results with Gauteng (especially the Vaal Triangle and the South Rand) being more positive than Cape Town, Durban and the Eastern Cape. People in Bloemfontein are also quite positive.

On secondary education, differences are much smaller with the West Rand the most positive whilst Pretoria and the Eastern Cape are the most negative.

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TE C HN I CA L NO T E THE TAK E O U T It is of concern that the metro population is so ambivalent about the quality of our education system. South Africa contributes 25% of Africa’s GDP to education and already has a major skills shortage.

It needs a steady supply of well-educated people who can make a difference. The results of this study suggest that there is relatively little confidence in the education system – over a third of metro adults feel that the quality of education is poor. This does not augur well for people seeking employment based on matric results

The study was conducted amongst 2 000 adults (1260 blacks, 385 whites, 240 coloureds and 115 Indians/Asians) in the seven major metropolitan areas: it has a margin of error of under 2.5% for the results found for the total sample. The studies use probability sampling techniques and are fully representative of the major metropolitan areas. The study was conducted by TNS Research Surveys (Pty) Ltd as part of their ongoing research into current social and political issues.

only, as employers may not take results at face value. Further, South Africa cannot afford the cost of a third of full-time students failing matric and either ending up with a lack of qualifications or having to re-write their examinations.1

1 TNS Research Surveys (Pty) Ltd, 2010. Perceptions of primary and secondary education in South Africa. www.tnsresearchsurveys.co.za

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CHAPTER 1 | INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

11

KEY CHALLENGES FACING CHILDREN

KE Y C H A L L E N G E S FA C I N G C H I L D R E N

There is a drop-out problem from age 15 onwards. While the attendance rate for 14 year olds is 98%, this drops to 95% for 15 year olds, 93% for 16 year olds, and 88% for 17 year-olds (De Lannoy & Lake, 2008).

South Africa rates relatively well on standard indicators o f a c c e s s t o education. For example, in 2008 the overall gross enrolm e n t r a t e f o r t h e primary phase (grades 1-7) was 98,0%, although this drop p e d t o 8 5 , 0 % f o r the secondary phase (grades 8-12). For the two grades c o m b i n e d , the gross enrolment rate was 92,0% (National Treasury, 2 0 0 9 : 2 7 ) .

The standard indicators must, however, be treated with caution in that many learners are not the correct age for the grade in which they are enrolled due, among others, to high rates of repetition.

DECLINE IN ENROLMENT: The general household survey (GHS) conducted by Statistics South Africa in July 2009 found that 81,2% of persons aged 7-24 were attending educational institutions (Statistics South Africa, 2010: 10ff). Our own calculations for the age group 7-17 find that 96,4% of these children were reported to be attending educational institutions.

The survey found a small decline in enrolment rates in most provinces between 2007 and 2009, which it suggests could reflect the impact of the international economic crisis on households. Indeed, when asked to give the reason for non-attendance, lack of money emerges as the most common reason.

IMPACT OF NO FEE SCHOOL POLICY: The survey also found that 44,5% of those who were attending educational institutions in 2009 were not paying tuition fees. This could reflect the impact of the no-fee school policy. The percentage of non-payers was highest in Free State and Eastern Cape (66% each). The percentage was lowest in Gauteng (26%) and West-

ern Cape (32%), in line with lower levels of poverty in these provinces.

PROBLEMS EXPERIENCED

BY LEARNERS: When asked what problems enrolled learners experienced at schools, the most common response was lack of books, which affected 7% of learners. However, in response to a separate question, 18,8% of the learners said that they experienced violence, corporal punishment or verbal abuse at school. Corporal punishment was most commonly reported in Eastern Cape (26%) and KwaZulu-Natal (25%).

SCHOOL FEEDING SCHEME: 61,6% of public school learners said that they received food at school. This benefit was most common in Northern Cape (87%), with Eastern Cape the next most common, (70%).

ATTENDANCE: The attendance rate was 96,5% for children aged 7 to 17 years in 2009. This means that approximately 400 000 children were not enrolled in or attending school.

Non-attendance and drop out are caused by a range of factors including poverty; the stoppage (in 2007) of the child support grant at age 15 years (this has now been addressed by the extension to 18 announced

at the end of 2009); lack of trained staff and accessible facilities in mainstream schools for children with moderate disabilities; children needing to stay at home to care for a sick parent, caregiver or sibling; children heading households; unhappiness with the poor quality of schooling; and lack of access for foreign children (see Fleisch et al, 2009; Dieltiens & Meny-Gilbert, 2009).

TEENAGE PREGNANCY: For young women, pregnancy repeatedly emerges as the single most important cause for dropping out and non-attendance (Social Surveys & Centre for Applied Legal Studies, 2009).

SCHOOL CONDITIONS: There are still discrepancies between provinces in terms of the conditions under which education is provided. Overall, the 2009 Provincial Budgets and Expenditure Review (National Treasury: 2005) reported an average of 31 learners to each educator in public ordinary schools 33 : KwaZuluNatal; 29 : Free State.

There are even bigger differences in the average number of learners per school, which ranges from 358 in Eastern Cape to 863 in Gauteng. The smaller numbers in the more rural provinces reflect the less dense population and can result in small schools with multi-grade classes. This makes learning more difficult for both teachers and learners.

Budlender, D. & Proudlock, P. (2010) Child centred analysis of governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s budget 2010 - 2012. Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Institute, University of Cape Town.

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CHAPTER 1 | INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

13

KEY FEATURES OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN

K E Y FEATURES OF T HE STRATEGIC PLAN 2 0 10- 2013

needs of all education officials, principals, teachers and learners.

The over-arching key strategic objective will be the establishment of a long term plan for the basic education sector to be known as Schooling 2025: An Action Plan for the Improvement of Basic Education. It will allow for the monitoring of progress against a set of measurable indicators and will cover all aspects of basic education including, amongst others, enrolments and retention of learners, educational quality including teachers and learning and teaching support materials, infrastructure, school funding, learner well-being and school safety, and adult literacy.

D E VE L O P E D B Y T H E D EP ARTMENT O F B AS IC E DU C ATIO N

Government has made education its apex priority. It has placed education and skills development at the centre of this administration’s priorities. The importance given to education and skills development is born out of the creation of two Ministries – that of Basic Education focusing primarily on schools in order to achieve the goal of a quality basic education system, and the Ministry of Higher Education and Training in order to deliver an improved higher education and training system which will provide a diverse range of learning opportunities for youth and adults.

It is the responsibility of the national department of education to develop and maintain national policies for the sector on the basis of monitoring, evaluation and research. It is also the responsibility of the national department to work closely with provincial departments in order to ensure that provincial budgets and strategies support national policies.

The over-arching goal is to improve the quality of learning and learner achievement. The Department of Basic Education has a crucial monitoring, policy-making and leadership responsibility in improving the quality of learning. The FIRST KEY STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE is to streamline the curriculum: amending parts of the existing curriculum in order to remove certain administrative burdens and make it easier for teachers to teach.

The SECOND KEY STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE is to develop a detailed and inte-

14

grated strategy on the assessment of learners demonstrating how the assessment of learners in Grades R to 9 will be taken forward in the coming years. Research has demonstrated that comprehensive and contextually relevant accountability systems are one of the most effective ways to turn around a schooling system.

THE THIRD KEY STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE recognises the key role that teachers play in curriculum delivery and the achievement of quality learning and teaching.

We need to ensure that the goals of the strategic plan are achieved through collaboration with key education stakeholder organisations, including teacher unions, universities and other training providers, as well as the South African Council for Educators.

THE FOURTH STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE: In order to achieve quality learning and teaching, workbooks will be distributed

CHAPTER 1 | INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

Angie Motshekga, Minister of Basic Education.

to all Grades R to 9 learners in all public schools in order to facilitate the implementation of the curriculum and, in particular, to ensure that learners perform sufficient practical exercises in the year.

THE FIFTH KEY STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE recognises the key role that principals play in the functionality of schools in order to create the conditions through which quality learning and teaching can take place. In order to ensure that the management and governance capacity of school principals are improved and school functionality be enhanced, a strategy on how the Department can become more directly involved in the development and effective implementation of education management training will be finalised.

Schooling 2025 will co-ordinate and guide all interventions in the Basic Education system in order to turn the system around.

The plan will establish key outcomes and performance deliverables for the entire education system, including the national and provincial departments. The plan will commit provinces and provincial education departments to clear agreed-to outcomes and to ensure that all in the system are accountable for attaining these outcomes.

The Strategic Plan for 2010 -2013 will form the basis for the Schooling 2025 Action Plan.

In the FINAL KEY STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE, the Department commits itself to strengthening reporting on the state of basic education through the publication of more frequent reports flowing from the monitoring and research work of the Department, and in particular, the publication of an annual report on the state of the basic education sector that will track the progress of the sector against the Schooling 2025 Action Plan.

– Angie Motshekga, Minister of Basic Education

THE SIXTH KEY STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE is to strengthen the Department’s web presence and to promote the e-Education strategy, catering for the information

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THE PURPOSE OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN

T H E P U R P O S E OF THE ST R AT E G I C P L A N The plan explains what the objectives and activities of the Department of Basic Education (DoBE) are for the three years of the 2010/11 to 2012/13 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period.

For this strategic plan to be understood properly, it should be read together with the plan Schooling 2025: An Action Plan for the Improvement of Basic Education. Schooling 2025 explains what will occur in the basic education sector as a whole, whilst the current plan outlines what will occur within the Department of Basic Education in order to realise the goals of the sector as a whole. Though the sector goals are described comprehensively in Schooling 2025, they are summarised in the next section, given their importance for the work of the Department.

It is the responsibility of the national department to work closely with provincial departments in order to ensure that provincial budgets and strategies support national policies, and in the development of new policies. Key mechanisms for fulfilling

OUR NUMBER ONE GOAL

this latter responsibility include the Heads of Department Committee (HEDCOM) and its various sub-committees.

The following are priorities that will support the two learner performance priorities mentioned above:

THE PRIORITIES FOR T H E SE C TO R

! All children will participate in Grade R by 2014.

The key goals and priorities for basic education can be summarised as follows:

! All learners and teachers engaged in teaching and learning for the requisite number of hours per day will receive special emphasis.

! The number of Grade 12 learners who pass the national examinations and qualify to enter a Bachelors programme at a university will increase to 175 000 by 2014, compared to the current figure of around 105 000. Moreover, by 2014 the number of Grade 12 learners passing mathematics and physical science will be 225 000 and 165 000 respectively. ! The percentage of learners in Grades 3, 6 and 9 in public schools who obtain the minimum acceptable mark in national assessments for language and mathematics (or numeracy) will be at least 60% by 2014. Currently the figure varies between 27% and 38%, depending on the subject and grade.

! Workbooks ensure that critical exercises and tasks are performed by learners and teachers, will be distributed to all schools. ! Standardised national assessments of the quality of learning will take place in all public schools.

The above goals and priorities for the sector guide is not just for the Department of Basic Education, but for a number of other organisations, including three key statutory bodies with close links to the Department, namely UMALUSI, the South African Council for Educators (SACE) and the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA).

OUR NUMBER ONE GOAL: IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF L E ARN I N G Many local and international assessments have demonstrated that far too many learners do not perform at the level they should be performing. Much of the underperformance debate has centred around the Grade 12 results, yet the evidence points very clearly to quality of learning problems existing in all levels of the system.

The Department of Basic Education has a crucial monitoring, policymaking and leadership responsibility when it comes to improving the quality of learning. Effective national systems are needed to identify where in the country the most serious problems lie, good research is needed if we are to identify accurately what interventions would be most effective in improving teaching and learning, and strong leadership in the sector is required if quality standards and best practices are to be pursued across all the nine provinces.

KEY STRATEGIC O BJ E C T I V E S B Y P O L I C Y ARE A The eight key strategic objectives focus on monitoring and policy initiatives in the Department. It is recognised that there may be programmes inherited from the past that should be discontinued, or should be fundamentally redesigned for improving implementation and results.

The advantage of identifying a set of key strategic objectives is that this assists both the personnel within the Department, and others with whom the Department must deal, to pay special attention to areas where risks are relatively high, and the skills and expertise of a range of people are needed.

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The Department will strengthen its performance with respect to curriculum research and development. It will build on the work of committees established to streamline the curriculum, plan for the implementation of the reduction of learning areas and greater access to good learning and teaching support materials. It will also plan for improved curriculum monitoring, research and development to support curriculum implementation.

The eight key strategic objectives can be summarised as follows: 1. Improved curriculum implementation 2. An integrated strategy on the assessment of learners 3. A new integrated plan for teacher development 4. Workbooks for Grades R to 9 learners 5. Enhanced education management development capacity within the system 6. The ‘Schooling 2025’ action plan 7. Better reporting on the state of basic education 8. Promotion of the e-Education strategy through web-based access to education information.

THE C U RRI C U L U M Work has already started on improving the curriculum. Several areas have been found in which the existing curriculum, as well as curriculum delivery approaches in schools, could be simplified in the interests of better teaching and learning. Immediate, short-term relief was effected through the discontinuation of learner portfolios, the number of required projects and Continuous Tasks of Assessment (CTAs). The emphasis is on deciding what ought to be taught in each subject or learning area in each grade on a term by term basis.

KEY STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1 : STREAMLINING OF THE CURRICULUM To remove certain administrative and reporting burdens and amend the existing curriculum for Grades R to 12, in order to create more time and opportunity for teaching and learning.

The Internet, and in particular the Thutong Education Portal, will be used to a greater degree than before, to communicate curricula and materials for teaching and learning.

The Department recognises that Internet access is expanding and aims to increase this medium for teachers and even for learners.

In addition, the Department will actively develop and encourage others to develop print and digital materials to promote teaching and learning. These innovations will occur within the framework of the Department’s 2003 e-Education policy.

Research on curriculum delivery in schools has revealed that too many schools do not complete the learning programme for the year. A contributing factor is that educational leadership within schools is often weak.

In 2011, a strengthened and credible system will be introduced to monitor curriculum coverage and programme completion, and ensure accountability of schools and teachers. However, already during 2010 a media campaign to promote programme completion, and to prepare the schooling system for the new monitoring approach, occured. The new system will encompass two elements. On the one hand, a national policy will be developed on how districts should monitor programme completion and intervene where there are problems.

On the other, the national Department will design mechanisms to track improvements and the effectiveness of districts.

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LEARNER ASSESSMENTS

LE A R N E R A S S ESSM EN T S The Department will be actively involved in a number of activities aimed at making a critical impact on the number of passes in the 2010 national Grade 12 examinations.

The message sent to schools in 2010 and beyond will not only be to increase the pass rate, which may result in undesirable holding back of learners in Grade 11, but rather to increase the number of learners passing the examinations.

The activities of the Department will include media campaigns, linked to the Quality Learning and Teaching Campaign (QLTC), the distribution of studyguides, assessment tasks and examination exemplars to learners. The Department will make use of the Thutong web portal, and collaborate with provinces to ensure that there are no Grade 12 learners who are without all the textbooks they need for this critical year in their lives. Special attention will go towards strengthening the teaching and learning of mathematics and physical sciences in schools.

The Dinaledi programme, which focuses on these subjects, will from 2011/12 be funded through a conditional grant. This will provide the Department with new opportunities to ensure that this programme impacts on the participating schools and also that it comes up with best practices that can be applied across the system. In recent years, South Africa has embarked on the ambitious task of running regular standardised tests across schools in all nine provinces in the interests of improving educational quality. This shift towards system-wide standardised tests is in line with best practices in other countries where public concern over quality is high.

The research demonstrates that comprehensive and contextually relevant accountability systems are one of the most effective ways to turn around a schooling system. Though the basic building blocks for system-wide assessments in South African schools, in particular the Systemic Evaluation, Foundations for Learning and

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Annual National Assessments, are in place, there is room for much fine-tuning, and for more creative ways of using assessment data to hold schools accountable, and identify problem hotspots in the system.

The aim is that all learners in Grades R to 9 should write nationally standardised tests, with some external controls over the marking process, and that for a sample of approximately 200 schools per province, the testing and marking process should be externally controlled so that the reliability of the testing process as a whole can be assessed. A key milestone will also be an external evaluation of the Foundations for Learning and Annual National Assessments programmes, to be completed by 2012.

Work will commence on the development of an integrated strategy that will guide matters such as the generation of tests, the promotion of standardised marking of these, the selection and testing procedures for the sample, and, very importantly, how the use of the information by districts, school principals, teachers and parents will improve quality. Experiences in other countries suggest there are critical choices that must be made, and that it is important to seek advice from both local and foreign experts in order to arrive at a strategy that is credible, workable and that can make a difference to learning. At the same time, the international practice suggests that the involvement of teacher organisations in the design of the strategy is vital.

KEY STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 2 : NEW INTEGRATED STRATEGY ON THE ASSESSMENT OF LEARNERS Participation in international testing programmes will continue, partly so that the country’s educational performance can be compared to that in other countries, and partly to improve capacity within the country in the application of the latest assessment methods. Preparation within the Department for South Africa’s participation in the 2012 wave of SACMEQ, which focuses on Grade 6, has already begun.

CHAPTER 1 | INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

Moreover, the Department is actively involved in the preparations for South Africa’s participation in 2011 in PIRLS, focussing on reading, and TIMSS, focussing on mathematics. The Quality Learning and Teaching Campaign (QLTC), launched in 2008 and involving a social compact between teachers, learners, parents and departments, introduced an important framework in which teacher professionalism would be respected and teacher accountability enhanced. The QLTC is a vital campaign that has already brought about greater levels of trust and respect between teachers and their organisations, on the one hand, and departments, on the other. Trust and mutual respect are clearly prerequisites for the development of the right teacher policies, and effective implementation of these policies.

The Department will remain actively involved in the QLTC in the coming years, and will continue to provide secretarial and administrative services to the campaign. A critical responsibility of the Department is the maintenance of a credible and logical set of conditions of service for teachers through ongoing work with teacher unions in the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC).

Both the employer and employee organisations agree that the structure of the salary system is not ideal. In the coming years, considerable effort will go into revisiting the effectiveness of the Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS). Teachers need to feel that the IQMS treats teachers fairly and the programme must lead to measurable improvements in educational quality.

KEY STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 3 : NEW INTEGRATED PLAN FOR TEACHER DEVELOPMENT There is wide agreement amongst education stakeholders that subject knowledge amongst teachers is often well below what it should be. In order to monitor progress in this area, and to clarify precisely what subject content areas need to be addressed, the Department will develop a new approach to assessing teacher com-

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petencies which will support the national development plan for training.

Recent research on teacher supply, demand and utilisation has confirmed the need for better planning in this area, and the need for better data. The finalisation of the first operational version of the Education Human Resources Management Information System (EHRMIS) in 2011 is expected to facilitate planning through the provision of data, such as data on teacher specialisations, which are currently difficult to obtain.

The Department will work closely with the Department of Higher Education and Training to ensure that the Funza Lushaka bursary programme for prospective teachers is strengthened in the interests of an adequate supply of young teachers for public schools in the coming years.

TEXTBOOKS AND WO RK B O O K S KEY STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 4 : WORKBOOKS FOR GRADES R TO 9 LEARNERS To distribute workbooks to all Grades R to 9 learners in all public schools in order to facilitate the implementation of the curriculum among the poorest schools.

With respect to textbooks, the Department has established a Ministerial Committee to investigate pricing and procurement of textbooks, as well as the ongoing maintenance of a national catalogue. The Department will continue to maintain textbook catalogues to guide provinces and schools in the selection of appropriate textbooks for Grades 10 to 12. In addition, however, the Department will commission research that will examine more closely how textbooks are used in schools, and whether certain textbooks are associated with better learning results than others.

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LEARNER WELL-BEING

SCHOOL GOVERNA N C E AND MANAGEMENT Much evidence suggests that proper learning requires functional schools, or schools that provide an enabling environment for teachers. Even the best teachers will find it difficult to do a good job if the school does not have a timetable, colleagues arrive late, and there are no regular meetings with parents. At the heart of a functional school lies a good school principal. Policy on what a functional school is, is captured within the Whole School Evaluation programme and the roles of school principals are defined within the agreements concluded in the ELRC. The Quality Learning and Teaching Campaign (QLTC) places strong emphasis on how various stakeholders contribute towards functional schools. However, it is recognised that policy on what constitutes a functional school, and strategies on how to improve school functionality and build the capacity of school principals, require considerable fine-tuning. The Department will examine strategies for enhancing school management, leadership and governance capacity within its directorate serving this area.

KEY STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 5 : A NATIONAL EDUCATION MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY To strengthen policy, research and development within the Department on education leadership, management and governance.

By early 2011 a detailed proposal on enhancing education leadership, management and governance capacity within the system wil be released. As part of the realisation of the White Paper on e-Education, the coming years will see an extension in the use of the SA-SAMS computerised school administration system, a system tailor-made for South African schools and geared towards making it easier to manage schools. The year 2010 will see virtually all of the over 10 000 public schools which do have computers, making use of SA-SAMS, and during

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2011 and 2012 the focus will shift towards introducing computers and SA-SAMS to all schools. Moreover, work will continue on establishing SA-SAMS as a web-based system, which will greatly facilitate the regular updating of the system as new needs arise.

School functionality implies an environment that feels safe. Guidelines for safe schools developed jointly by the Department and SAPS will continue to form the basis for collaboration between the Department and provinces to rid schools of crime and abuse of learners and teachers. The focus will be on introducing safety interventions in 1 000 high-risk schools across the country.

The 2010/11 financial year will see the introduction of a national policy on the distribution of support staff posts to schools.

In a few provinces the distribution of such staff is still unjust and skewed in favour of historically advantaged schools. In many ways this policy will complete the process of the last ten years of establishing a comprehensive package of pro-poor resourcing policies aimed at eradicating the legacy of apartheid spending patterns.

Several aspects of the school funding system work well. For example, principals and parents are on the whole satisfied with the no-fee schools strategy, which reinforces the need to extend and strengthen this programme. At the same time, several problems in the funding system exist. In particular, the current mechanism for classifying the socio-economic disadvantage of schools on the basis of poverty quintiles lacks sufficient credibility in schools and amongst analysts.

Annual spending on school infrastructure has increased substantially in recent years as part of governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s overall capital investment programme. Between 2005 and 2009, for instance, spending increased by 39% in real terms.

In 2008 a major national project on developing norms for school infrastructure

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and for better targeting of funds was completed. Moreover, the NEIMS information system on school facilities was rolled out to provinces during 2009. Despite these achievements, there is still a sense of frustration in many schools which lack basic facilities such as toilets and classrooms and yet do not know if and when they will benefit from a building project.

L E ARN E R WE L L - B E I N G

standards and ensure that minimum standards are complied with. The Department will revisit the 2008 national funding norms for Grade R and ensure that they become a more integral part of a wider policy that takes into account key curriculum-related matters such as teacher qualifications and class size. The underlying concern is that the Grade R that is universalised, should be a quality Grade R that benefits learners throughout their primary schooling.

In the area of sport, the Department will be working closely with provinces to ensure that sports leagues are fully functioning in at least two districts in each province.

The emphasis on physical education for all Foundation Phase learners will continue.

The Department will continue its collaboration with the Department of Health aimed at strengthening the School Health Survey Programme, in particular within more remote and disadvantaged areas.

This programme was set up to improve the access of learners to services dealing with health problems such as impaired vision and hearing, and inadequate immunisation. The existing national policies on how to deal with HIV, AIDS and related health issues are considered too fragmented and in need of being updated and consolidated within a more integrated strategy.

I N C L U SI V E E D UCA T I O N

G RAD E R

The policy will deal with the financing of all three institutional settings mentioned in the 2001 White Paper on special needs education: special schools, full service schools and ordinary schools. Retention of learners Various studies, including a major Ministerial report on learner retention published in 2008, have indicated that school enrolment at the compulsory level is high, over 95%, and compares well with what occurs in countries similar to South Africa.

Attainment of the national target of universalising Grade R by 2014 needs to be closely monitored by the Department. The Department has been in discussion with Statistics South Africa to make the collection of household data on Grade R and ECD participation generally more precise.

This is a challenge given the range of private providers, though as more Grade R becomes offered in public ordinary schools this will become less of a problem.

Because Grade R, even publicly funded Grade R, has emerged from many different funding, management and pedagogical traditions, it has been difficult to develop

The last few years have seen substantial piloting of inclusive education approaches, the establishment of 20 full service schools by provinces and district support teams set up to assist schools, identify special needs learners and ensure they obtain the support they need. The publication of a national funding policy for inclusive education, which has been delayed for some years, will occur in 2011.

This policy, which must be designed to promote best practices, will assist in improving financial accountability in a policy area where there has been fragmentation and insufficient attention to the needs of historically vulnerable learners.

Enrolment in schools above age 15 declines, however. Even here, at the upper secondary level, South Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s enrolment figures are good by international standards, yet high youth unemployment combined with a skills shortage point to a need for

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SUPPORT BY DISTRICT OFFICES

fundamental change in the outputs of FET, both schools and colleges, in terms of both the quantity and quality of graduates. Current efforts to make Grades 10 to 12 more accessible to learners, for instance the nofee schools policy, and to improve the quality learning at this level must continue, but there is a need for a fundamental review of how FET as a whole should move forward in the medium to long term.

Key questions include how to attain universal completion of twelve years of education (thirteen if Grade R is counted) and how to facilitate the transition between schools and postschool education and training. The Department will work closely with the Department of Higher Education and Training (DoHET) and other stakeholders inside and outside government in order to arrive at a long-term strategy that will begin to inform annual planning for Grades 10 to 12 in the 2011/12 financial year.

S U P P O R T B Y DISTRICT OF FI C E S

INDICATORS AND TARGETS

somewhat, and existing district functions will have to be amended and cost implications made clear. Non-government organisations (NGOs) play a valuable role in supporting schools and complementing the efforts of district offices.

There is a need to strengthen the policy framework within which this occurs so that it becomes clearer to both government and non-government partners what their rights and responsibilities are. Any policy change should be aimed at making it easier for accredited non-government partners to work with schools and to contribute towards the attainment of better quality schooling.

Districts are of course the provincial department’s main interface with schools.

The functionality of districts depends on the overall functionality of the provincial department. In this regard the Department continues to view the building of capacity in provincial departments as a priority. In concrete terms, support in this area from the Department takes the form of training workshops for provincial officials and visits to individual provinces by national department officials to assist in resolving specific planning problems and crises.

District offices are a vital link between the education departments and schools. They are central to the process of gathering information and diagnosing problems in schools, and they perform a vital support and intervention function. This latter function includes organising training for personnel, dealing with funding and resourcing bottlenecks, resolving labour relations disputes and a host of other matters. They are key to ensuring that school principals remain accountable to the provincial department, and that accountability lines within the school to the principal and to the school governing body are maintained.

A DUL T B AS IC LITERAC Y

The Department’s responsibility is partly to ensure that the various national policies are translated into clear and implementable functions for districts. In this regard, curriculum imperatives, new systemic assessment and teacher development policies are expected to change the role of districts

The Department’s Kha Ri Gude mass literacy programme is the largest service delivery programme over which the Department has full operational responsibility. The success of this programme, which began in 2008, has been recognised internationally by the Commonwealth of Learning and

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The Department will improve the effectiveness of such support through better response systems and better internal capacity in this area in order to ensure improved school functionality. To this end, the Department will ensure that policy and legislation are enabling so that provinces appoint principals who have the necessary skills and ability to successfully manage schools.

CHAPTER 1 | INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

nationally by PANSALB. The priority in the coming years will be to have at least 480 000 adults successfully complete the Kha Ri Gude course each year in order to realise the programme’s target of halving adult literacy by 2015, relative to the situation when the programme commenced.

During 2009 UNICEF conducted an assessment of Kha Ri Gude, the recommendations of which will inform the way forward for the programme. Moreover, UNESCO’s Institute for Lifelong Learning is expected to undertake an additional assessment of the programme during 2010. In addition to the provision of basic literacy, the Kha Ri Gude campaign plays an important role in the national drive for poverty alleviation and job creation. The campaign offers short term EPWP-type job opportunities for volunteers to earn a stipend.

It is estimated that between 2010 and 2012, approximately 120 000 short term jobs will be created by the campaign, and that approximately 75% of the campaign allocation will be paid out to volunteers in the form of stipends over this period.

KEY STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE THE ‘SCHOOLING 2025’ ACTION PLAN

6:

To establish a long-term plan for the basic education sector that will allow for the monitoring of progress against a set of measureable indicators covering enrolments, teachers, facilities and educational quality.

Indicators and targets for the above The first version of the plan will be released during 2010, and the years 2010 and 2011 will see major public involvement in sharpening the plan and ensuring that it speaks to the long-term concerns of all key stakeholders. The Department has seen an increase in the volume and quality of national monitoring of the schooling system in recent years, with a number of key reports being released. Yet monitoring and evaluation continues to be an area in which

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improvement is needed. A new monitoring and evaluation element that is to be introduced in 2010 is an annual report on the state of the basic education sector. This should not be confused with the organisational annual report that the Department has been producing for many years but which focuses mainly on the performance of the Department as an organisation.

The annual sector report will to a large degree be an instrument for gauging progress against the targets set out in Schooling 2025. It will thus place considerable emphasis on a rigorous analysis of system performance according to key indicators, at the same time as it will incorporate more qualitative research findings. For the annual sector report to be credible, it will need to compiled in a professional and rigorous manner. It is envisaged that the National Education Evaluation and Development Unit, NEEDU, to be operationalised in 2010, will play a pivotal role in developing the annual sector report. NEEDU is also expected to play a number of other evaluative and accountability functions in the Department so as to monitor, inform and improve practice. The roles of NEEDU will be clarified during 2010.

KEY STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 7 : BETTER REPORTING ON THE STATE OF BASIC EDUCATION To publish more frequent reports flowing from the monitoring and research work of the Department, and in particular to release an annual report on the state of the

basic education sector. This will assist in bringing about more informed education policy debates in the country, and will allow for progress against the Schooling 2025 action plan to be properly monitored.

Indicators and targets for the above The first of the annual reports will be published in 2010. However, given that it will take time to develop the right approach, a more fully-fledged annual report will be produced in 2011 (and in subsequent years).

The Department’s e-Education policy for the sector and a 2009 information and communication technologies (ICT) feasibility study point to the need for a more pro-active presence of the Department in the e-Education area. One critical role of the Department is to make education policies, data and analyses of the sector, and learning and teaching materials available to the whole range of stakeholders through the Internet in a manner that makes access easy to users.

Although access to the Internet is still limited in the more remote and disadvantaged parts of the country, this access is improving rapidly and even in remote areas key decision-makers and implementers, such as school principals and SGB chairpersons, will often access the Internet regularly. A key advantage with materials distributed in this manner is obviously that they can be updated and corrected in a way that printed materials cannot.

The Department is convinced that good Internet access to education information can significantly contribute towards a more efficient and informed schooling sector. Whilst the availability of information through the Department’s website and the Thutong portal have improved in recent years, there are still critical gaps that must be filled and the information needs to be organised in a more user-friendly way.

KEY STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 8 : PROMOTION OF THE E-EDUCATION STRATEGY THROUGH WEBBASED ACCESS TO EDUCATION INFORMATION Taking the web presence of the Department of Basic Education to a new level, recognising that the internet is an increasingly important information tool in society.

Indicators and targets for the above A new Department of Basic Education website will be established during 2010.

By the end of 2011 the website will have been expanded and, together with the Thutong portal, will cater for most information needs of districts, school principals, teachers, parents and learners. In particular, the dissemination of electronic versions of workbooks and other learning materials will be emphasised. The availability of information to the education research community will also be improved. During 2012 an external evaluation of the Department’s web presence will occur and findings will inform further improvements.

EDITORIAL

EDITORIAL

O VERVIEW OF THE SOCIO - E C ONOM I C C O NTE X T AND T HE ROLE OF EDUCATION I N PO VE R T Y R E D U C T I O N AN D EC ON OM IC DEV EL OPMENT LIONEL THAVER, OVERVIEW OF THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTEXT AND THE ROLE OF EDUCATION IN POVERTY REDUCTION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN CAPE.

“

To understand the challenges in the education system, we need to question the relationship between education and the socioeconomic context from its mutual embeddedness. Furthermore, we need to ask what kind of bearing it might have for understanding the role of education institutions as embedded in their socio-economic contexts.

its volume. In speaking of volume, attention is drawn to the extensive and intensive reach of education into society through its marshalling of human and economic resources. By focusing on matters of scale, we seek to open up a way to understand education sociologically; as case in point to show in which senses its significance rests and what lay at its core.

We probe the scale and reach of education institutions in society through considering the redeployment of human and economic resources. We need to consider the extent of socioeconomic deprivation and the attendant social crises to ensue the role of education institutions are expanding from the primary mandate of intellectual development to encompass a wider social ambit; and thus make explicit its social embeddedness.

Towards this end, numerical relationships are marshalled to manifest the reach that education has in society, at the level of its intellectual reproduction by way of its volume. Of course this does not attest to the substantive problem of the conversion of education into economic realization in a market related engagement of a sustained type. Though, it does bring another perspective to the relation, connecting the socio-economic context to education and to economic development and poverty reduction.

The synthesis of these two points and the expanded role of the education institution as social institution is firmed up in an understanding that the terms of engagement is in society and not on society. On a critical note, this point of view of being in-society addresses the de-contextualisation and relative isolation of social institutions from each other even though we have shown that they are inter-connected. The conclusion reached is that in our social imaginations need to reach beyond the compartmentalization that is our classrooms, offices or workshops and grasp the entirety of what it means to be a member of society.

The political transformation of South African society from its apartheid past to a constitutional democracy inaugurated in 1994, marks a decisive rupture in our social imaginations. With this new sensibility the political process ushered in a regulatory framework that was and is directed towards the democratization of all social institutions in its wake. Education too became imperative and evidenced the enactment of a series of laws and policies, which in effect, seek to normalize and standardize this sector.

The appropriate policy frameworks are in place and the challenge is generally accepted as lying in implementation. Towards this end, let’s take up the matter of implementation and consider it from the vantage point of the social dimensions involved in education institutions to consider its societal scale and depth.

What is at stake here is not only the numerical relationship, as in the size or scale of its physical dimensions, but its depth or

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These are the figures that struck some accord and triggered this line of thought: In 2007, there were more than 12 million learners in the ordinary school sector. This means that on any given school day about 25%, that is a quarter of the population are potentially in school where there may be engaged in a learning experience and intellectual growth. Here all the formative minds of the youth are gathered and shaped and thus the future “collective mind” is in the process of becoming. The social scale with which we are dealing with here is far too substantial, with much too much at stake not to care, and not to be concerned about the well being of education. In reality we are dealing with something much deeper and that is the intellectual well being of society.

The same can be gleaned from drawing a relation between schooling and the economy by way of the intellectual reproduction of the potential labour force available in society. To bring the point home, the schooling system released more than three hundred thousand matriculants in 2007 that variably entered higher education, full employment, casual employment, self employment or unemployment. This is the average for every year since 2007 and will continue in this vein in the immediate future.

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Questions are asked about the compatibility of education and the needs of the economy and these are fundamental indeed.

However, we need to tread lightly here. It is well known that the narrower the relation between education and the economy, the greater is the danger of the obsolescence of skill sets.

While Basic Education provides the basis for a career, it is not career specific or domain specific such that we may speak of cultivating the corporate citizen, etc., but rather towards the making of the condition of intellectual possibility for such choices. The concept grounding the relation between educational content and compatibility with the economy is taken up by way of the mutual engagements of inter-institutional relationships as an embedding in-society.

Let’s probe this relationship between education and the economy by considering the intensive and extensive reach of education as social institution into the economy through how much capital is involved in order to facilitate the delivery of education to members of society. The national revenue in 2006/7 was R475.6 billion of which R105.5 billion was allocated to the education sector. Considered against R31.1 billion in 1994 shows both an expansion in the amount of capital as well as its relation to economic development or growth. The human resources required to animate this enormous social institution further testifies to its sheer scale and size. There were 394,225 teachers employed at 26,065 schools to which should be added service staff, academics, researchers at universities and colleges. This is surely by any standard in South Africa a massive scale and thus of immense social volume in the extent of human resources and capital drawn on in society.

Thus, something of the scale of the enterprise of the social institution of education emerges. However, this equation is not of the type one refers to as ceterus paribus (all things being equal), to the contrary we have amongst the highest rate of inequality between the rich and poor in the world. In this regard the socio-economic context is not checked at the gates of education institutions but is present in our learners who are caught in the grip of poverty and skewed economic development. Furthermore, the socio-economic context of poverty is similarly present in many of the schools located amongst the poorer sectors of society where basic facilities and resources are left wanting.

The point being made, the project of education is intellectual development and cannot be detached from the social subjects who are the bearers of their socio-economic contexts. In those communities ravaged by poverty, illness, and unemployment learners are provided for through the National School Nutrition Programme. Note worthily, this programme reaches almost 6 million learners who experience to varying degrees such a fundamental need as food.

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It is hard to imagine that there are schools, let alone that many without such basic facilities as water of which there are over 3000 (12%), electricity over 4000 (17%), computers over 17,000 (68%) and so on. Taken together, we seem to moving imperceptibly from schools as educational institutions to schools as social institutions in its broadest ambit encompassing not only intellectual reproduction but social reproduction of the most basic kind in matters of nutrition, health and affect, in reality an extended family. The paradox we are confronted with is that the communities in greatest need are at schools where the resource base is at its neediest.

To summarise, education as social institution is deeply embedded in society in as much it carries the intellectual reproduction of society in the sheer scale and volume it entails. In so doing its reaches deep into the human and capital resources of society to animate the massive pedagogic infrastructure required to provide education to members of society. In both these relations, drawing on society and on the state what emerged is that education is fundamentally embedded in society, yet its institutions tend to be isolated from other institutions and society.

This abstraction of education institutions and its intellectual function is being reminded of its comportment to the wider ambit of society and thus emphasis is being drawn to the use of social institution. At its core, educational institutions have been shown to be exceptionally social in its make up yet they continue to function as islands. In showing the mutual embeddedness of education institutions in their socio-economic contexts and how this is mediated in schools as case in point in their expanded social roles begs a re-specification of how we understand the relation of our institutions to society and its reproduction.

In sum, the concept that inures itself is that we have a relation between education institutions and its socio-economic context that suggests itself as being in-society and acting within society. The fundamental shift in this concept of being-in, as in say being inbusiness, means that one inhabits or dwells in such a world. Similarly, being in-society suggests that the socio-economic challenges are not outside the domain of the corporate world and hence beyond its purview, but that it is deeply immersed in our education institutions and the reproduction of South African society.

This social warrant does not admit to half-hearted interventions and piece-meal contributions but requires that all institutions get wired through their distinct modalities in taking their worlds into the schools and universities in ways that enable them to derive real experiences and thus embed their education in the world so to speak. And in this regard, the private sector has to re-imagine its relationship to the socio-economic context such that it has a bearing on the intimate connect between education and economic development which is intellectual capital.

”

CHAPTER 1 | INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

25

EDITORIAL

IT WILL TAKE A VILLAGE T O M END S O U T H A F R I C A ’ S A I L IN G E D U C A T I ON S Y S T E M ARTICLE PROVIDED BY CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF THE (NYDA) SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS YOUTH LEAGUE

“ N UM B E R A N D PR OPORTI ON O F CHIL D RE N L I V IN G F A R F ROM THE NE A R E S T SC HOOL HALL K & DE LANNOY A (2010) CHILDREN’S ACCESS TO EDUCATION. IN: PENDLEBURY S, LAKE L & SMITH C (EDS) (2009) SOUTH AFRICAN CHILD GAUGE 2008/2009. CAPE TOWN: CHILDREN’S INSTITUTE, UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN. AVAILABLE: WWW.CI.ORG.ZA. Statistics South Africa’s population estimates show that there were approximately 7.3 million children of primary school age (7 – 13 years) in South Africa in mid-2008. A fifth (21%) of these children would have to travel more than 30 minutes to reach the nearest primary school. The highest proportions of children living far from the nearest primary school are in KwaZulu-Natal (32%), the North West (22%) and the Eastern Cape (22%).

Around 4.3 million children in South Africa are of secondary school age (14 – 17 years). A third (33%) of these children do not have a high school within a 30-minute radius of their homes.

KwaZulu-Natal (41%), the Eastern Cape (42%) and North West (36%) are provinces with particularly high proportions of teenage children who do not have schools within easy access of their homes.

With the introduction of Schooling 2025, the new education plan which is set to, among other things, relieve teachers of administrative work, offers incentives that will attract teachers to rural schools and reduce the number of projects given to learners. We can only hope that we have turned the corner with our education system.

Employers often raise concerns about matriculants graduating from school yet lacking essential skills we subconsciously assume they mastered such as literacy and numeracy skills.

Our education system needs to mould young people into confident, knowledgeable and skilled individuals who are ready to take on the world, contribute towards the South African economy and decreasing the high youth unemployment rate.

A matriculant should not be seen as yet another burden that will exhaust government’s resources but rather as a key resource that should be invested in. It is only a matter of time until we reap rewards.

However, the road to realising this goal will not be easy; as the African proverb goes “it takes a village to raise a child”.

Government needs to play its role in offering sufficient training and ensuring that schools are adequately resourced.

The private sector should also be willing to part with a portion of their corporate social investment budget and assist schools that are under-resourced.

Teachers must teach and be positive role models for young people. With support from the government, head masters must take charge and manage schools like well oiled machines, when necessary they should not hesitate to take the necessary disciplinary action against teachers that are not willing to work.

Lastly, parents must form relations with teachers and ensure that engaging with their children on school activities is part of their daily routine.

”

www.ed.org.za

SCHOOLING 2025: THE VISION

SC HOOLING 2025: THE VI SI ON D E PA R T M ENT O F EDU C AT I O N

1

Learners. Attend school on time, every day and take their schoolwork seriously. They have access to computers, a good meal, sporting and cultural activities. They have respectful relationships with their friends and dependable teachers.

2

Teachers. Are confident, welltrained and continually improving their capabilities. They are committed to giving learners the best possible education, thereby contributing to the development of the nation. They enjoy job satisfaction because their conditions of service are decent and their pay comparable to that of other professions.

3 School principals. Ensure teaching takes place as it should, according to the national curriculum. Through responsible leadership, they promote harmony, creativity and a sound work ethic within the school community and beyond.

4

Parents. Are well informed about what happens in the school, and receive regular reports about how well their children perform against clear standards that are shared by all schools. They know they are listened to, and any concerns will be dealt with by education authorities at all levels.

5 Learning and teaching materials.

Are in abundance and of a high quality.

Learners and teachers know how to use computers in the school to access information they need.

6

School buildings and facilities. Are spacious, functional, safe and wellmaintained. Learners and teachers look after their buildings and facilities because they take pride in their school.

28

A CT IO N PLAN TO 2014 This draft Action Plan is the DBE’s strategy to strengthen weak areas in the education system that have been identified as needing support. It has been developed in line with the Presidency’s 2009 national strategic planning, and draws direction from the guiding document Improving Government Performance: Our approach.

which need to be improved to reach these goals. The approach is to allow a degree of flexibility so that schools and their communities can come up with strategies that best suit their own situation.

By improving performance in these identified areas, learners will benefit from a higher quality education. The nation as a whole will also benefit as school graduates with better skills and knowledge levels enter further and higher education, and the workplace.

Each year, all learners in Grades 1 to 6 will write national tests in languages (home language and first additional language) and mathematics at the end of the year. The purpose is to establish an objective national benchmark by which to measure literacy and numeracy achievement levels in primary schools, so that improvement can be accurately assessed, and appropriate interventions designed where additional support is needed.

Short-term goals, long-term vision The draft Action Plan sets out the goals that the national education system will be working towards, and the actions to achieve these goals, by 2014. These are the first steps towards realising the bigger, more long-term vision of quality education in schools by 2025. This vision is called Schooling 2025.

Everyone has a part to play As far as possible, the Action Plan indicates for each stakeholder in the system what activities they should be engaged in to realise each goal in the plan. It also suggests ways that those outside the education system can also provide resources or expertise in support.

Measuring progress: Annual National Assessments (ANA)

Columba 1400 SA exists to empower South African young people to be agents of positive social change who transform their own contexts for the better.

Columba 1400 was founded in Scotland over 15 years ago on belief that leadership potential is inherent in all persons and that effective youth development elicits that inner greatness. In 2009, Columba 1400 SA, an African version of the programme, was launched.

Teachers will mark these standardised tests according to instructions provided by the DBE. Parents will receive the ANA results in learners’ annual report cards at the end of the year. School Governing Bodies (SGBs) will receive a district-wide ANA report, which will be shared by other parents of the school, to allow them to compare their own ANA results with those of other schools in the district.

Clear goals, flexible strategies

The objective in making the results public is to give schools and their parent communities an idea of how their achievements compare to those at other schools.

The Action Plan sets out 13 goals to be achieved related to learning and enrolment.

In addition, it sets out 14 areas in education

In 2011, ANA tests in languages and mathematics will be introduced for Grade 9 learners.

CHAPTER 1 | INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

Using CSI to create sustainable change in your community and benefit your organisation

www.ed.org.za

“The group has changed me

from being an indifferent and self absorbed introvert into an increasingly conscious and sociable figure who is capable of service to others.”

DM Ndlovu, Shiyane School Youth Group.

Columba 1400 is an international award-winning programme. Get in touch with us to find out more.

Case History: Shiyane High School Shiyane High School was just another poor rural school. Then in July 2009 10 learners participated in a Columba 1400 SA Leadership Academy. Eighteen months later, a dynamic community service organisation of more than 60 learners has produced a steady stream of learner-initiated and learnerimplemented social projects. They clean school grounds and the community on an ongoing basis; serve the elderly at the local old-age home by cooking, cleaning, singing, giving manicures and haircuts, and simply listening; stage school-wide debates to sharpen English language and public speaking

skills; refurbish school buildings—and construct new ones when needed; seek potential drop-outs to help them stay in school; organise educational outings; enable fellow students to acquire computer skills, drivers licenses and first-aid training; raise their own operational funds in creative ways; not to mention helping local community organisations with their own projects.

And they aren’t stopping any time soon.

Shiyane High is bursting with innovative solutions to local problems. School pride and self-respect among learners is skyrocketing. The wider community is taking notice. Shiyane is now the place parents want to send their children to school.

Our success so far $& TVTWX`\Xf f\aVX %##, \a :ThgXaZ Mpumulanga, KZN, Zimbabwe @beX g[Ta $&# ZeTWhTgXf $## bY fheiXlXW ZeTWhTgXW eXcbeg altered understanding of leadership

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THE GOALS OF THE ACTION PLAN

THE GOALS OF THE ACTION PLAN

T H E G OA L S O F T H E ACT ION PL A N The Action Plan has 27 goals.

GOALS 1 TO 13 DEAL WITH OUTPUTS WE WANT TO ACHIEVE IN RELATION TO LEARNING AND ENROLMENTS. Output goals focusing on minimum quality standards

Output goals focusing on access and progression

GOAL 1

GOAL 2

GOAL 3

GOAL 10

GOAL 11

Increase the number of learners in Grade 3 who by the end of the year have mastered the minimum language and numeracy competencies for Grade 3.

Increase the number of learners in Grade 6 who by the end of the year have mastered the minimum language and mathematics competencies for Grade 6.

Increase the number of learners in Grade 9 who by the end of the year have mastered the minimum language and mathematics competencies for Grade 9.

Ensure that all children remain effectively enrolled in school up to the year in which they turn 15.

Improve the access of children to quality Early Childhood Development (ECD) below Grade 1.

2008 baseline: 97.4%; 2014 target: 99%

Indicator 1: (% Grade 1 learners who’ve received formal Grade R): 2008 baseline: 51%; 2014 target: 80%, but 100% if non-formal ECD is included.

2009 baseline: ± 48% (literacy) and 43% (numeracy); 2014 target: 60% for both subjects

2009 baseline: ± 37% (literacy) and 19% (numeracy); 2014 target: 60% for both subjects

Baseline and targets will be determined after 2010 ANA.

GOAL 4

GOAL 5

GOAL 6

GOAL 12

GOAL 13

Increase the number of Grade 12 learners who become eligible for a Bachelors programme at a university.

Increase the number of Grade 12 learners who pass mathematics.

Increase the number of Grade 12 learners who pass physical science.

Improve the grade promotion of learners through the Grades 1 to 9 phases of school.

Improve the access of youth to Further Education and Training beyond Grade 9.

2009 baseline: ± 125 000; 2014 target: 180 000

2009 baseline: ± 120 000; 2014 target: 170 000

Indicator 1: % of children aged 9 who have completed Grade 3: 2008 baseline: 59%; 2014 target: 65%

Indicator 1: % of youth who have received an NSC: 2008 baseline: 40%; 2014 target: 50%

Indicator 2: % of children aged 12 who have completed Grade 6: 2008 baseline: 46%; 2014 target: 52%

Indicator 2: % of youth who obtain FET qualifications.

2008 baseline: 41%; 2014 target: 65%

2009 baseline: ± 110 000; 2014 target: 175 000

Output goals focusing on improving average performance GOAL 7

GOAL 8

GOAL 9

Improve the average performance in languages of Grade 6 learners.

Improve the average performance in mathematics of Grade 6 learners.

Improve the average performance in mathematics of Grade 8 learners.

Indicator 2: The enrolment ratio of children aged 0 to 5 2008 baseline: 25%; 2014 target: 37%

THE GOALS OF THE ACTION PLAN

GOALS 14 TO 27 DEAL WITH HOW TO ACHIEVE THE 13 OUTPUT GOALS. Teachers GOAL 14

GOAL 15

Attract in each year a new group of young, motivated and appropriately trained teachers into the teaching profession.

Ensure that the availability and utilisation of teachers is such that excessively large classes are avoided.

GOAL 16

GOAL 17

Improve the professionalism, teaching skills, subject knowledge and computer literacy of teachers throughout their entire careers.

Strive for a teacher workforce that is healthy and enjoys a sense of job satisfaction.

GOAL 18

Ensure that learners cover all the topics and skills areas that they should cover within their current school year.

Learner resources GOAL 19

GOAL 20

Ensure that every learner has access to the minimum set of textbooks and workbooks required according to national policy.

Increase access amongst learners to a wide range of media, including computers, which enrich their education.

Whole-school improvements GOAL 21

GOAL 22

Ensure that the basic annual management processes occur across all schools in the country in a way that contributes towards a functional school environment.

Improve parent and community participation in the governance of schools, partly by improving access to important information via the e-Education strategy.

School funding GOAL 23

Ensure that all schools are funded at least at the minimum per learner levels determined nationally and that funds are utilised transparently and effectively.

School infrastructure and support services GOAL 24

GOAL 25

Ensure that the physical infrastructure and environment of every school inspires learners to want to come to school and learn, and teachers to teach.

Use the school as a location to promote access amongst children to the full range of public health and poverty reduction interventions.

GOAL 26

GOAL 27

Increase the number of schools which effectively implement the inclusive education policy and have access to centres which offer specialist services.

Improve the frequency and quality of the monitoring and support services provided by district offices to schools, partly through better use of e-Education.1

1 Department of Basic Education, 2011. Schooling 2025: An Action Plan for the Improvement of Basic Education. www.doe.gov.za

32

CHAPTER 1 | INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

www.ed.org.za

CHAPTER 2

GOVERNANCE & FINANCE

IT’S TIME FOR ACTION …

CO-OPERATIVE GOVERNANCE MODEL

35

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 2011 NATIONAL BUDGET SPEECH

41

KEY TRENDS IN EDUCATION SPEND

45

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DEVELOPING CONDUCIVE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR BETTER EDUCATION 57

education, and let’s focus on action, by tracking the top 100 projects on www.ed.org.za to inspire belief in the power of education.

www.ed.org.za

CHAPTER 2 | GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE

33

FUNERAL COVER CO-OPERATIVE GOVERNANCE MODEL

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O N THE C AB I N E T D E C I S I O N SADTU has welcomed the decision of the national cabinet to invoke Section 100 1(b) of the Constitution to intervene in the Eastern Cape department of education.

SADTU has since last year, been calling for the intervention from the National Department of Education in order to bring about stability in education. We are on record that the Eastern Cape situation needed leadership.

We hope this decision, the first of its kind in the democratic South Africa, will ensure the education problems in that province are speedily resolved and the learners and educators are no longer inconvenienced.

We further hope such an intervention will assist towards building capacity in the department of Education in the Eastern Cape Province to improve on service delivery.

We welcome the minister’s statement that the exercise would be a collaborative approach and would provide support and direction to the provincial governance structures. The province would remain the key pillar of service provision.

As we lead the lives of the majority of the poor and working class learners in the country, our fundamental principle is to ensure they have access to quality education. We hope this exercise work towards achieving that.

”

BE FINANCIALLY PREPARED

CO-OPERATIVE GOVERNANCE MODEL

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The Constitution makes provision for the sharing of power across three levels of Government: national, provincial and municipal in a co-operative governance model through a ministerial council. The national and provincial governments have concurrent legislative competence with each level having specific powers.

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This model is not defined by a hierarchy power structure, which means that provincial levels retain the power to govern at provincial level, provided it does not impact on national priorities.

Whilst the national government is responsible for policy formulation, provincial government is responsible for implementation. However, there are concerns about the co-operative governance model, which centres on accountability as evidenced recently in the Eastern Cape.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 2011 NATIONAL BUDGET SPEECH, BY THE MINISTER OF FINANCE, PRAVIN GORDHAN AN O P P O RTU N I TY TO C RE ATE HO P E FO R YO U N G P E O P L E

IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION Education takes up the largest share of government spending – 21% of non-interest allocations – and receives the largest share of the additional allocations.

We must take measures to ensure that our young people can look forward to decent work in productive, competitive enterprises. It means that we will continue to strengthen social expenditure, enabling families to commit to participating in education and community activities.

! An amount of R8.3 billion over the MTEF period is added for schools infrastructure. A programme to address backlogs in school facilities over a three-year period will be administered by Minister Motshekga’s department. ! Just under R1 billion is added for funza lushaka teacher bursaries and bursaries for postgraduate students in the natural sciences.

C O N S O L I D ATE D G O VE RN M E N T E XP E N D I TU RE CREATING JOBS ! Further education and training colleges are allocated over R14 billion for the period ahead and student financial assistance will be stepped up.

“In judging o u r p r o g r e s s a s i n d i v i d u a l s w e t e n d t o concentrate o n e x t e r n a l f a c t o r s , s u c h a s o n e ’ s s o c i a l position, in f l u e n c e a n d p o p u l a r i t y , w e a l t h a n d s t a n d a r d of educatio n … I t i s p e r f e c t l y u n d e r s t a n d a b l e i f m a n y people exe r t t h e m s e l v e s m a i n l y t o a c h i e v e a l l t h e s e .

But interna l fa c t o rs m a y b e ev e n mo r e c r u c i a l …

Honesty, si n c e r i t y , s i m p l i c i t y , h u m i l i t y , p u r e g e n e r o s i t y , absence of v a n i t y , r e a d i n e s s t o s e r v e o t h e r s – q u a l i t i e s w hich are w i t hi n e a sy re a c h o f e v e r y s o u l . ” Nelson Mandela.

! Over R20 billion goes to Sector Education and Training Authorities and R5 billion to the National Skills Fund, which have key responsibilities for training work-seekers.

! R9.5 billion is provided for expanding Further Education and Training colleges and skills development.

Including adjustments for the remuneration of teachers, a total of R24.3 billion will be added to education and skills spending over the next three years, which rises from R190 billion next year to R215 billion in 2013/14. 4

4 Department of Education, Highlights from the 2011 National Budget Speech, by the Minister of

Finance, Pravin Gordahn. www.doe.gov.za

CHAPTER 2 | GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE

41

EDITORIAL

COMMITTED TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT...

S AM A NC OR CHROME LIMI T E D

“

Samancor Chrome is a progressive, innovative company providing charge chrome, intermediate carbon ferrochrome and low-carbon ferrochrome to global players in stainless steel. As one of the leaders in the ferrochrome industry, we have a responsibility and a commitment to protect the environment, to conduct our business based on the highest ethical standards and to contribute to the sustainable development of the communities within which we function.

tion’s Corporate Social Investment (CSI) initiatives. We invest in the education of our communities through a variety of projects, enabling them to create a brighter future for themselves, while indirectly bolstering our country’s economic growth.

We continuously aim to strengthen our commitment to improving the quality of the lives of people and communities in and around our operations. We believe that education holds the key to achieving this objective, and this philosophy translates into support for a wide range of strategic internal and external education, training and development initiatives.

! The upgrade of teaching infrastructure in rural areas, including the erection of additional classrooms, libraries, school halls and workshops

Samancor Chrome’s culture of continuous improvement encourages its employees to further their studies and reach their full potential by maintaining an individual development plan.

We invest significantly in our employees through training and development initiatives, including adult basic education and training (ABET), miner and artisan development initiatives, mentorships, a leadership development programme and study assistance programmes.

Through the Samancor Chrome Bursary Scheme and Graduate Development Programme we attract extraordinary young minds to the organisation, and turn their potential into performance.

Bursaries are annually awarded to students currently studying in the fields of, Engineering, Geology, Rock Engineering and Surveying, Information Technology, HR, Finance, as well as in Safety, Health, Environment and Quality (SHEQ).

Community engagement with a particular focus on education also forms a fundamental part of the Samancor Chrome Founda-

42

CHAPTER 2 | GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE

Our dedication to providing the members of our communities with every educational advantage possible is evident through a number of projects, including:

! Various projects offering support and upgrade of educators’ skills and educational support material ! Providing supplementary classes for learners in especially mathematics and science ! An artisan training programme which enables high school learners to participate in study workshops which adds up to the practical hours required for a full apprenticeship.

Samancor Chrome continuously endeavours to develop and implement best practices in all areas of business, while subscribing to the priority of being a responsible corporate citizen.

This ensures that, even though we are gearing our company for growth and advancement towards a bright future, we are still sharing the benefits of our existence with our employees and our communities by contributing to economic and social development.

Samancor Chrome Limited Postnet Suite 803 Private Bag x9, Benmore 2010 www.SamancorCr.com

”

SAMANCOR CHROME is one of the leading ferrochrome producers in the world, bringing with it a responsibility to ensure that our communities benefit from our existence.

We continuously strive to strengthen our commitment to improving the quality of life of people and communities in and around our operations

NOW AND IN THE FUTURE. www.ed.org.za

www.SamancorCr.com

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KEY TRENDS IN EDUCATION SPEND

K EY T R E NDS I N ED U C A T I O N S P E ND The Old Mutual Foundation is committed to socio‐economic transformation in rural and peri‐ urban communities throughout South Africa.

By creating opportunities to bring marginalised people into the mainstream economy, we invest in the future of our country and our company.

This report looks at budgets to assess how much government is allocating for the realisation of children’s rights and the growth trends in these allocations.

The objective is to analyse the possible effects of government’s budgets on child rights and well-being.

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In the 2010 budget speech, the Minister of Finance acknowledged that weak coordination and alignment between national policy and provincial budgets will be a “recipe for failure” in respect of education and health.

This report points out where some of the current weaknesses lie.

Table 5 lists the total allocations proposed for 2010/11 for each of the national, as well as the combined totals for the nine provincial departments in each sector. In the education sector, the table lists only the Department of Basic Education in the

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Children are protected by all the rights in the Bill of Rights with the exception of the right to vote and the obligation to children’s rights is therefore spread across all government spheres and departments.

Though this is true, our focus is on the budgets of the national and provincial departments of education that are responsible for delivering key services.

The national department is primarily responsible for policy development, coordi-

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nation and monitoring and evaluation, while the provincial or local sphere is responsible for service delivery. This is the case for health, social development and education.

Table 4 below shows the services that relates to education in South Africa.

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I,$(*16("5(@28(A:-:*2H)(B10*0+1*2(F8:+*-1"0(.&"3&*66$( 1)( -"( ,$2.( -,$( 0*-1"0( 4&$*<( -,$( +7+2$( "5( 3$0$&*-1"0*2( ."%$&-7( *08( 8$4-'( 47( ),"#103( .$".2$( ,"#( -"( :)$( -,$( /0*0+1*2( &$)":&+$)( *-( -,$1&( 81).")*2( -"( &$*21)$( -,$1&( 3"*2)(*08(8&$*6)=(@28(A:-:*2H)(On The Money(/0*0+1*2( #$220$))(.&"3&*66$(,$2.)(.*&-1+1.*0-)(-"N

AN AL YS I S O F THE GO VE RN M E N T’ S BU D G E TS 2 0 1 0 – 2 0 1 2

DEPARTMENTS

SERVICE AREA

Social Development

t 4PDJBM XFMGBSF TFSWJDFT JODMVEJOH DSÒDIFT FBSMZ DIJMEIPPE development, prevention and early intervention, protection, foster care, adoption and child and youth care centres (places of safety, children’s homes and secure care centres). t 4PDJBM HSBOUT

Basic Education

t (SBEF 3 t 1SJNBSZ TDIPPMJOH t 4FDPOEBSZ TDIPPMJOH t 4QFDJBM OFFET FEVDBUJPO t /BUJPOBM 4DIPPM OVUSJUJPO QSPHSBNNF t 4DIPPM PG JOEVTUSZ BOE SFGPSN TDIPPMT

South African Police Service

t 4BGFUZ BOE 4FDVSJUZ t *OWFTUJHBUJOH DSJNF

Budlender, D. & Proudlock, P. (eds) 2010. Child centred analysis of government’s budgets 2010 - 2012.

The Children’s Institute, University of Cape Town.

www.ed.org.za

KEY TRENDS IN EDUCATION SPEND

KEY TRENDS IN EDUCATION SPEND

TABLE 3: Total 2010/11 allocations for focus departments

TABLE 6: Per learner allocations per province (Rands)

NATIONAL DEPARTMENT

ALLOCATION 2010/11 (RM)

Justice and Constitutional Development

10250.5

Women, Children and People with Disabilities

97.8

Social Development

95921.1

Health

21497.0

Free State

7133

6166.2

Gauteng

5963

KwaZulu-Natal

5526

5859

Basic Education

2005/06

2006/07

2007/08

2008/09

2009/10

2010/11

2011/12

9350

10523

11428

PRE-AUDIT Eastern Cape

PROVINCIAL DEPARTMENTS COMBINED

5222

6129

6765

8591

7793

8516

10011

11010

12115

13025

6237

7342

8822

10025

11058

12221

6461

8293

8952

10059

10959

10 289.1

Limpopo

5435

6417

6626

8326

9272

10254

11104

Health

98327.7

Mpumalanga

6322

5742

7192

8902

9580

10659

11561

Education

137438.7

Social Development

TABLE 4: Percentage of total provincial budget allocated to key sectors by province EC

FS

GT

KZN

LM

MP

NC

NW

WC

Education

47%

40%

37%

42%

47%

44%

38%

41%

36%

Health

28%

29%

33%

31%

27%

25%

29%

25%

36%

3%

3%

4%

2%

2%

3%

5%

3%

4%

Social Development

Northern Cape

7440

6276

8648

10727

11206

12445

13618

North West

7034

8660

8238

9212

10453

11836

12932

Western Cape

6580

7072

7985

9555

10755

11780

12789

National Average

6295

6687

7530

9160

10067

11192

12182

TABLE 7: Budget of national Department of Basic Education (Rm) 2009/10 MAIN APPROP.

TABLE 5: Provincial budgets for nutrition sub-programme (R1000)

Administration

2009/10

2010/11

2011/12

2012/13

MAIN APPROP.

ADJUSTED APPROP.

REVISED ESTIMATE

Eastern Cape

66024

62024

65636

93960

96513

110542

Free State

13142

16608

8989

12899

13803

14724

Gauteng

37049

37636

27517

39010

41210

43270

KwaZulu-Natal

MEDIUM-TERM ESTIMATES

103275

101697

101461

106016

108024

113425

Limpopo

23000

23000

23000

24610

26087

27391

Mpumalanga

23000

23000

23000

24610

26087

27391

5800

5933

3866

6841

7227

7596

North West

13346

13346

13346

11043

13223

14017

Western Cape

18452

18530

19933

22730

24327

25847

303088

301774

286748

341719

356501

384203

0.9%

0.8%

0.8%

0.8%

0.8%

0.8%

Northern Cape

Total % of Total

ADJUSTED APPROP.

2010/11 REVISED ESTIMATE

2011/12

2012/12

MEDIUM-TERM ESTIMATIONS

159.3

155.1

252.8

262.0

275.0

1070.4

787.6

1354.3

1757.8

1895.6

Teacher and education human resources development and management

498.6

495.8

513.7

546.0

573.5

Planning, quality assessment and monitoring and evaluation

133.6

152.8

148.7

156.7

166.1

Curriculum policy, support and monitoring

Social Responsibility

2612.4

2606.6

3896.7

4827.3

5189.1

Total

4474.4

4197.9

6166.2

7549.8

8099.3

national sphere, and not the Department of Higher Education and Training as the latter does not generally provide services to children under the age of eighteen years.

There is no simple way to measure the relative adequacy of provincial allocations.

It might seem that per capita calculations could serve this purpose. This simple approach is to some extent appropriate for school education, and the section on education below discusses the patterns in per learner expenditure by province.

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Where there are appropriate measures for provincial comparisons these are presented in the relevant sections. Table 7 gives the percentage of the total provincial budget allocated to each of the three sectors covered in the analysis. For Education, the percentage ranges from 36% (Western Cape) to 47% (Eastern Cape), for Health from 25% (Mpumalanga) to 36% (Western Cape), and for Social Development from 2% (KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo) to 5% (Northern Cape).

This illustrates the challenges involved in cross-province comparisons. The high per-

centage for Education in Eastern Cape is, for example, surprising for anyone with knowledge of the serious problems in the sector in that province, while Western Cape – with the lowest percentage – consistently reports the highest pass rates in the Grade 12 examinations.

This pattern is, at least in part, a reflection of the limited amount given to other more “discretionary” sectors in Eastern Cape and the larger amount of discretionary funds in Western Cape. However, the pattern also reflects the relatively high proportion of children in the Eastern Cape population.

CHAPTER 2 | GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE

47

KEY TRENDS IN EDUCATION SPEND

SOCIAL GRANTS The Social Assistance Act 18, provides for all the social grants including the three grants targeted at children: child support grant, foster care grant and the care dependency grant.

Social grants are the state’s primary poverty alleviation programme and have resulted in significant positive impacts on children’s health, nutrition and education. The budget for social assistance falls within the National Department of Social Development.

HUNGER ALLEVIATIO N Table 8 provides the estimates for the nutrition sub-programme. When the estimates for provinces are combined, this sub-programme account for less than 1% of the programme total for all years examined. This is perhaps less serious than it seems to the extent that the school feeding scheme now falls with the Education rather than the Health sector. The subprogram experienced real growth of 6,4% in 2010/11, but this is followed by a decrease of -1,5% in 2011/12 and then an increase of 2,0% in 2012/13.

Table 10 gives the programme breakdown for the national department. The main appropriation for 2009/10 is not given because when that budget was tabled there was a single national Department of Education. It is therefore difficult to find the comparable estimates for some programmes.

The first category is important, given the need to improve the quality of education.

However, it must be noted that many might argue that at this point less rather than more curriculum development is needed so that educators and learners can start focusing on what is there already rather than coping with yet more changes.

The recent announcement of the Minister of Basic Education about the shift from the earlier focus on outcomes-based education and related changes to the curriculum and there is hope that the emphasis will now

KEY TRENDS IN EDUCATION SPEND

be on supporting teachers to deliver on the newly agreed approach.

The social responsibility programme is described as having the purpose of developing policies and programmes to increase the participation of learners in schools and improve the quality of learning in schools.

It is not clear that the money is being used effectively. It is widely acknowledged that the quality of public education in South Africa is poor. The allocations for Funza Lushaka, curriculum development, foundations for learning and Dinaledi might be expected to help in this respect. What are sorely needed are initiatives that provide support to teachers of all subjects.

PRO VINC IAL DEPARTMENTS O F EDU C ATIO N The nine provincial departments have similar structures for their budgets. This facilitates comparison across provinces as well as facilitating the extraction of a national picture of budgeting and provision.

In addition to the money that the provinces receive from National Treasury via the equitable share, the provincial education departments receive a number of conditional grants from the national department of Education. In addition they receive, via the provincial treasuries, a portion of the provincial infrastructure conditional grant that comes from National Treasury.

Table 12 shows the share of the total budget allocated to each programme for the nine provinces combined. The shares remain more or less constant over the four years shown. Public ordinary school education clearly dominates the budgets, accounting for 82% or more of the total.

Further Education and Training, which accounts for 3% of the total, is due to be transferred to the Department of Higher Education and Training. For this interim year, the allocation takes the form of a

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TABLE 8: Conditional grants of the national departments of education (Rm) 2009/10 Dinaledi schools

2010/11

–

HIV and Aids (life skills education)

2011/12

–

2012/13

70

100

1 81

188

199

209

2 395

3 663

4 579

4 928

Technical secondary schools recapitalisation

–

80

200

210

Higher Education and Training

–

–

–

–

3 168

3 773

3 972

4 169

National school nutrition programme

Further education and training colleges

TABLE 9: Budgetary share of programmes within provincial education budgets 2009/10

2010/11

2011/12

2012/13

MAIN APPROP.

ADJUSTED APPROP.

REVISED ESTIMATE

Administration

7%

7%

7%

6%

6%

6%

Public ordinary school education

82%

83%

83%

82%

82%

82%

Independent school subsidies

1%

1%

1%

1%

1%

1%

Public special school education

3%

3%

3%

3%

3%

3%

Further education and training

3%

3%

2%

3%

3%

3%

Adult basic education and training

1%

1%

1%

1%

1%

1%

Early childhood development

2%

1%

1%

2%

2%

2%

Auxiliary and associated services

2%

2%

2%

2%

2%

2%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

Total

conditional grant from National Treasury to each of the provinces.

NO - FE E S C HO O L P O L I C Y The no-fee school policy is among the most important initiatives in promoting enrolment and attendance of poor learners. The policy was introduced in 2007, and targeted at schools in quintiles 1 and 2 i.e. the schools that available data suggested were attended predominantly by learners from the poorest 40% of households in the country.

In 2009/10, government expected provinces to spend R10,9 bn on no-fee schools, and benefit 5,3 million learners at 14 029 schools (National Treasury, 2009: 37). The policy provides for graded allocations to schools by provinces, with allocations increasing the lower the quintile.

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MEDIUM-TERM ESTIMATE

For example, in 2009 the target allocation per learner per year for quintile 1 schools was R807 while it was R740 for quintile 2 schools. National Treasury notes challenges in implementing the policy, including delays in transferring allocations to schools. To address this challenge, norms and standards were changed so as to state the date by which allocations should reach schools.

The Provincial Budgets and Expenditure Review (National Treasury, 2009: 37) states that the no-fee policy would be extended to quintile 3 schools over the 2009 MTEF period. Some of the provincial narratives suggest that extension happened in 2009/10. However, some of these same provinces then have extension as a planned activity for 2010/11. This suggests that implementation was partial in 2009/10.

One of the criticisms of the no-fee policy has been the way in which schools are

assigned to quintiles. Gauteng is the only province that refers to this problem in noting that nine quintile 5 and 44 quintile 4 schools were re-ranked during 2009/10 so that they could qualify for no-fee status.

KwaZulu-Natal notes explicitly that the increased number of no-fee schools in 2009/10 included farm schools. It is not clear why the latter are treated as an exception that requires reporting. KwaZuluNatal notes as a problem that the norms and standards do not currently provide for Grade R, even where this is provided within a no-fee school.

The no-fee policy provides for no fees to be paid by any child attending that school.

However, there are also poor children who attend other schools that do charge fees. For equitable access, these children (or their caregivers) need to be exempted from paying all or part of the fees applicable

CHAPTER 2 | GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE

49

KEY TRENDS IN EDUCATION SPEND

KEY TRENDS IN EDUCATION SPEND

TABLE 10: Electricity source facility grid in ordinary schools No. of Sites

Electricity Supply

EC

5715

4538

FS

1543

1395

GP

1994

1983

Province

TABLE 12: Fencing and security facility grid in ordinary schools

No Electricity Supply

Unreliable Electricity Supply

Solar Panel on Site

Generator on Sites

Municipal Grid Connection on Site

1177

117

1141

32

3431

248

34

35

0

1364

11

103

0

1

1982

KZN

5835

4278

1557

411

369

47

3889

LP

3918

3627

291

68

290

10

3395

MP

1540

1337

203

15

0

0

1337

NW

1740

1648

92

13

5

1

1642

NC

609

587

22

28

13

3

576

WC

1466

1464

2

11

2

2

14460

Total

24460

20857

3603

800

1855

97

19076

One site could have more than one type of electricity source

Province

Total Sites

Wire

Fencing Palisades Palisades (Stone) (Concrete)

EC

5715

4479

77

FS

1643

1453

117

GP

1994

1372

441

KZN

5835

5092

127

LP

3918

3557

28

MP

1540

1164

NW

1740

1583

19

Total Brick

No Fencing Total

%

Security Electric Fence

86

4661

1171

20

18

61

1649

133

345

281

2439

64

273

124

5616

11

22

3618

39

10

13

60

15

62

Gates

Access Control

4

4357

38

8

2

1427

29

3

39

1883

838

458

8

10

5441

630

339

9

3

3612

49

1226

347

23

1

1366

7

1720

116

7

4

1670

22

NC

609

574

26

4

43

647

23

4

2

570

9

WC

1466

1312

90

21

66

1489

108

7

17

1339

221

Total

24460

20586

1005

716

758

23065

2759

11

82

21665

1843

One site could have more than one type of water source TABLE 11: Water source facility grid in ordinary schools Unreliable Water Supply

Borehole/Rain Harvesting on Site

Communal Water Supply on Site

Mobile Tankers Water Supply on Site

1117

325

2574

575

44

1393

250

54

513

132

55

742

1994

0

68

205

478

16

1433

5835

5226

609

1168

2541

396

357

2267

3918

3599

319

655

1627

1590

194

696

MP

1540

1442

98

147

409

441

168

523

NW

1740

1695

45

77

664

352

68

807

No. of Sites

Water Supply

EC

5715

4596

FS

1643

GP

1994

KZN LP

Province

No Water Supply

Municipal Water Supply on Site 1679

NC

609

603

6

30

217

142

7

286

WC

1466

1466

0

9

173

399

86

886

Total

24460

22016

2444

2563

8923

4505

995

9319

One site could have more than one type of water source

at that school. There is national policy on this issue, including provision for automatic exemption of all grant recipients. However, there are also many reports that the policy is not well implemented.

N AT I ON A L S CH OOL N U T R I TI O N P R OG RA M M E Assistance is provided to all public primary schools in quintiles 1, 2 and 3 as well as to quintile 1 secondary schools. The latter were

50

a new innovation in 2009/10. Several of the provinces note that they plan to extend coverage to quintile 2 secondary schools during 2010/11. Mpumalanga notes that a policy shift calling for such extension would cost the province close on R59 million.

The Provincial Budgets and Expenditure Review (National Treasury, 2009: 40) notes that, in addition to the money for the food itself, additional funding is provided to provinces for related infrastructure at schools, such as kitchen equipment, garden tools, and eating and serving utensils. Ad-

CHAPTER 2 | GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE

ditional funding was also provided for the 2009 MTEF period for improvements to the quality of meals.

All provinces discuss infrastructure in their budget books. This is appropriate given the backlogs and deficiencies. At least some of the infrastructure expenditure is funded through the provincial infrastructure conditional grant which is provided by National Treasury to provincial treasuries, but with an instruction that education is one of the priority areas.

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The narrative to the national Basic Education vote notes that the country lacks â&#x20AC;&#x153;credibleâ&#x20AC;? information on existing facilities and infrastructure and that this has hampered addressing shortcomings and meant that provision of infrastructure has not been guided by national or provincial policies and norms. The information is currently being updated to create a new â&#x20AC;&#x153;national education infrastructure management system.â&#x20AC;?

SC HO O L IN FRAS TRU C TU RE The School Register of Needs Survey (SRN) conducted in 1996 and 2000 resulted in the first comprehensive database on school infrastructure in the history of education in South Africa, providing information on physical facilities, basic services, learning material and equipment. During 2006, another assessment was conducted, expanding on the two previous surveys. The report, namely the National Education Infrastructure Management System (NEIMS) was published in September 2007.5

The following examples give a sense of the different challenges faced by particular provinces: t *O &BTUFSO $BQF UIF FNQIBTJT XJUIJO JOGSBTUSVDUVSF JT PO QSPWJEJOH GPS SPMM PVU of Grade R, replacement of mud structure schools and non-school buildings. t *O 'SFF 4UBUF UIF BJN JT UP CVJME OFX TDIPPMT BOE JNQSPWF TDIPPMT TP BT to eliminate the platooning system, whereby different children are taught in different shifts so as to allow limited infrastructure and teachers to accommodate a greater number of children. t (BVUFOH QMBOT UP CVJME OFX TDIPPMT BOE BE E J UJPOBM DMBTTSPPNT UP QSPWJEF GPS an â&#x20AC;&#x153;expandedâ&#x20AC;? population. t *O ,XB;VMV /BUBM QMBOOFE JOGSBTUSVDUVSF BDUJWJUZ JODMVEFT DPOTUSVDUJPO PG a relatively large number of schools as well as adding classrooms, toilets, computer rooms, laboratories and media centres in existing schools. t -JNQPQP SFDPSET TDIPPMT XJUI NPSF UIBO MFBSOFST QFS DMBTTSPPN schools in very poor condition, and 694 schools with more than 50 learners per toilet seat. t .QVNBMBOHB QSJPSJUJTFT UIF CVJMEJOH PG BEEJUJPOBM DMBTTSPPNT JO FYJTUJOH TDIPPMT and the rehabilitation/upgrading of existing classrooms. This is needed, among others, to eliminate instances where children learn (or attempt to learn) under trees. The province notes that the function has been â&#x20AC;&#x153;carried overâ&#x20AC;? to the Department of Public Works and Transport. The implications of this carrying over are not clear. t 8FTUFSO $BQF T FNQIBTJT JT BEESFTTJOH DMBTTSPPN CBDLMPHT JO QPPS BOE expanding communities.

5 National Education Infrastructure Management System (NEIMS), 2009 pp 25 - 28.

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CHAPTER 2 | GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE

51

KEY TRENDS IN EDUCATION SPEND

SA FET Y

S PEC IAL NEEDS

Several provinces refer to initiatives in relation to safety. These are generally not accompanied by specified budget allocations.

Some of the initiatives might have very small budget implications, but are nevertheless important given the levels of personal and property crime in South Africa.

For the most part these initiatives probably fall within the ordinary public schools programme, but this will not always be the case.

The Provincial Budgets and Expenditure Review (National Treasury, 2009: 31-2) notes that Western Cape and Gauteng have a disproportionately high number of schools for special needs education, and an associated disproportionately high number of learners.

The following examples give an idea of the activities engaged in:

For example, in 2007 Gauteng accounted for 43 057 (42%) of the total of 102 057 learners in special schools, while Western Cape accounted for a further 16 336 (16%).

This is also noted in Gauteng’s budget book, which notes that it has the largest concentration of special schools in the country.

! In Eastern Cape schools in all 23 districts participate in the Promotion of School Safety programme. Schools are encouraged to form school safety committees, and it is estimated that about four-fifths have such committees.

The relative lack of special schools in other provinces means that learners with special needs who cannot be adequately catered for in mainstream school are either placed inappropriately in public ordinary schools or remain out of school.

! North West records that most schools participate in their Adopt-a-Cop programme. Schools have also elected school safety teams and coordinators. The province notes that increasing substance abuse contributes to the problems experienced.

Thus the recent Barriers to Education study found that 63% of caregivers of children whom the caregivers defined as disabled felt that the school their child attended did not cater for their disability (personal communication, Sarah Meny-Gibert, 13 July 2010).

! Northern Cape notes plans to consolidate implementation of its Integrated School Safety Plan during 2010/11. Two hundred schools will participate in the School Safety Emergency Readiness programmes and 100 will participate in the Anti-vandalism programme. The department will also continue to collaborate with South African Police Services, among others, to ensure that schools operate in safe conditions.

Western Cape’s budget book explains the way in which transfer payment to special schools are calculated, as specified in the Employment of Educators Act, 1998. The transfer payments are reportedly based primarily on the number of learners and weightings based on the various barriers to learning.

! Western Cape also records collaboration with the South African Police Service and metro police, including arrangement of random police inspections and tests at schools for drugs and weapons.

Eastern Cape’s narrative on 2009/10 illustrates the range of activities that can be covered. This province’s activities include: ! resourcing 43 special schools in respect of tuition, administration, transport and assistive devices; ! designating four mainstream schools as full service schools with computers

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CHAPTER 2 | GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE

53

KEY TRENDS IN EDUCATION SPEND

KEY TRENDS IN EDUCATION SPEND

allocating 32 assistive devices to the centres;

SPECIAL SCHOOL EDUCATION PROGRAMME TABLE 13: Provincial budgets for public special school education programme (R1000) 2009/10 MAIN APPROP.

ADJUSTED APPROP.

2010/11 REVISED ESTIMATE

2011/12

2012/12

MEDIUM-TERM ESTIMATE

Eastern Cape

505917

457237

435947

470677

643234

676252

Free State

235666

247065

246835

265569

298523

313452

Gauteng

947596

1002735

1095657

1196701

1403680

1404006

KwaZulu-Natal

539352

553251

586280

772903

1007616

1057997

Limpopo

211425

211425

211425

251564

261992

277710

Mpumalanga

160262

161262

161262

194635

258390

203673

73301

75584

70823

82343

89659

96543

Northern Cape North West

171134

171274

171274

218948

248359

268981

Western Cape

544597

585798

585798

688112

807069

853529

3389250

3465631

3565301

4141452

5018522

5152143

2010/11

2011/12

2012/12

Total

TABLE 14: Provincial budgets for early childhood education programme (R1000) 2009/10 MAIN APPROP.

ADJUSTED APPROP.

REVISED ESTIMATE

367316

307816

290486

528492

652168

676000

80555

82122

82122

95738

100978

105717

Gauteng

309146

280785

280785

557541

660215

679843

KwaZulu-Natal

336299

326704

264963

598678

722054

758157

Limpopo

228615

171515

144116

237423

249253

267750

Mpumalanga

96922

97922

97922

124553

155718

134667

Northern Cape

63350

58284

50337

47930

51655

55673

Eastern Cape Free State

MEDIUM-TERM ESTIMATE

North West

193156

194503

194503

209020

224109

239553

Western Cape

313468

305489

305489

342657

363593

384764

1988827

1825140

1710723

2742032

3179743

3302124

Total

! providing transport to 15 special schools; ! providing training for district-based support teams in all 23 districts on the screening and support of learners with barriers to learning as well as training of 50 teacher aids and housemothers on child care; ! providing training to 40 educators in special schools and full service schools in communication systems and basic sign language.

Full service schools are referred to by most provinces. These are mainstream schools that provide sufficient services to cater for children who do not require high levels of support. At least some of the costs associated with this might fall under the public ordinary schools programme for some provinces. Several provinces also refer to establishing special schools as resource centres.

KwaZulu-Natal notes that it is focusing on making provision for under-serviced rural areas in that currently more than 60 of the registered special schools are in urban areas. It also notes the problem that some of the registered schools only cater for particular disability categories, thus denying access to children with other disabilities.

Mpumalanga refers to the allocation for 2010/11 of a conditional grant for upgrading of school infrastructure in respect of special schools. It is not clear which grant this refers to unless the province has allocated part of the provincial infrastructure grant for this purpose. Western Cape notes the need to “rationalise” special schools to promote accessibility, but it is not clear what this means.

Many people might think of the special schools sub-programme as catering only for children with disabilities. The provincial narratives for this sub-programme include some references that highlight that this conception is too narrow. For example,

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Eastern Cape refers to out-of-school children as a target, while KwaZulu-Natal refers to children in trouble with the law. The narratives do not elaborate on the form of provision provided for these categories of children, but the KwaZulu-Natal reference would be to reform schools and schools of industry.

The responsibility should in the near future be shifted to the departments of social development. It is not clear whether these categories of children are provided for in the calculation of subsidies. Reform schools and schools of industry are not mentioned in the other provinces’ budget votes for education.

The patterns in respect of the standard performance indicator for special education within the public ordinary schools programme show distinct variations across provinces.

E ARL Y C HI L D HO O D D E VE L O P M E N T PRO G RAM M E Table 16 gives the allocations for the Early Childhood Education programme. Within the education departments, the focus within ECD is on Grade R, the year prior to Grade 1, while social development bears the main responsibility for provision in respect of younger children.

The programme accounts for a small share of the overall provincial education budgets, but the share has increased markedly over time. By 2012/13 it is set to be 2,1% of the combined education budgets whereas in 2006/07 it accounted for only 0,7%. Gustafsson (2010), finds this increased spending reflected in a rapid increase in the proportion of children benefiting from Grade R education.

For example, 80% of learners enrolled in Grade 1 were reported in the National Income Dynamics Survey of 2008 to have

previously attended pre-primary or Grade R classes, whereas this was only 60% for Grade 4 learners.

All provinces recognise ECD as a national priority in their budget books. Earlier in the decade a conditional grant was provided in respect of ECD. After the grant ended in 2004, provinces continued to provide for ECD on an expanded scale.

Most provinces refer to the training provided to educators in terms of the various levels of the National Qualifications Framework.

Several note that this training is provided for as part of the EPWP. Free State details an amount of R5,0 million for training and payment of stipends for pre-Grade R practitioners, alongside a much larger amount of R52,6 million for expansion of Grade R. KwaZulu-Natal is unusual in funding learners – 90 in 2009 and a planned 100 in 2010 – for a Bachelors of Education degree under this programme. In reviewing 2009/10, KwaZulu-Natal report training of 3 418 educators in the integration of life-skills into the curriculum, lay counselling, care and support, and 579 learners in peer education. By March 2010, about 3 000 Soul Buddyz Clubs had been established in primary schools.

In addition, 1 200 schools with high prevalence of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) were each allocated a budget of R12 000 for care and support of OVC. Schools are expected to provide services such as a focussed life-skills programme, psycho-social support and nutrition depending on the particular needs.

P E RFO R MA NCE INDICATORS Table 17 extracts the indicators relating to number of learners. Unfortunately Free State does not include an indicator for the total number of learners enrolled in public

CHAPTER 2 | GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE

55

KEY TRENDS IN EDUCATION SPEND

EDITORIAL

TABLE 15: 2010/11 targets in respect of number of learners NUMBER OF LEARNERS

EC

GT

KZN

LM

NC

NW

Enrolled in public ordinary schools*

2042081

_

1737445

2497663

1700700

267000

697227

In schools targeted by NSNP

1341131

14252

670000

1845000

1282763

243370

531615

66%

_

39%

74%

75%

91%

76%

1680652

503594

850000

1352721

1121255

170000

557832

82%

_

49%

54%

66%

64%

80%

19731

14252

2713

13000

66

165

2651

Benefiting from transport subsidies / learner transport

_

6115

49489

13000

16537

18500

28184

% of all learners

_

_

3%

1%

1%

7%

4%

% of all learners Benefiting from no fee school policy % of all learners With special needs enrolled in public ordinary schools

FS

* Eastern Cape notes that this number excludes Grade R. TABLE 16: 2010/11 measures in respect of number of school infrastructure EC

FS

GT

KZN

LM

NC

NW

Schools without water supply

661*

54

0

100

70

–

40

Schools without electricity

171*

25

0

650

237

–

Schools without sanitation facilities

661*

35

0

50

936

–

30

* Number to be supplied in this financial year

ordinary schools. For the other provinces we can calculate the percentage of learners that other indicators – such as for the NSNP, travel allowance, and no-fee school – constitute of the total and these were discussed in the relevant sections above.

Eastern Cape – which is one of the poorest provinces – has a very high percentage of learners covered by the no fee school policy, and also appropriate that the vast geographical Northern Cape provides transport assistance to a relatively high percentage of learners.

For example the table indicates that Northern Cape records the highest percentage of learners being reached by the NSNP (91%) and transport subsidies or learner transport (7%), while Eastern Cape records the highest percentage (82%) of learners being covered by the no fee school policy.

Less clear is why Northern Cape should outperform poorer provinces in respect of the NSNP and why North West should have a higher percentage of children benefiting from the no fee policy than the poorer KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo.

These patterns are, at least to some extent, explained by the differences between the provinces. For example, it is appropriate that

Most of the performance indicator tables also contain indicators relating to inadequate infrastructure, such as the number of schools

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CHAPTER 2 | GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE

targeted to be supplied with adequate water, electricity or sanitation, or the number without adequate basic services.

Table 18 lists three indicators that are found across most of the provinces. Gauteng records that none of its schools are lacking in any of the three types of infrastructure.

Northern Cape includes these indicators in its list but has no estimates recorded. The patterns vary widely across the other provinces. Eastern Cape records the highest number for lack of water supply, but the book records that these will all be supplied in the coming year. Limpopo has the highest number of schools without adequate sanitation facilities, while KwaZulu-Natal performs worst in terms of electricity.

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D E V E L O P I N G C O N DU C I V E I N FR A S T R U C T U R E F O R B E T T E R ED U C A T I O N ARTICLE BY DEVELOPING BANK OF SOUTHERN AFRICA

“

The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) is once again proving to be more than just a bank, but an institution that heeds and provide to the needs of communities throughout the SADC region. In line with one of the focus areas of the DBSA to deliver education infrastructure in South Africa, the DBSA has partnered with the Adopt-a-School Foundation to build or upgrade ablution facilities and improve sanitary conditions at disadvantaged schools across the country.

Eighteen schools were identified and a need assessment report and a five year action plan, was completed. According to the agreement between the DBSA and the Foundation, the projects would be implemented in phases, with the DBSA releasing the funds for every new phase.

The first phase of the project which was completed in September 2010, involved four schools which included the construction of a palisade fence at Mphuthi Junior Secondary School, providing furniture for grade 1 and 2 at Mbanga Junior Secondary School, building an ablution block at Zwelibomvu Primary School and renovating ablution facilities at Igugulethu Primary School.

Currently, the project is in its second, third and fourth phase. The four schools assigned to phase two comprises of the renovation of existing ablution facilities at Mphebatho Primary School, construction of an ablution block at the Thabo ya batho School, building an ablution block at Kaalfontein School and renovating existing ablution facilities at the Bhekulwandle School.

The third phase of the project consists of six schools where the work entails the renovation or construction of the ablution facilities. The schools selected are Mahlohonolo Intermediate School, Thari ya tshepe Intermediate School, Sonwabo Primary School, Vuyani Primary School, Blaasuwskop Intermediate School and Tshiamo Primary School.

The fourth phase of the projects which involves the construction of ablution facilities at schools such-as Mamvuka Secondary School, Sikhwizhili Primary School, Sijabulile Primary School, Sonwabo Primary School and a new borehole, play pump and water storage system at the Sambo Primary School, is in progress and expected to be completed in May 2011.

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These projects involve an important component of the empowerment principles of the DBSA in terms of which local skilled and unskilled personnel are engaged to complete the projects. The workers have been sourced through the schools’ databases that were compiled by the Governing Bodies of the schools before the commencement of the projects. The Adopt-A-School Foundation appointed a team leader to manage operations and personnel at each site. They report to the project manager from the Foundation who oversees the delivery of the projects in terms of scheduled time, quality, budget, health and safety issues on sites during construction. The project manager is also responsible for the procurement of workers and building material.

In addition to this project, the DBSA sponsored 2 000 DBSA branded mathematics dictionaries to 21 rural schools in Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

The aim is to support mathematics education in underprivileged schools as it is a subject that is often an essential requirement for the scarce skills professions such as engineering and science.

The dictionaries, which contain over 1000 words, are intended to improve the grade 10 to 12 learner’s understanding of mathematical vocabulary and ultimately their examination results.

The DBSA strives to be a Centre of Excellence that is geared to deliver sustainable Corporate Social Investment (CIS) pro-

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57

EDITORIAL

grammes to communities and as such the DBSA have developed the Education Roadmap which is aligned with key priorities of the Department of Basic Education. Through collaborative partnerships with organisations such as the AdoptA-School Foundation, we are able to alleviate hurdles faced by learners, especially in rural schools.

! Long term sustainability of the project ! Long term impact of the project ! Empowerment/self sustainability of local community

Areas of priority in the DBSA Education Roadmap to support schools include the following:

! Encourage partnership opportunities

1.

Extend national student financial aid scheme bursaries (to attract more people into teaching).

! Mitigation measures to high risk programmes

Scale-up and ensure practical usefulness of management courses for principals, deputies, HODs and district supervisors.

! Whether the programmes supports the DBSA brand

Align education districts and strengthen capacity (including selection and training of quality managers and management teams).

! Whether the Programme is aligned to government priority areas

2.

3.

4.

Differentiate schools based on their performance.

5.

Channel children with most potential (e.g. good math’s scores in grade 8 in 2009) into high-performance/ “finishing schools” or special programmes.

6.

Revise regulations to enable national procurement of textbooks, feeding schemes, and scholar transport.

7.

Examination feedback at many levels.

8.

Actively recruit foreign teachers to alleviate critical shortages in mathematics, science, IT and for training institutions.

9.

Differentiate salaries for teachers whose subjects/ skills are in short-supply. This will also incentivise new teachers entering the profession.

10. Reintroduce inspectorates through increasing number of inspectors to ensure adequate capacity of the Education Evaluation and Development Unit 11. Increase numbers of high-performance/Dinaledi schools.

12. Schools which are unable to be turned around to be closed and children transferred to functioning schools with additional supports provided.

Our CSI initiatives are geared to support the government’s programmes such as the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Programme, the Urban Renewal Strategy, Poverty Alleviation Focus, ASGISA, JIPSA and national transformation and Empowerment Agenda wherever possible.

Enterprises, NGOs, institutions or groups aiming to alleviate the hardships and sufferings of communities will be considered

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for funding by the DBSA. Applications are evaluated on the following:

CHAPTER 2 | GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE

! Innovativeness of the programme

! Programmes that address identified market failures

! Programmes that are aligned to the DBSA defined market segments.

Parties interested in submitting applications for financial support must first study the DBSA CSI funding guidelines on the DBSA website before completing the forms.

The DBSA’s choice of the Adopt-A-School Foundation as a partner in this crucial project was based on the Foundation’s vision which is ‘To support the creation and enhancement of an environment conducive to learning and teaching in statefunded schools’. Also, the Foundation has since its inception in 2002, adopted 57 schools in 7 provinces. The Foundation adopts a consultative approach in its programmes where it involves key stakeholders such as the Department of Education at District and regional level, the Schools Governing bodies and local community. The Foundation has assumed the responsibility to ensures that schools have the necessary management and community leadership to support an environment that is favourable for better teaching and learning.

Employees at the DBSA are often encouraged to involve themselves in ways that includes offering their time, knowledge and expertise to CSI programmes. To the DBSA, these initiatives are more than just handing over monetary assistance and donations. It is indeed an expression of the core value system and philosophy of the organisation.

This project is part of the DBSA’s objective to contribute to the alleviation of some of the infrastructural backlog at schools in the country as reported by the National Education Infrastructure Management System in the DBSA’s Education Roadmap.

At the DBSA, we will continue to contribute to the economic and social upliftment of communities through the provision of financial resources, skills advancement and leadership.

”

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CHAPTER 3

TOWARDS IMPROVED COLLABORATION

IT’S TIME FOR ACTION …

SYSTEMS THINKING METHODOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING EDUCATION DELIVERY

60

SUSTAINABLE CORPORATE SOCIAL INVESTMENT IN EDUCATION

62

in

WE NEED A NEW TRIPARTITE ALLIANCE

66

education, and let’s focus on

ALLIANCES FOR IMPROVED EDUCATION

68

MICHAEL & SUSAN DELL FOUNDATION SOUTH AFRICA

76

FINDING THE BRIGHT SPOTS

78

Join

the

action

leaders

action, by tracking the top 100 projects on www.ed.org.za to inspire belief in the power of education.

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EDITORIAL

EDITORIAL

S Y S TEM S THINKING M ETHODO L OGIES FOR IM P ROVIN G EDUCATION D E LI VE RY Article by Lynne du Toit ,Chief Executive Officer of Juta and Company, South Africa’s oldest publishing house and specialist academic and education retailer and the leading provider of legal and regulatory information, local student textbooks and learning and information solutions. Du Toit recently focused her Executive MBA dissertation on Systems Thinking for Executive Delivery.

“

Systems Thinking resonates as a meaningful way to view education and the challenges that face us. Almost everything is organised or organises itself in terms of systems, but the defining factor is that a system is a complex functioning whole which depends on the interactions between its parts. The whole is not the sum of the parts but rather emerges from the complex interrelationship between them.

VI AB L E S YST EMS We may choose to consider the education system as a whole and, within that, the school as a system, the classroom as a system, or assessment as a system. Learning itself may be considered a system. According to Stafford Beer’s Viable Systems Model (VSM), for a system to be viable, certain functions need to be present. These are (i)

‘Implementation’ where the operational functions that are required to serve the purpose of the system are performed,

(ii)

‘Co-ordination’ to ensure there is compatibility between the operational activities,

(iii)

‘Control’ which monitors and audits these activities to ensure they conform to the policy established for the system and its functions.

‘Co-ordination’ and ‘Control’, along with ‘Development’ and ‘Policy’ constitute the management function of the system in focus.

This model is useful because it allows us to identify flash points that could lead to systemic failure. For example, through the auditing process we might identify that insufficient controls are in place in the classroom teaching system to ensure that curriculum delivery has occurred or, from a co-ordination point of view, that the assessments in place do not adequately assess the curriculum being taught.

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CHAPTER 3 | TOWARDS IMPROVED COLLABORATION

Through stakeholder engagement, it became clear that the one factor, “parental involvement”, if addressed, could impact all the other variables towards improved learner motivation. It was here that the school leadership and teachers could intervene to bring about feasible and desirable change as illustrated in the causal loop diagram below.

Likewise, feedback from the environment, in this case the learner context, might show up de-motivation or unruly behaviour which in turn will inform policy and innovation in the classroom. The key here is that if the feedback is not occurring regularly and the intelligence not acted upon speedily, the system does not adjust and ceases to be viable for its intended purpose.

Level of Classroom Discipline

Level of Parental Support and Engagement

C AUS AL RELATIO NS HIPS As useful as this is, we should not be fooled by the apparent orderliness of a viable system: underpinning Systems Thinking is the fundamental notion of a complex web of unseen interconnected causal relationships that interact with one another to create the events experienced in the actual world.

Systems Thinking uses various tools to broaden the scope of experience and uncover the causal relationships impacting an event of concern so as to be able to address it. This means that there may not be a single solution, but rather multiple touchpoints that can affect a desirable outcome.

While there will always be social and environmental factors outside the school leadership’s influence, there will be drivers that one might influence towards improvement, and each system will have its own unique combination of variables and drivers. It is understanding these at the relevant level of focus that can bring meaningful improvement.

For instance, at a particular school in the Western Cape struggling to improve learner performance, a key driver that emerged, amongst others, was a lack of learner motivation.

This in turn had its own drivers: level of classroom care; teacher time on task; teacher motivation; accountability; extent to which teachers are valued in the system and society; level of parental engagement and so on.

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Level of Classroom Discipline

Level of Teacher Motivation

Extent of Accountability

If ways could be found to increase the level of parental engagement and support, even in challenging social contexts, mutual accountability would impact teachers’ motivation and they would be more informed to provide appropriate classroom care.

At the same time, discipline would improve, reducing workload and improving time on task and the quality of teaching and learning.

Through this improved engagement and delivery, learners would become increasingly motivated, reinforcing the level of teacher motivation, classroom discipline and parental support in a virtuous cycle, ultimately improving learner and school performance.

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Quality of teaching and learning

Time on task

Learner Motivation

Extent of Classroom Care

S TAK E HO L D E R E N G AGE ME NT This is but one unique case and each school, district or system has its own unique challenges. However, by engaging with stakeholders to identify key drivers of a particular concern in a system, it becomes possible to identify and implement a series of small wins to feasibly bring about desirable change in the quest for continuous improvement.

”

Tel: +27 21 659 2320 Switchboard: +27 21 659 2300 Fax: +27 21 659 2661 Email: ldutoit@juta.co.za 1st Floor, Sunclare Building, 21 Dreyer Street, Claremont, 7708 www.juta.co.za www.jutaonline.co.za

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EDITORIAL

EDITORIAL

S U STA IN A BL E CORPORATE SOC I AL IN V E S T M E N T ( C S I) IN EDUCATION ARTICLE BY GREATERCAPITAL

“

Our government spends a higher percentage of its GDP on education than most countries and education still receives the lion share of corporate social investment.

If the teachers have a poor work ethic, are not properly trained and are not supported by a strong governing body, the school will fail to function as an effective incubator of learning.

Yet the system still fails to deliver the calibre of students required for economic growth and transformation. This begs the question – what are we doing wrong?

Nick Taylor, fellow and senior researcher of Jet Education Services, maintains that until we are able to inculcate a professional and value-based culture within our schools and educators, curricular interventions alone will not translate into systemically improved learner performance.4

One thing is clear: we should be looking at more strategic and informed education models. By investing in what has been tried and tested, we can address systemic problems and make positive results more sustainable and replicable.

Education is among the most basic of our constitutional rights yet, aside from our unemployment rate, it remains one of the biggest causes of poverty.1 And of course unemployment and education are inextricably linked.

With 42% of our youth between the ages of 18 and 29 unemployed2, the educational needs of our children are of paramount importance if they are to become productive members of South African society. In the latest budget, government earmarked a R190 billion for the forthcoming year and R215 billion for 2013/14, further underlining the priority placed on education.

BU I L D I N G BL OCK S New research from Stellenbosch University3 has found that despite the resources and considerable money allocated, some schools will not be able to deliver results. Things like quality teachers, parent involvement and good classroom practice have to be in place at schools in order to achieve improved results. These are the basic building blocks of a fundamentally healthy and sound school community.

This may explain why some desperately under-resourced schools have managed to achieve surprising success. Results are not necessarily related to resources but rather to how these resources are used.

1 2 3 4 5

“Unfortunately the majority of schools in South Africa are unable to instil these values and skills in their children, because the teachers do not practice them. If children see their teachers working hard and rewarding excellence, then they absorb the same values.”

EDU C ATIO N REMAINS IN PO LL PO S ITIO N Education still receives the largest portion of corporate investment spend, accounting for 32.4% of CSI budgets.5 This has proved a consistent CSI trend over in recent years. Investments in bursaries, scholarships and university chairs enjoy the lion’s share, amounting to 25%, followed by curriculum development (20%) and infrastructure (16%).

On the surface this seems logical, given the immediate ‘return on investment’ benefits for the company. Companies have firsthand experience of the poor skills levels of new recruits and, through the bursary cycle, are able to groom candidates, reaping the benefits of better quality incumbents.

Quick returns like building a new classroom or computer laboratory offer tangible branding opportunities and are often favoured by executives. But ‘school governance and functionality’ receives a rather insignificant 3% of spend. The lack of emphasis placed on ensuring the proper functioning of schools supports the research findings. Improvements will never be achieved if schools themselves cannot maintain the standards of education.

South African Social Investment Exchange. (SASIX). Sector Research, 2009 National Treasury (www.treasury.gov.za) ‘Schools need savvy to raise standards.’ Cape Times, 29th March 2011, page 4 (http://capetimes.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx) Education writer – Michelle Jones Trialogue, CSI Handbook, 11th Edition, page 138 Trialogue, CSI Handbook, 13th edition, page 38

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CHAPTER 3 | TOWARDS IMPROVED COLLABORATION

www.ed.org.za

IN FO RM E D D E C I S I O N S

! Support teacher training and mentoring, to build teachers’

Before looking at any partnership with a non-profit implementation organisation or school, corporate investors should get some kind of baseline understanding of the specific issues that need to be addressed. A thorough assessment will also reveal capacity gaps or other potential problems, such as weak governance, teacher absenteeism and dysfunctional leadership.

! Increase access to quality early childhood development ser-

If these present as the greatest needs, this is where investment should flow. However, a dedicated and accountable school management team is not the only guarantee that systemic and enduring improvement will occur.

Corporate investors and their counterparts should set clear criteria for selecting target schools on the basis of their commitment and self-initiative.

Unfortunately the tendency to make subjective and sometimes emotional decisions around what education in South Africa needs is still prevalent. These investment choices often have unintended consequences and can leave the beneficiaries worse off.

If we are serious about turning the tide in education, we should tap into the latest research, consult with development sector specialists and take a much more considered approach to the design of social interventions in the education sector.

IN VE S TM E N T P RI N C I P L E S GreaterCapital’s work is underpinned by a belief that thoughtful social investment has the power to change lives, for good.

So we advocate for a long term, integrated and evidence-based approach to social investment.

We apply our SA Social Investment Exchange (SASIX) principles to identify good practice models that provide sound investment opportunities with a good measure of social return on investment for our clients.

WE THEREFORE LOOK FOR EDUCATION INTERVENTIONS THAT: ! Improve leadership, management governance practices at

schools by training and mentoring school governing bodies, principals and senior teaching staff.

subject knowledge and classroom management, particularly in the under-resourced areas of mathematics, science, technology and African language teaching. vices. ! Improve school safety. ! Create access to resources like science laboratories, com-

puters, and libraries for disadvantaged schools that demonstrate genuine commitment to education.

ME AS U RI N G S O C I A L V A LUE To ensure that programmes are achieving desired results, the ‘pressure to measure’ is ever-present. And reporting only on outputs is no longer accepted practice. With more rigorous reporting requirements in place, as stipulated in King III, the focus has shifted to quantifying the social change that occurs as a result of an intervention.

Investors need to demonstrate how lives have actually been positively changed, in other words: what is the Social Return on Investment (SROI)? Global SROI practice suggests that this return is denoted in monetary terms, since money is the most widely accepted form of measuring value. Arguably putting a monetary value on social value is challenging. How do you place a value on the increase in literacy? The SROI methodology follows a structured process to identify indicators of the outcomes (such as increased test results) and then finding proxies to measure the rand value of the indicators.

”

What is encouraging is that there are many industry players, both in the corporate and non profit space, that have made these strategic shifts in investment patterns and measurement practices. The value lies in the sharing of both the failures and the success stories. It’s time to create meaningful cross-sectoral partnerships that pool resources and amalgamate effort – inevitably deepening the impact. After all, our ultimate objective is the same – quality education for everyone. And we need to start getting it right, first time.6

6 GreaterCapital is a social enterprise providing strategic impact investment advice and opportunities as part of the GreaterGood group. They also host national Social Investment Leaders forums for CSI practitioners that are designed to challenge, spark debate and promote the sharing of good practices. www.GreaterCapital.co.za

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CHAPTER 3 | TOWARDS IMPROVED COLLABORATION

63

Saving for Tertiary Education The Standard Bank Fundisa Fund ?$)'1$)+&6$+@'7&+!7+/'7$*+&6$3$+')+!-$+!&6$3+$A0.//9+)'@-',%.-&+@'7&+.+ parent can give their children. A gift will set them up for life, and will never lose value. The gift of a good education. But with the costs of higher education continuing to rise, for many parents, paying for their children’s education is simply too expensive. In 2020, university fees could be as high as R91 100 per year, which is unaffordable for most.

However, with a little forward -thinking, planning ahead and discipline, you can start saving towards tertiary education as soon as your child is born. Fundisa is a way to do exactly that, says Sizwe Ndebele, Head of Bank Channels and Emerging Product at STANLIB.

Escalating Costs – An Example Assumptions Current age of child

5yrs

Current annual cost of tertiary education

R30 000

Duration of course

3 years

Approximate numbers of years until your child starts tertiary tuition

13

Current savings

R0

Annual increase in contributions

8%

Expected annual growth in savings

8%

BC2$%&$1+.--0./+'-D.&'!-+3.&$

6%

Expected annual escalation in education costs

The cost of education has spiralled rapidly over the past 20 years, and with university fees likely to continue escalating by 8-10% each year, you’re in for a hefty bill if your child one day plans to tackle a three or fouryear degree. Remember too that if you have more than one child or if your child has to take out a student loan to pay for the fees, the total cost will be much higher.

There can be no question that there is a burning need to start saving as early as possible if you want to give your children the best education possible.

The Standard Bank Fundisa Fund makes it easy From just R40 per month, anyone can invest in the Fundisa Fund and save towards their child’s tertiary education. Fundisa is managed by wealth management company, STANLIB, and invests in a basket of selected industry income funds, which generate attractive interest rates compared to a normal savings account.

A unique feature of this fund is an annual government and Collective Investments industry bonus of 25% of your net contributions, up to a maximum of R600 a year, per child, that must be used for tertiary education fees. For example, if you save R1200 per year (R100 per month), a further R300 will be added to your account each year. A saving of R2 400 per year will see government adding the maximum bonus amount of R600, bringing the total saving to R3 000.

You can withdraw the money you save in the Fundisa Fund at any stage without paying penalties, which is not advisable as you will lose a proportionate amount of government bonus that you had received. The bonus will only remain intact if you keep the money invested until your child starts studying at a tertiary institution.

For more information and to take advantage of this opportunity, call the Fundisa Call Centre 0860 FUNDISA (386 3472), visit a Standard Bank branch, or download a brochure and an application form from the STANLIB website: www.stanlib.com.

Fundisa Facts

8%

Future costs

F

56$+.8!0-&+).($1+'-+9!03+G0-1').+.%%!0-&*+'-%/01'-@+ any government grants, can be used to pay for tertiary education fees, textbooks and accommodation at any public tertiary institution.

F

I!0+%.-+).($+7!3+.)+8.-9+%6'/13$-+.)+9!0+H')64+G0-1').+ accounts are transferable once a year which means you can nominate a new child including in the unfortunate case of death of a child.

F

56$+@!($3-8$-&+@3.-&+%.--!&+"$+0)$1+7!3+.-9+2032!)$+ other than tertiary education and the nominated learner must register to study before the age of 35.

F

>7+9!0+%!8$+1'3$%&/9+&!+:5;<=>?*+&6$3$+')+-!+'-'&'./+7$$+.-1+.+/!H+ annual service fee of 1,25% (excl VAT) applies.

F

F

56$+%6'/1+9!0+).($+7!3+1!$)+-!&+6.($+&!+"$+9!03+!H-*+"0&+ should be a South African citizen and must study at an approved tertiary public place of learning recognised by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).

>7+9!0+.%%$))+&6$+).('-@)+($6'%/$+H'&6+&6$+.))')&.-%$+!7+.+ ,-.-%'./+.1(')!3*+&6$-+.-+'-'&'./+7$$+!7+02+&!+JK+L$C%/4+M;5N+ applies. The annual service fee of 1.25% (excl. VAT) still applies.

Your estimated total future education costs will amount to R308,960.

To fund the costs, it is estimated that you will need to start contributing R660.00 per month. :!03%$E+='"$3&9+BC%$/)'!3+>-($)&8$-&)+B10%.&'!-+<$$1)+>1$-&',$34+56')+$C.82/$+')+7!3+'//0)&3.&'($+2032!)$)+!-/9+ and assumptions have been made on the current cost of education.

the art and science of investin g

STATUTORY DISCLOSURE The Fundisa Fund is not a bank deposit, but a collective investment scheme (unit trust) which is generally a medium to long term investment. The value of your investment may go down as well as up during the period of investment. Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance. The Fundisa Fund is traded at a ruling price and can engage in borrowing and scrip lending. A schedule of fees and charges and maximum commissions is available on request from STANLIB Collective Investments Limited (“the Manager”) Commission and incentives may be paid and if so, would be included in the overall costs. Liberty is a full member of the Association for Savings and Investments of South Africa (ASISA). The manager is a member of the Liberty Group of Companies. As neither STANLIB Wealth Management Limited nor its representative did a full needs analysis in respect of a particular investor, the investor understands that there may be limitation mentioned in this document with regard to the investor’s unique !"#$%&'($)*+,-.-%'./+)'&0.&'!-+.-1+2.3&'%0/.3+-$$1)4+56$+'-7!38.&'!-+.-1+%!-&$-&+!7+&6')+1!%08$-&+.3$+'-&$-1$1+&!+"$+7!3+'-7!38.&'!-+2032!)$+!-/9+.-1+:5;<=>?+1!$)+-!&+@0.3.-&$$+&6$+)0'&."'/'&9+!3+2!&$-&'./+(./0$+ of any information contained herein. Trustees: Absa Bank Ltd, 6th Floor, Absa Towers North (6E1), 180 Commissioner Street, Johannesburg, 2001. Telephone No. 011 350 4000.

STANLIB Wealth Management Limited is an authorised Financial Services Provider in terms of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act 37 of 2002 (Licence No. 26/10/590)

5ZB399

Mid-July to mid-August is savings month and there is no better time to think about saving for your child’s education. Every child deserves a good education, but in order to afford it parents need to start saving as early as possible.

EDITORIAL

EDITORIAL

W E NEED A NEW T R IP A RTITE AL L IANCE www.tshikululu.org.za ARTICLE BY SARAH MORRISON, KEY ACCOUNTS MANAGER AT TSHIKULULU SOCIAL INVESTMENTS (WWW.TSHIKULULU.ORG.ZA)

“

The state, NGOs and the private sector have for too long worked in isolation from each other in education. What South Africa needs is an honest, open and deep partnership between them.

Three of the most critical players in the success, or otherwise, of our national schooling system are obvious enough: the state through its departments of education, business through its social investment programmes, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working in education. They are like three legs of a stool. But all three need to look again at their own roles, see where they can collaborate better, and be prepared to move out of their comfort zones to greater partnership.

Let’s look first to the many NGOs working in education. Without underestimating their positive effects, we would do well to acknowledge that even well–intentioned and efficient NGOs can add confusion to a school environment if working with a silo mentality. This causes stress in the system and can undermine the very public-private partnership in this area that is so needed.

For some NGOs, this requires a real shift in thinking. Many excellent organisations were established during the apartheid years where working with the state education system was sometimes an anathema and contrary to their objectives of providing a quality education to mainly black learners. They had to learn to work in explicit isolation from the system, establishing parallel learning environments for black learners. But for some, this modus operandi has become so ingrained that the new realities of state education have not been allowed to intrude on how they work. For them, serious introspection is needed if they are not to be left out of the new, emerging, public-private partnerships that are developing in this space.

This is not to undermine diversity of practice, competitive ideas, and innovation in approach. Indeed, a straightjacket of conformity of practice could not serve South Africa well. Rather, it is about respecting everyone’s contribution, and then seeking out that which works best, and taking this forward in collaborative ways to best effect.

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For example, a community of practice of educational NGOs established itself in the Western Cape to ensure that their collective impact would hopefully result in improved learner performance. Through a conversation facilitated by the education NGO “Bridge”, they were able to minimise unnecessary duplication of their efforts which had over-burdened the same schools and undermined each other’s programmes. By working together, they were able to widen their collective reach, bringing more tuition to more children and improving access to state resources for the NGOs themselves. It is a good example of what is called “impact networking”, and innovation and organisational independence is maintained.

British think tank New Philanthropy Capital recently produced a report called Impact networks: Charities working together to improve outcomes which notes that “As a third party investor working with a number of small and medium-sized charities, it was often the case that they were working towards the same outcomes but not in a coordinated way. For example, sometimes what was needed was not just the organisation we worked with to scale up but all the parts of the network to scale up in order to achieve a desired outcome.”

Then there is the KwaZulu-Natal-based NGO, MIET. This organisation takes the view that the sustainability of its programmes can only be secured by ensuring government leadership and community ownership and participation. It therefore conceptualises, plans and implements its work in partnership with the education department at all levels.

At a school level, this means the ownership and participation in the implementation of NGO project activities by individual schools and their communities. This includes ensuring representation of teachers, parents and learners on the project task team.

On-the-ground work is translated into real, implementable policies of the education department and school improvements remain long after MIET has left the school.

www.ed.org.za

“MIET Africa is a not-for-profit organization based in South Africa with a strong presence throughout the SADC Region. It realizes its purpose of improving the lives of children by contributing to quality teaching and learning. MIET Africa prides itself on being an African NGO and an innovator of education solutions that focus on the challenges faced by children in rural areas. It has pioneered many new models and programmes, and its influence now extends beyond South Africa and into Africa.

There are, of course, many more other examples of NGOs who take this collaborative and system-aligned approach. Companies should approach their educational programmes holistically, rather than just opting for localised, ad hoc interventions.

The latter is the easier, simpler approach but often has unintended negative impacts.

And an engaged, inclusive approach may mean harder work on sometimes difficult relationships and longer time horizons to achieving positive results for more people. But if the private sector wants to try to make a real, lasting positive impact in education outcomes in South Africa, this more serious approach to education investment should be embraced.

Like any good investment, educational social investments require decisions that are informed – informed by national educational strategic plans, by the needs and assets of a school or a cluster of schools, and by how working with partners such as universities, NGOs and the education department can provide greater impact on the system as a whole.

This type of approach can be seen in the FirstRand and Anglo American Numeracy and Literacy Chairs initiative that has brought together a number of education partners, including the mentioned companies and the Department of Science

www.ed.org.za

and Technology, as co-planners and funders. The National Research Foundation administers the initiative, working closely with Tshikululu Social Investments and the research “Chairs” at the relevant universities.

The Chairs in turn work with 10 public schools each, selected with the assistance of the Department of Education, to improve teacher and learner performance in numeracy. Their work will be undertaken over five years with the aim of systemic improvement across all schooling.

Companies can, and should, also engage with the national education department about the type of skills that learners need for their own and the country’s economic benefit. They must help shape the curriculum to meet the challenges of the 21st century workplace.

This approach requires that the third leg in the stool, the Education Department, creates opportunities for NGOs and the private sector to engage in meaningful ways with the state system.

The department should continue to communicate its strategic plan and priorities, provide structures for the private sector to offer their skills and voice and be open to a robust and honest engagement.

Moving out from their silos, accepting each other’s bona fides, and widening a conversation of partnership that doesn’t mean the subversion of debate and identity, will need far-sightedness on the parts of NGOs, state actors, and the private sector.

Accepting that none can achieve our country’s full educational potential on their own, but that together we can get far more done, would be a good start.

”

CHAPTER 3 | TOWARDS IMPROVED COLLABORATION

67

EDITORIAL

A LLIA N C ES FOR IMPROVE D EDUC A TION

TH E FI EL D BAND S FOUND ATI ON

ARTICLE BY GRAEME BLOCH, VISITING ADJUNCT PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WITWATERSRAND GRADUATE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT.

“

How do we fix our ailing failing schools? We are in the midst of an education crisis that demands responses from us all. Education is a national priority; it requires active intervention from all sectors.

Some things that need to be done are ‘internal’ to the school and must happen ‘within the school gates’ as it were. So better teaching; management, order and support established by the school principal; proper planning under the Strategic Management Team; as well as learners who are well behaved, disciplined, ready to learn and desperate to achieve.

Of course, the ‘internal’ is closely related to what happens outside the school.

Learners will be restless if they arrive at school hungry or sick; discipline is likely to be under threat where gangs roam around in the community. Teachers cannot teach well who haven’t been trained well and receive only paperwork rather than support from officials in the school district.

The Field Bands are not simply an Arts program nor a life skills program, but a dynamic real life incubator where members learn to master an art form they have passion for, and through this, learn to innovate creatively together, develop inner discipline, resolve conflicts, work collaboratively for a common purpose, facilitate and empower others, develop values and an identity that respects the rights of others and enables them to more confidently advance themselves.

Resources don’t automatically and spontaneously drop down to school level. Priorities have to be agreed and determined by those who are impacted. Dr Mathe from Bhukulani in Soweto must travel to principals in Bodibe or Colesberg to share techniques and successes.

There is the more ‘political’ point. Nowhere in the world does government deliver or state officials really do their job, unless active citizens keep them on their toes. This requires an alliance around education.

We need national discussions and national priorities to focus our work. We need initiative of all (graduates; citizens; business; NGOs; as well as school level stakeholders). We need the active demands of organized citizens – whether in teacher unions, as parents, or as we saw in the march of 25 000 pupils by Equal Education on Human Rights Day. Active citizens pull government into the partnership and ensure we all rise to the challenge, take initiative, and give meaning to the term empowerment.

Education will never be fixed if we wait around for someone else to do something, for someone outside to intervene; or if we try to work alone.

A learning culture, and a desire to achieve, are only partly set ‘within’ the school. A society that values excellence and achievement, that has jobs and other opportunities for its young, will always demand high standards from its schools.

To link the external and internal, efforts by all are required. It is not just a cliché to say that all stakeholders in education need to be involved and to work together.

What this means is much greater attention to building coalitions and alliances.

Working together requires new skills, especially in building partnerships. How to listen, to hear differences and to find solutions and how to drive change and consistent initiatives? Resources need to be assigned and tasks for follow up.

This is why one of the best strategies for school improvement is to link clusters of schools. By sharing experiences, personnel, facilities like libraries or labs, techniques and materials for better teaching – demands are put on all to do things better.

At the cluster level, it is possible to draw down organised help that may exist ‘outside’. Some of this is from government provision: health screening, school nutrition funds, security.

NGOs can improve mathematics; or supply kits, build sports fields and set up regular sports leagues as Dreamfields does; or music achievement as done by the Field Bands Foundation. Parental involvement improves food gardens.

”

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TH E D R EAMFI ELDS PR OJ E CT “The Dreamfields Project is a section-21 company, who in partnership with the Department of Education, is to put resources for playing soccer into township and rural schools across South Africa – quickly, efficiently and in a way that reaches the most remote corners of our country.

We believe soccer is a team game, and teams build better schools — so we provide DreamBags, full sets of kit, to schools across the country. We believe people love sharing, and so we stage DreamEvents to celebrate the spirit of soccer. And we believe that lasting change must transform the places where children play — and so we are helping to restore soccer fields wherever we can.

It’s inspiring to know that there are others who share our dream. Since launch we have taken the Dreamfields Project across South Africa — from Lilydale in the east on the Kruger Park border to Gopane close to Botswana; from Tshisahulu in far northern Venda, to Factreton in Cape Town. But with more than 26 000 schools across South Africa, there is still so much more work to do.

Lonmin Community Education Programme

Imagine a community able to rise above poverty to subsistence and beyond subsistence to wealth creation and sustenance ­ an empowered community that is able to make a meaningful contribution to its own eco­ nomic development and quality social and educational upliftment. A community sophisticated enough to analyse different viewpoints, and take an objective decision and translate ideas into development.

At Lonmin, we believe that this is possible and are walking with our communities, one step at a time, to empower them to realise this dream. This empowerment starts with education.

“

We are Lonmin, a primary producer of Platinum Group Metals. We create value by the discovery, acquisition, development and marketing of minerals and metals.

We respect the communities and nations that host our operations and conduct business in a sustainable, socially and environmentally responsible way.

”

The Lonmin Community Education Programme, with its multi­stakeholder ap­ proach, creates value for both community and business — addressing unem­ ployment and poverty while creating a platform to sustain the positive impact.

Our Approach

High School learners doing experiments in a Science Lab supported by Lonmin.

Our Community Education Strategy is built on the commitments of the Lonmin Charter and primarily focuses on developing an education system !"#!$ %&'(%)*'$ '+'!#%&#,-*$ -%.%&/0$ %&1+*&2*'$ !"*$ 3+-4-5*&!$ 63$ 7)*#5'$ #&7$ #7­ dresses Lonmin’s future skills needs. This Strategy incorporates our Social and Labour Plan’s commitments and supports the values and principles of the Department of Basic Education.

Our Community Education Programme owes its success to the inclusive and responsive multi­stakeholder approach which informs our programme and forges partnerships and relationships which are built on trust and encourage a sense of ownership. Stakeholders with whom we engage include school principals, ward councillors, peers, municipalities, youth forums, employees, government departments and tribal authorities. We pro­actively consult these stakeholders on an on­going basis through meetings, hand­over ceremonies, baseline assessments and workshops. We also hold regular feedback ses­ sions to ensure that we provide an adequate response to the stakeholders.

This multi­stakeholder approach resulted in an infrastructure partnership with SkyChrome, assistance from government with baseline assessments, clear­ *)$%7*&!%42#!%6&$63$&**7'0$!"*$(6'%!%.*$6+!265*'$63$.#)%6+'$()68*2!'$#&7$!"*$

development of an education value chain. Every community education project undertaken by the Com­ (#&9$%'$*.#-+#!*7$%&$!*)5'$63$"6:$%!$4!'$%&!6$!"*$*7+2#!%6&$.#-+*$2"#%&;$<"*$2"#%&$362+'*'$6&$%&3)#'!)+2!+)*$ development and learner, educator and parent support. The chain also enables a linkage to our training academy, community health programme, enterprise development and our recruitment process, thus em­ phasising promotion of return on investment from our education investment. <"*$6,8*2!%.*'$!6$*#2"$'*2!%6&$:%!"%&$!"*$.#-+*$2"#%&$:*)*$%7*&!%4*7$#&7$()%6)%!%'*7$!")6+/"$!"*$#&&+#-$ School Baseline Assessment as well as Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centre assessments.

These objectives are: 1. To create infrastructure to meet the needs of our communities to educate children and teachers in the GLC. 2. To design and implement Education Programmes that will support the children and youth of the GLC. 3. To reinforce a sense of place and identity through establishing local community arts, sports and cultural programmes.

4. To develop school governing bodies in their role of governance and implement development pro­ grammes for school administrators and teachers With these objectives as per our strategy, the value chain provided the much needed guidance in terms of “how” to action these objectives to obtain the best possible outcomes.

school. The value created by these investments have a positive result on our reputation, but are also a return on investment as the learners are ultimately given an opportunity to join the Lonmin labour pool. At tertiary level we equip the learners with the necessary skills, through our community skills develop­ ment project, to enable them to join Lonmin or the bigger South African labour pool. Hence we invest in our local communities’ education to be able to recruit locally, but also to put a future quality workforce in the bigger South African context.

We also extend our education investment to our local supplier development programme by employing local vendors to assist with the school infrastruc­ ture projects, thus we invest in the socio­economic wellbeing of the commu­ nity and also build these local vendors’ experience. Therefore we believe our education programme, through the value chain, creates a return on invest­ ment for both the company and the local communities. @+)$ 5+!+#--9$ ,*&*42%#-$ )*-#!%6&'"%($ :%!"$ !"*$ A#7%,*&/$B)*#$ @342*$ #&7$ !"*$ Department of Basic Education (North West), has allowed us to successfully implement our projects with the support and guidance from key stakeholders.

Going forward

Implementing the value chain The value chain is an integrated approach towards implementing education projects and is split into four main elements (Early Childhood Development; Primary Schools; High Schools and Tertiary/Working Environment) each with sub elements which are interlinked. Here is an explanation of how the value chain has been broken down: Infrastructure: The range of activities in this category is wide. It includes the extensive refurbishment of classrooms and schools, the improvement of teaching facilities and resources, ablution facilities upgrading, electrical up­ grades, water supply upgrades, security upgrades and building and furnishing of computer and science laboratories.

Primary school learners in a school supported by Lonmin.

Based on our education value chain, we make strategic investments in early childhood development, primary and secondary education, tertiary education and the training of unemployed youth. Our investments in education and com­ 5+&%!9$'>%--'$7*.*-6(5*&!$#)*$4&#--9$'!#)!%&/$!6$(#9$633$#&7$6+)$2"#--*&/*$&6:$ is to maintain the momentum and focus. In 2011 and going forward, integra­ tion of the education value chain into the Lonmin Human Resource Develop­ ment strategy and labour pipeline will ensure that return on investment is realised.

Learners being taught about !"#$%&'"()&*$"+,&-#$%&."(&/"%$& provided by Lonmin.

Learners: We have various projects focusing on learner support. These projects include, but are not limited to, the school nutrition project, Saturday School project, Career Guidance and the Ithuteng Project (a supplementary programme for top learners in Mathematics, Physical Science and English.

For queries or additional information, please contact:

Educators: Educators are trained in basic computer skills, Early Childhood =*.*-6(5*&!$-*.*-$36+)$#&7$4.*$!)#%&%&/0$56!%.#!%6&#-$:6)>'"6('$#&7$6&?'%!*$ in classroom training.

christell.clark@lonmin.com

Parents: Parents are provided with School Governing Body training. Grape­ vine SMS systems are also being introduced to enable communication with parents.

Based on the above summarised explanation of the value chain, the link­ age of the sub elements can be described as interdependent. The learners and educators depend on the infrastructure to have and create a conducive learning environment. The parents are equipped with the skills to govern the

Christell Clark 014 571 4206 Elize Smith elize.smith@lonmin.com 014 571 4211 Lesego Makgale lesego.makgale@lonmin.com 014 571 4202

Youngsters at the school soccer tournament held in Wonderkop.

The Edcon

Education Imperative

Inline with the company group values we believe that while pursuing our business objectives, we have a responsibility towards the development and upliftment of communities and for this reason the company continues to support young black professionals through various initiatives and partnerships in a number of youth development programmes.

The company’s holistic approach towards bolstering the country’s education system includes initiatives in youth development, learner and teacher development as well as governance, management and leadership in schools.

Edcon is a corporate member of the Black Management Forum and supported their National Student Chapter Seminar held at the Edcon Retail Academy for the past 3 years. These young leaders gather from all ends of South Africa to debate, learn and interface with key thought leaders on current prevailing issues of socio-economic development in South Africa. Another example of Edcon’s commitment to the development of youth was the launch of the bursary programme in celebration of the Edgars 80th birthday celebrations in 2009.

Source: Kevin Rudham Photography, SOS Children’s Villages Project

INVESTING IN EDUCATION TODAY TO BUILD TOMORROWS ENTREPRENEURS

The Edcon Transformation and Corporate Affairs Department made 80 bursaries available for students studying towards a tertiary qualification in merchandising and retail operations from their second year of studies.

The partner institutions include the University of Johannesburg, Durban University of Technology and Cape Peninsula University of Technology. For many children and adults in South Africa, literacy is still a luxury.

Learning basic reading skills at school may occur but these skills are not nurtured in their daily lives. Literacy is the key to education and Edcon has supported various literacy campaigns such as the CNA Readathon in 2010 which looks at encouragement of reading and writing in the home and in communities especially underutilised community libraries. Reading empowers a person with the literacy skills on which informed decisions depend on a practical level.

Holistic development of young people is critical and to this end Edcon supports education development initiatives such as the Thuthuka Bursary Fund where 15 students were funded in the financial accounting sector. Edcon has adopted the Hlakaniphani Primary school in Soweto with a view to a holistic approach to education development investment in excellence. Through the support of the company and the staff member’s contributions to the school we will make a visible and valuable difference in the lives of young learners.

The commitment to transform and support education is a high priority on Edcon’s Transformation agenda and through this commitment one of the largest sectors in South Africa’s economy will invariably contribute tremendously in addressing the skills development, job creation and ultimately community empowerment.

Black Management Forum Student Chapter Seminar held at Edcon Retail Academy 2010

EDITORIAL

EDITORIAL

able high quality education for learners from disadvantaged backgrounds.

We will leverage our experience in the US in high performing charter schools as well as low cost affordable private schools in India. We know that although we have international experience in this space, this does not necessarily translate into a solution in South Africa.

The foundationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s philosophy is that initiatives in education need to be developed and administered locally and we are keen to learn from the local experts in order to drive the strategic direction of our work for these third sector schools.

In the United States, a persistent achievement gap between students from different economic circumstances and racial and ethnic backgrounds plagues the majority of communities. We are working to improve student performance and graduation rates for all students through focused efforts to improve urban school districts through performance management, to strengthen school leadership, to expand quality school options, and to encourage determined low-income students to higher learning through college preparation efforts and our scholarship programme, the Dell Scholars programme.

M IC HA EL & S US AN DEL L FO U ND ATI O N SO U T H AF R I C A

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation is the private family foundation of Michael Dell, the founder of Dell Computers, and his wife Susan. Our foundation focuses on expanding opportunities for children living in urban poverty, by providing opportunities for them to grow up healthy and educated in a safe environment.

To date, the Dell family foundation has committed more than $650 million to assist non-profit organisations in major urban communities in the United States, South Africa and India around the world.

We work in close collaboration with grantees and other foundations to support thoughtfully planned, data-driven programmes showing clear paths to achieve lasting transformations in our focus areas.

Education-related grants make up about two-thirds of our giving. Globally, we are committed to improving student performance and increasing access to education so that all children have the opportunity for life-long success. Our vision is to focus on opportunities with the greatest potential to directly

and measurably transform the lives of children living in urban poverty.

The foundation is excited about the potential for positive change in the education sector in South Africa and chose to be here because of the opportunity to effect great change in this country.

We have been in South Africa since March 2009 and came into the education sector in South Africa, very open to learning from other foundations and organisations that have come before us.

A large amount of money has been invested in education over the past 15 years in South Africa and not due to a lack of real will and effort there has not been a huge shift in the results for students and the system as a whole.

We have sought to identify high school level education programmes with proven impacts for young people from underresourced schools. We see the need to invest in third sector school projects that provide affordable, sustainable and scal-

In India, in addition to a large number of children not attending school, there is an equally pressing need to improve the quality of education available to underprivileged children who are enrolled in schools. Through our work we aim to improve learning outcomes for such children from early childhood through school graduation.

Our investments are focused on large-scale interventions for in-school academic support and after-school academic sup-

port to help students achieve grade-specific learning levels and improving the quality of schools through better teaching and learning processes. We also support programs that provide life skills development that increase the opportunity for youth to exit poverty through meaningful employment after high school graduation.

Measurement is a big part of what we do in all the geographies in which we work, although it takes a different form depending on the context. The US is relatively data rich, therefore we rely on external sources for data, while in India information is scarce and we therefore field our own assessments. We would like to continue assessment rich projects in our work in South Africa.

The motivation for assessment is to fund what we believe can continue to improve; we cannot do this without introducing measurement. We have a belief in growth and improvement, and would like to support organizations to do this. In order to improve, organizations need a clear view of where they are.

We would like to support organizations that are able to see the gaps as well as the opportunities in their models and projects and we would like our funding to help the organizations we support to improve and grow. We look for data driven results, greater impact at a systemic level and a more sustainable model once we have stepped out as a funder.

We are pleased that we have collaborated with an experienced foundation, the Zenex Foundation, and we are seeking other opportunities for further collaboration with other funders in the future.

â&#x20AC;?

In South Africa, barely one in ten students qualifies for university and only five percent graduate. Our aim is to enable more economically disadvantaged young people to get to university, graduate and sustain employment. The Dell Young Leaders scholarship program provides holistic support to vulnerable South African university students to get them to graduation and beyond and is inspired by the focus on supporting high potential students at risk. We seek to support students with a high impact holistic bursary programme with a good deal of wrap around academic support, mentorship and internship opportunities to help these students succeed. We launched this program in the faculties of commerce and law at UCT last year and are about to take in our second cohort of learners including those from the medical faculty for 2011. We have awarded 65 bursaries to date. The DYL programme will expand to other universities around South Africa soon.

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www.ed.org.za

DELL YOUNG LEADERS 2011

Investing in the future

FINDING THE BRIGHT SPOTS

F IN DIN G T HE BRIG HT S PO TS

“In 1990, Jerry Sternin was working for Save the Children, the international organisation that helps children in need. He’d been asked to open a new office in Vietnam, to help fight malnutrition. When Sternin arrived, the welcome was rather chilly and the foreign minister let him know that not everyone in Government appreciated his presence. The minister told Sternin, “You have six months to make a difference”.

Sternin had minimal staff and meagre resources and needed to read as much as he could to education himself about the malnutrition problem. Conventional wisdom indicated that malnutrition was the result of an interrelated set of problems: sanitation, poverty and a lack of education. Sternin felt that all this information was TBU – true but useless.

“Millions of kids can’t wait for those issues to be addressed”. If addressing malnutrition required ending poverty and purifying water and building sanitation systems, then it would never happen. Especially not in six months, with almost no budget.

Sternin had a better idea. He travelled to rural villages and met with groups of local mothers. The mothers divided into teams and went out to weigh and measure every child in their village. They then checked the results together. Sternin asked them “Did you find any very, very poor kids who are bigger and healthier than the typical child?”. The women nodded and said “Co`,co`,co`.” (yes, yes, yes).

78

“You mean it’s possible today in this village for a very poor family to have a wellnourished child?” he asked. “Co`.co`,co`”.

Sternin then focused on searching the community for the ‘bright spots” – successful efforts worth copying. If some kids were healthy despite their disadvantages, that meant that malnutrition was not inevitable.

The existence of healthy children provided hope for a practical, short-term solution.

Sternin was saying – let’s not sit around analysing ‘malnutrition.” Let’s go study what these bright-spot mothers are doing.”

They spoke to dozens of people to find out what the norms were in the village. Kids ate twice a day along with the rest of their families. They ate food that was appropriate for kids – soft, pure foods like the highest-quality rice.

Sternin and the mothers then went into the homes of the bright-spot kids and observed the way the homes were run. Here, moms fed their kids four meals a day (using the same amount of food as the other mothers, but spread over four feeds, not two). This helped the malnourished children to digest their food better.

The style of eating was also different. Most parents believed that their kids understood their own needs and would feed themselves from the communal bowl. But the healthy kids were fed more actively – handfed by parents if necessary. They were even

CHAPTER 3 | TOWARDS IMPROVED COLLABORATION

encouraged to eat when they were sick, which was not the norm.

Perhaps most interesting, the healthy kids were eating different kinds of food. The bright-spot mothers were collecting tiny shrimp and crabs from the rice paddies and mixing them in with their kids’ rice.

The mothers also tossed in sweet-potato greens, which were considered a low class food.

As an outsider, Sternin never could have foreseen these practices. The solution was a native one, emerging from the real-world experience of the villagers, and for that reason it was realistic and sustainable.

But knowing the solution wasn’t enough. For anything to change, lots of mothers needed to adopt the new cooking habits. However, knowledge does not change behaviour and Sternin knew that telling the mothers about nutrition wouldn’t guarantee a change in behaviour. They would have to practice it, to experience the results.

The community designed a programme in which fifty malnourished families, in groups of 10, would meet at a hut each day and prepare food. The families were required to bring shrimp, crabs and sweet-potato greens. The mothers washed their hands with soap and cooked the meal together.

“Mothers were acting their way into a new way of thinking” and it was their change, something that arose from the local wisdom

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Since 2008, the Old Mutual Foundation has invested in a relationship with Dendron through the Department of Education Dinaledi Schools programme, designed to partner schools with the private sector. In alignment with the Foundation’s commitment to education excellence in secondary mathematics and science, R420 000 was funded to Dendron over a 3­year period. The funding was earmarked for promoting quality teaching and 2$*&0103(10(-,$(/$28)("5(6*-,)(*08()+1$0+$=( Tsakane Ngoepe, graduate of Dendon and 2010 top learner in Limpopo, attests to the difference this made to her schooling. “Dendron was different because we were always encouraged to do more than just our class curriculum. We participated actively in speech contests, sports events, science festivals and national olympiads.

Our schooling continued outside of the classroom.”

Tsakane went on to graduate with no fewer than seven distinctions and is now enrolled to study actuarial science at the University of Cape Town on a full scholarship from the Old Mutual Actuarial Resource Development Unit.

Building on successes such as these, an additional R500 000 was funded to Dendron by the Old Mutual Foundation to serve as seed capital towards the construction of maths and science laboratories, in a joint partnership with the Limpopo provincial department of education.

Transforming lives

It’s this commitment to transforming lives which drives the Old Mutual Foundation’s vision of corporate social investment. “Education is crucial for the future of our country,” says Dr Pandelani Mathoma, GM Corporate

Affairs, Old Mutual, “and it’s essential that our youth are adequately equipped with maths, science and English skills to cope in a globally competitive economy.” For this reason, the Old Mutual Foundation supports schools like Dendron through multi­faceted initiatives that contribute to an effective schooling system. By contributing to educational transformation, we inspire young people to grow into a positive future and become fully empowered to control their own lives.

Contact the Old Mutual Foundation at 021 509 3333.

OMMS 03.2011 T2357/TSAKANE

T hi s c a se study is adapted f r om S w i t c h , h o w t o c h a n g e t h i n g s when c ha nge is hard”, by C h i p H e a t h , a p r o f e s s o r a t t h e G r a d ua te School of Bus ine s s At S t a n f or d U n i v e r s i t y a n d D an H eat h, a s enior fellow a t D u k e U n i v e r s i t y’ s Ce n t r e f o r t h e A d v anc em e nt of S ocial E ntr e pr e n e u r s h i p (C ASE ) .

Township schools can face many challenges in order to produce good results. A school which sets an exceptional example is Dendron Secondary School, situated in Bochum township, a semi‐developed and remote area of Limpopo.

In 2009, Dendron was only one out of six formerly black schools voted among the top 100 schools in South Africa, and boasts an almost perfect matric pass rate in the last three years.

What makes this all the more remarkable is that 4&-%)!,%),1&-*=*2)!-4&"34)4&*)?*0*/4)"@),)%1&"".) library or science laboratory.

FINDING THE BRIGHT SPOTS

of the village. Sternin’s role was only to help them see that they could do it, that they could conquer malnutrition on their own.

Six months after Sternin had come to the Vietnamese village, 65% of the kids were better nourished and stayed that way.

Later, when researchers from Emory University’s School of Public Health came to Vietnam to gather independent data, they found that even children who hadn’t been born when Sternin left the villages were as healthy as the kids that Sternin had reached directly.

This success spread. “We took the first 14 villages in different phases of the programme and turned them into a social laboratory. People who wanted to replicate the nutrition model came from different parts of Vietnam to learn from this case study.”

The programme has reached 2, 2 million Vietnamese people in 265 villages and what makes it even more remarkable is that Sternin and his small team, with a limited budget, didn’t walk in with the answers. All they had was a deep faith in the power of bright spots.

Our challenge in the education system is to identify the bright spots and share these insights, so that we can find the solutions within our schools and work with these bright spots to bring about change. Be part of the ‘Bright spots’ initiative and send us your success stories, so that we can track their progress on www.ed.org.za.

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SCHOOLS AT THE CENTRE OF THE COMMUNITY

IT’S TIME FOR ACTION …

SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES: BUILDING EFFECTIVE PARTNERSHIPS

Join

the

action

leaders

HOW DO CHILDREN’S CIRCUMSTANCES HAMPER MEANINGFUL

in

education, and let’s focus on action, by tracking the top 100 projects on www.ed.org.za to inspire belief in the power of education.

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ACCESS TO EDUCATION?

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BRIDGE COMMUNITY FOR EFFECTIVE PRACTICE

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FUNDA UJABULE – “LEARN AND BE JOYFUL”

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EDITORIAL

SC H O O L S A N D CO M M U N I T I E S: BU I L D I NG E FFE C T IV E P AR T NER S H I PS ARTICLE BY NORMA RUDOLPH (CHILDREN’S INSTITUTE)

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Conditions in homes, schools and communities must be conducive for children’s growth, learning and development.

However, in the context of AIDS and persistent inequality in South Africa, deep crisis affects all aspects of children’s lives and creates barriers to meaningful access to education. This calls for concerted action from a wide range of role-players, both within and outside of schools.

In response to the crisis, the Caring Schools Project of the Children’s Institute is developing a capacity-building approach to mobilise partnerships that can support child well-being and improve meaningful access to education.

The Champion for Children’s Handbook: How to build a caring school community was developed with the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union, working in four school communities in the Free State and Western Cape. Save the Children UK and the Catholic Institute of Education are key partners currently using the approach in Limpopo and the Free State.

The term ‘school community’ refers to the full range of roleplayers either living in a specific geographic area or who are responsible for service provision in that area, including government institutions and officials, non-government organisations and community structures, faith-based organisations and households.

Drawing on data from the Caring Schools Project and other formal and informal partnerships, including the Caring Schools Network we explore how schools and communities can either hamper meaningful access to education or work together to ensure that all children thrive and benefit from schooling.

The focus is on: ! How do children’s circumstances hamper meaningful ac-

cess to education? ! How can partnership enhance meaningful access? ! How can policy and practice build effective partnership? ! Why are champions for children important?

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Programme Benefits The S@CC project offers a variety of benefits for the PfPs, principals, sponsoring organisations, learners, teachers and the broader school community.

School @ the Centre of Community Mobilizing citizens and communities to partner with principals and teachers to educate our children The School @ the Centre of Community (S@CC) project partners school principals in a one-on-one partnership for possibility with business and community leaders. This offers a joint leadership development journey. The aim of this journey is the creation and hosting of community building events that reignite community participation in schools.

S@CC is a Symphonia for South Africa initiative dedicated to the mobilisation of business, government and civil society to work collaboratively in making a positive contribution to the significant educational challenges in South Africa. It is the projects commitment and contribution towards realising the third Dinokeng scenario: Walking together. This scenario envisions a future for South Africa marked by collaboration, engagement and active citizenship where multiple sectors work together in support of a better South Africa. This supports the goal described in the Dinokeng scenarios report: “Towards an educated nation – where business works more closely with education to help develop the skills the economy needs.”

The S@CC vision therefore calls for the school to be at the centre of community, and speaks to the idea that the quality of education, the improvement of the school environment and the increased engagement of parents and teachers provide an upward spiral for real change and inspiring possibilities. In order to contribute to these possibilities, business and community leaders enter into creative

partnerships with school principals in order to support the premise that ‘it takes a village to raise a child’. The avenue created for this purpose is a leadership development innovation called ‘Partners for Possibility’ (PfP), which creates an opportunity for business and community leaders to develop their leadership skills whilst at the same time making a significant contribution to Education.

Through this thinking partnership experienced business and community leaders are given the opportunity to bring their skills, knowledge and experiences in partnering with principals in a PfP role. Principals and PfP’s attend leadership development sessions, community building workshops, community of practice sessions and receive coaching support. These interventions culminate in communally created community building events, the development of individual and communal leadership capacities and the creation of opportunities for citizens and members of the school community to mobilise the community around a school. This enables communities to once again take responsibility for the wellbeing of the school and its learners, thereby strengthening the fabric of society.

The ultimate goal of this project is to contribute to the improvement of learner outcomes by providing a significant, systemic shift in the culture in and around schools. This supports the quality and effectiveness of the educational environment. In creating an educational context where teachers and principals are supported by parents and other members of the community, talents and skills within the community can be leveraged as citizenship and responsibility grows.

Benefits for Schools and Principals ! ! ! ! !

Improved leadership skills Opportunities to connect to and learn from business Actively engaged teachers, parents and communities that feel a sense of “ownership” in relation to the school Parents become more active partners in education Improved quality of educational outcomes

Benefits for Business and Community Leaders ! ! ! !

Leadership development Engagement with communities outside normal sphere of influence and frame of reference Social responsibility investment that makes a direct impact within your own organisation and in schools Active citizenship in the area of education, one of the toughest challenges facing our country

Community Benefits ! ! ! !

Parents that are actively involved in education Community that takes care of its school and learners Strengthened fabric of society Improved relationships and networking within the community

These, and other benefits, were realised during the pilot phase of the S@CC project in 2010. Louise van Rhyn, founder and CEO of Symphonia for South Africa, initiated a partnership for possibility with Ridwan Samodien, principal of Kannemeyer Primary School.

Louise and Ridwan established a partnership to address issues of learner discipline and apparent parent disengagement.

They focused their efforts on hosting community events that created opportunities to explore alternative stories and possibilities. In addition to ongoing conversations, project collaboration and the Madiba Day community building event, they have continued to grow and be challenged in their passion for citizen engagement and education development.

Out of the S@CC project, benefits that have been realised include: ! ! ! !

The ripple effects of the successful Madiba Day event have contributed to sustainable programmes, processes and ongoing possibilities to mobilise the community around the school.

Louise and Ridwan’s partnership served as the foundation for the further development of the S@CC methodology that is now being implemented in other schools across the country.

The Way Forward In 2011, the School @ the Centre of Community project will engage 30 schools in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg.

With the ongoing partnerships and sustainable structures, the project aims to partner 100 schools in 2012, with an expansion of the methodology to the Free State and Eastern Cape.

Enrolling government, business and civil society remains key to programme impact and sustainability.

Getting Involved !

Kannemeyer Primary School (KPS) Kannemeyer serves 500 students from Grade R to Grade 7, and employs 20 teachers. The diverse Grassy Park community surrounding the school has high rates of crime and unemployment.

Parental engagement has traditionally been low and discipline issues have been high on the school’s agenda. Ridwan Samodien, the principal of KPS and teacher with 31 years experience, got involved with S@CC after attending the Community Building workshop hosted by Symphonia in March 2010.

The Community Building workshops, built on Peter Block’s methodology of the six questions that enable communities and societies to move towards each other and engagement with the issues that face them, have been hugely successful throughout South Africa.

Developing structures for parent involvement Engaging other schools in the district Resource procurement Learner ownership

!

!

!

Are you a principal that wants to get involved in S@CC? Are you a community or business leader called to become a PfP? Can you support the project in another way?

Do you want to be a part of the Symphonia Community Building workshops?

Please contact the S@CC project manager on schools@symphonia.net or call 021 - 913 3507.

You can also visit www.symphonia.net for more information.

EDITORIAL

H OW DO C H IL DREN’S CIR C U M STANC E S H A M P E R MEA NIN GFUL ACCES S TO E D UC ATI O N? ARTICLE BY PENDLEBURY S, LAKE L & SMITH C (EDS) (2009) SOUTH AFRICAN CHILD GAUGE 2008/2009. CAPE TOWN: CHILDREN’S INSTITUTE, UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN. AVAILABLE: WWW.CI.ORG.ZA.

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Children who are hungry, sick or afraid cannot learn. In many parts of South Africa, conditions inside and outside of schools undermine child well-being and impact negatively on meaningful access to education.

D I F F I C U LT IE S I N H O M E S A N D C OM M U N IT IE S School communities participating in the Caring Schools Project identified a number of factors that put children at risk. High unemployment and seasonal work leave many families in poverty and a lack of food and basic services threatens children’s health and development.

The breakdown of family structures due to poverty, violence and HIV/AIDS further contributes to children’s vulnerability. There are growing numbers of orphans and single-parent households with grandmothers increasingly carrying the burden of child care. Adult support and supervision of children after school hours are rare, compounded by low levels of education in the family.

Children seeking a sense of purpose and belonging are easily influenced by peer pressure to engage in high risk and negative behaviour. Children report high levels of physical and sexual abuse and many are involved in gangs, or are victims of violence. School fees, together with a number of hidden costs, including school uniforms, transport, books and stationery, further hamper access to schooling.

D I F F I C U LT IE S I N C O MMUN IT IE S S PI L L I N TO SCH OOL S Problems in homes and neighbouring communities spill over into schools. Teachers often have to pay attention to learners’ physical and emotional needs before they can teach. A Free State teacher explains: “The high rate of unemployment leaves many children in deep poverty. Unemployment fuels the abuse of alcohol. Many chil-

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dren are therefore exposed to risks such as sexual abuse, drug addiction, hunger and neglect.”

Despite chemical dependence escalating in schools and communities, there is a chronic lack of affordable, good quality rehabilitation services. Children report “bullying” and “lack of discipline” at school and complain of rough, vulgar and disrespectful teachers.

One principal refers to “bus-stop” teachers, who leave home very early, arrive at school tired and rush out of the class at the end of the school day to catch their transport home. These teachers choose to live in better serviced communities and frequently do not understand learners’ home environment, and cannot do home visits.

C O MMU N ITIE S A ND S C H O O L S IMPAC T O N EAC H O THER Donald, Lazarus and Lolwana (2000, Educational Psychology in social context: Challenges of development, social issues, and special need in southern Africa: A teacher’s resource. Oxford: Oxford University Press) suggest that the communities in which schools are located strongly influence their development, and vice versa.

According to Jansen (2007, Bodies Count. In: Aids Review 2006.

Pretoria: Centre for the Study of Aids, University of Pretoria), this is particularly true in the context of the AIDS pandemic: “… as teenage pregnancies in schools soar, it is becoming more and more evident that sexual relationships between teachers and students further contribute to a very dangerous liaison in the schools. … HIV/AIDS is not only what infected adults and children bring into the school, it is a pandemic that recreates itself in the school as well.”

Children bring weapons, including guns, into school. Children in the Western Cape describe several incidents where gang violence spilled into the school, and one suspended learner was killed at home. Learners, who have been on the “wrong

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side of the law” or are considered “trouble-makers”, frequently have difficulty returning to school. Police in Sekhukune district in Limpopo believe that getting youth back into school could bring down the crime rate.

Children often do not have a voice at home or in school and corporal punishment continues, particularly in schools where it is practiced and condoned in the neighbouring community.

One learner describes an incident where a learner “who was slapped by a teacher, slapped the teacher back”. Learners suggest that this kind of behaviour seems to perpetuate the cycle of violence, and increase the sense of disorder and chaos in the school. Alcohol, drugs and gang violence fuel existing tensions within and between schools and communities.

HO W C AN P ART N E R S H I P EN H A N C E M E ANIN G FU L A C CE S S ?

Schools cannot solve all these problems, but schools do offer a useful starting point for identifying vulnerable children and addressing their needs. Even in very poorly-resourced communities, schools are equipped with telephones, knowledge and contacts. For many children school is the only place where they have contact with adults they can talk to. There are also far more schools than social workers in South Africa.

Constructive involvement of parents and the broader community in the life of the school holds great benefits for the school, the students, the parents and their mutual relationship. The Caring Schools Project uses a rights-based approach to build partnership and encourages school communities to identify strengths and work toward a shared vision of a better future.

Project participants have identified many protective factors, such as: love and care; social grants and poverty alleviation programmes; schools, clinics, churches and school-feeding programmes; transport to and from school; and soccer fields.

Dialogue between school and community role-players can generate innovative strategies to meet children’s needs, including: assisting families to access grants; education and advocacy campaigns addressing problems such as “tik” and HIV/AIDS; parents, youth and community volunteers assisting in different ways; and teachers asking assertively for greater support from Department of Education district officials.

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EDITORIAL

What was achieved in each school community using the Caring Schools approach depended to a large extent on geographic location, level of poverty and the quality of leadership among role-players. For example, a school in the Cape Town metropole experienced better access to services and greater support from the neighbouring wealthy community than a remote rural school in the Free State.

This school is 50 km from Kimberly in the Northern Cape, but residents have to travel 180 km to access services in the provincial capital of Bloemfontein. Achievements were significantly better in schools where the principals were actively involved in the project, compared to one where the principal was absent for several months.

EDITORIAL

Yet many schools struggle to realise this possibility — a Free State school, for example, limited their birth certificate drive to learners and their families because they were afraid that outsiders might damage property while participating in the drive.

Fortunately, principals are not expected to carry out their functions in isolation. In particular the school management team (SMT) and school governing body (SGB) can assist. The SGB is a school’s primary link with the community through elected representation of parents, educators, non-teaching staff and learners (in secondary schools). According to the 1996 South African Schools Act, SGBs are required to: ! develop and adopt a constitution and mission statement for

the school;

HOW C A N P OL I C Y A ND PR A CT IC E S U P P O RT EFFECT IV E PA R TN E RSH IP? Relationships between schools and communities are not always easy or productive. Partnerships depend on the relative capital that each partner brings and are seldom if ever free of power relations and dynamics. The next section of this essay discusses the potential (and limitations) of school governing bodies, school-based support teams, and community facilitators to build effective partnership.

SCHOOL MANAGEMENT AND SCHOOL GOVERNING BODIES Principals who are attentive to learners and educators contribute significantly to building healthy school and community relationships. According to Marneweck, Bialobrzeska, Mhlanga and Mphisa (2008, Enhancing School Leadership: Meeting the challenges of HIV and AIDS. Research paper prepared by the South African Institute for Distance Education for the teacher education conference 4 – 5 September 2008) many school leaders have begun to respond intuitively to the AIDS pandemic by creating networks of support for learners in and around their schools and by addressing the need for basic nutrition, aftercare and counselling.

This is a promising development, because the role of school leaders is becoming increasingly complex as management has to implement a series of sophisticated education policies, often with very little support or training.

The 2000 Tirisano campaign calls for schools to become “centres of community life” and, indeed, schools hold valuable potential as centres of learning for the whole community.

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! determine the school’s admissions policy; ! administer and control the school’s property, buildings and

grounds; ! recommend the appointment of teaching and nonteaching

staff; and ! develop a budget for the school, which may include schools

fees, for approval by the parent body.

A review undertaken by the Department of Education in 2004 suggests that SGBs in formerly disadvantaged schools often function poorly due to poverty and a lack of expertise and experience, and that they find it difficult to sustain active parental participation due to low literacy levels, lack of time and indirect costs. The reverse is true for SGBs in more advantaged schools, where white middle-class men tend to dominate.

Despite these challenges, it is essential that SGBs draw communities into schools to address the growing challenges of poverty, AIDS and other risk factors. The National Policy on HIV and AIDS for Learners, Students and Educators describes the role of the SGB in developing an HIV and AIDS implementation plan that reflects “the needs, ethos and values of a specific school or institution and its community”. The policy also expects schools to draw on the expertise of community health workers and local clinics.

The Soul City Institute for Health and Development Communications identifies SGBs as key role-players in making schools “nodes of care and support” for vulnerable children.

Since 2002, Soul City has worked with the government and civil society organisations to host highly successful jamborees at schools, where different government departments come together to process affidavits and applications for identify documents, birth certificates and social grants.

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SCHOOL-BASED SUPPORT TEAMS Education White Paper 6, which focuses on inclusive education, proposes that the Department of Education establishes district-based support teams to provide an integrated, community-based service that can identify orphans, and coordinate support and care for such learners. Schools are also expected to establish school-based support teams that include health workers, social workers, police and other service providers.

These inter-sectoral teams hold great promise in addressing barriers to education. However, the policy has yet to be translated into law, and be put into operation effectively. Currently the need for social workers outstrips the available capacity but it is clear that there are many social work functions that could be undertaken by para-professionals working under the supervision of more senior personnel.

The notion of schools as the centre of community life places high demands on teachers working with big classes in extremely difficult circumstances. The Norms and Standards for Educators describe a “community, citizenship and pastoral role” for teachers beyond the limits of the classroom and school grounds. Teachers are expected to”respond to current social and educational problems with particular emphasis on the issues of violence, drug abuse, poverty … HIV and AIDS … accessing and working in partnership with professional services to deal with these issues”.

Rebecca Makolane is a life-orientation teacher at Makeke Primary School in Sekhukhune (Limpopo) and a key player in the local child-care forum made up of volunteers (mostly women) from the local community. She explains: “I enjoy helping people and work with learners and their families to address a range of problems. Poverty and HIV/AIDS have had a serious impact on the lives of children in the district and the school established a food garden to feed orphans and needy learners. When I heard about drop-in centres in KwaZulu-Natal, I pushed for this with the local Department of Social Development. Now there is a drop-in centre nearby where needy children can go for meals, get help with homework and apply for documents and grants. This includes children not attending our school.”

Institute of Education, describes the facilitators in the Caring Schools project in Sekhukhune: “Community facilitators live in the community, so they know the learners in their village. Their primary role is to identify orphans and vulnerable children, interview these learners, do home visits and make sure the necessary support is provided, for example, access to grants, documents, food parcels or counselling. They work with the whole family and feed back toward councillors and the school-based support team.”

Youth facilitators pioneered by Save the Children UK in the Free State play a similar role in reaching out to vulnerable children, as described in case 1.

While community and youth facilitators are an asset to schools, the primary limitation in the early stages of this initiative was the lack of training and support. Save the Children UK is developing a more systematic training approach for this important cadre of child rights champions. By exploring possibilities for accreditation, the intention is to provide facilitators with opportunities to progress along a career path and get paid according to their level of experience. Currently a wide gap persists between professionals and ‘volunteers’ who generally receive a ‘stipend’ way lower than the minimum wage. This often results in facilitators leaving the community when other opportunities present themselves.

C A SE 1 : Y O U TH F A C I LI T A TO R S RE AC H O U T Youth facilitators are each contracted for a maximum period of two years and assist learners in a number of ways, such as: ! having fun with children in a range of afternoon activities; ! identifying extremely vulnerable children in schools; ! stimulating the school community to donate clothes and

uniforms to a clothing bank; ! facilitating access to documentation like birth certificates

and identity documents; ! ensuring access to health care by taking children to the local

clinic and by ensuring medication is taken correctly; ! listening to children’s problems;

COMMUNITY FACILITATORS Several organisations are appointing community facilitators to provide a link between schools and communities and to mediate access to services. Nontobeko Sithole, of the Catholic

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! following up when children are absent from school and

making home visits; and ! helping the school community to establish and maintain

food gardens that can contribute to the school-feeding pro-

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EDITORIAL

gramme, and by yielding food parcels to vulnerable children and their families.

Children spoke about how they are able to talk more easily to youth facilitators than to educators or their family members.

The home visits help facilitators to understand the home circumstances of the children better and to share this knowledge with educators and the school as a whole. They initiate a range of activities such as music, dancing, traditional dancing, sport and debating, which the children really appreciate.1

WHY ARE CHAMPIONS FOR CHILDREN IMPORTANT? Building partnership to ensure meaningful access to education depends to a large extent on ‘champions’ like Rebecca who take child well-being and justice seriously. These champions understand the circumstances of children — including local risk and protective factors; are familiar with government policy and services; and enable children to get the help they need.

Champions for children also recognise the need to put children first. Life orientation and social sciences teacher at St Paul’s High School in Sekhukhune, Stephy Dikgale, explains how she learned really to listen to children: “In the past I just used to tell the teenagers what to do and didn’t listen to their stories or excuses. Through the Catholic Institute of Education I learnt to listen to the children. It was a gradual process of change from telling teenagers what to do, to listening and counselling them.

One of the learners who helped me change the way I do things was a grade 10 learner who was always skipping class and smoking. One day I asked him to speak to me at break. He told me that the year before his uncle had forced him to go to the mountain school. He said he didn’t want to go but his uncle took him to a shebeen. He got drunk and when he woke up he was at the mountain school. When he came back he was very angry and didn’t speak to his uncle. He started smoking because he wanted to make the uncle angry.

I suggested that he speak to his uncle. Two days later he told me that they had solved the problem and were speaking to each other again. The boy seems to have stopped smoking and bunking classes. The boy helped me to realise that I need to listen to learners’ stories.”

EDITORIAL

Champions for children understand the need to build partnership. This includes working with professional service providers, parents, learners and the wider community. Schools have been able to make significant improvements when they have started to listen to children and recognised their role as active partners in the process, as illustrated in case 2.

C AS E 2: C H ILD RE N A S PART N E R S Nontobeko Sithole, from the Catholic Institute of Education, describes working with a group of learners from four schools in Sekhukhune, who all regarded toilets as dangerous: Learners in one school dreamt of having clean and proper toilets at school, but the learners couldn’t do anything about this on their own, so they asked the school-based support team to raise the issue with the SGB. The SGB then organised 14 chemical toilets. This happened quickly and easily, so the problem wasn’t about money. Toilets simply hadn’t been seen as a problem (or a priority) by the teachers and the SGB. This project shows how real change is possible once teachers start listening to children and see them as active partners in the process.2

WHAT ARE THE CONCLUSIONS? Relationships between schools and communities can either prevent or support meaningful access to basic education. The challenge lies in stimulating awareness and growing the conversation about children’s rights, well-being and development, and in working together for change. Child-rights champions who promote partnership with other service providers and who listen to children can have a profound impact, especially for the benefit of those who are most vulnerable.

However, it is important to remember that even with the best intentions, income and spatial dimensions of poverty impact on the quality of partnership and what communities with limited resources can achieve.

B R I D G E C O M M U N I T Y FO R EFFE C T I V E P R A C T I CE SOURCE: THE BRIDGE PORTAL (2011) AFTER-HOURS TUTORING TO LEARNERS FROM CAPE TOWN’S TOWNSHIP COMMUNITIES, BRIDGE COMMUNITY FOR EFFECTIVE PRACTICE.

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AF TE R - HO U R S TU T O RI N G T O L E AR NE RS FRO M C AP E TO W N ’ S TOW N S H IP C O M M U N IT IE S The Bridge community for effective practice that focuses on “After-Hours Tutoring to Learners from Cape Town’s Township Communities” started as a LEAP Science and Maths School initiative in May 2009. Thirty organisations providing after-hours tutoring in Cape Town’s township communities are actively engaged in this forum. All organisations listed on the database receive minutes and information about each meeting and have access to shared resources and the community’s communication platforms.

Bridge joined the forum in August 2009, originally as a participant and observer. Bridge now drives the maintenance, logistics, communication platforms, tracking and evaluation of this community.

The community reaches about 4000 learners in 150 schools in the Western Cape. It has created working groups and identified champions in key areas, which focus on: ! consolidating organisation information and identifying opportunities for collaboration; ! engaging with the Western Cape Education Department (WCED); ! engaging with higher education institutions to identify opportunities; ! using technology to share resources and materials; and ! considering the psycho-social context of learners.

A notable shift in behaviour and increase in effectiveness that the collaboration amongst the participating organisations has brought about is the charging per learner for after-hours tutoring. The results of this shift have been that a better record of who is attending classes has been possible, learner attendance and retention have improved, and an income stream has been generated for the employment of more tutors.

There has been a maximising of resources as participating organisations share information about the reach and nature of their work, as well as a reduction in duplication as the community records and circulates information about areas that are currently not being served.

The collective voice of the community has also been evident in its interactions with the WCED. In 2010, the community invited Mrs Linda Rose, Chief Director of Districts, WCED, to address the forum and share the department’s plans for providing afterhours support to schools in the province as well as to learn about the work of the community. In 2011, the community has further engaged with the WCED, and district officials met with the community in March 2011 to discuss the provision of support services around curriculum delivery.

The community has initiated a range of partnerships and collaborations, and it has had a number of quick wins. An example of this is the donation, by ASSET, of 20 bursaries to learners involved in the South African Education and Environment Project (SAEP) tutoring programme. The community utilises the Bridge social network and portal, as well as email, for sharing resources amongst participating organisations.

”

Commitment and action is required from influential role-players in government, business and civil society at all levels in order to support school communities, address persistent inequalities and ensure that all children reach their full potential.

”

1 Mudekunye L & Allan K (2008) Reaching the most vulnerable children through Caring Schools. In: Southern Africa HIV and AIDS Information Dissemination Service. SAfAIDS News 2(14): 15-17.

2 Children’s Institute (2009) Participant report: Networks of Care workshop, February 2009. Unpublished.

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EDITORIAL

F U N DA UJABUL E – “LEA RN AND B E J O YF U L” ARTICLE BY THE UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG, INSTITUTE OF CHILDHOOD EDUCATION.

“

IN T E G R A T ION OF EA R L Y SCHO O L E D U C AT ION , T EA CH ER T R A INING, RE S E A R C H, A N D COMMUN IT Y E N G AG E M EN T The Funda UJabule elementary (foundation phase) school in Soweto is the only one of its kind in South Africa. It was founded as a teacher training and research school in the Faculty of Education of the University of Johannesburg (UJ) in 2010. In addition to its educational and training functions it is also the site of unique, integrated research on cognitive development of children, language and literacy practice in the early school grades, mathematics and science learning, and home and caregiver roles in formal education. The school also hosts community engagement projects related to childhood education and early childhood development (ECD).

TE A C H E R EDUCA T ION AN D TR A IN IN G Pre-service teachers in the Foundation Phase degree program spend on average three hours per week in the first three years of their education as classroom observers and as assistants in the school. Student also study child development over four years by writing up longitudinal case studies. The teachers in the school assist in training of UJ students. Students, school staff, and the University Faculty collaborate in this integrated project of pre-service education of teachers.

An important aspect of this education is the foregrounding of families’ and caregivers’ role in early formal education. The school and the UJ Faculty write a bi-weekly column in the community newspapers of Soweto, “Funda nge Funda UJabule” (learn with Funda UJabule).

In these columns issues related to ECD and also childhood education are discussed. Special attention is given to how parents and other caregivers can assist young children in making progress in school.

The column content is the precursor to programs for the school’s community program in which aspects of the school curriculum will be shared with the children’s families and caregivers in order to prepare them for their supportive role.

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The UJ Institute for Childhood Education (UJICE) is the home of research and development and is also the organisational home of these initiatives. There are currently two strands of research: the children in the school will be assessed annually, utilizing the JSAIS instrument, which has been translated into Sesotho and isiZulu. This standardized test for cognitive development is a South African instrument and the (first) translation was done for the purpose of the UJICE research.

Each of the annual intake of 60 children will be assessed over four years, and two control groups will be assessed in comparable schools. The two main strands of research are led by Prof Max Bergman (University of Basel and visiting Professor in the Faculty of Education) and Prof Elizabeth Henning (UJ researcher, who is a 2010 AERA Fellow). This research will indicate whether the intervention at the Funda UJabule School may have had specific benefits.

Other research looks into home and caregiver support to formal education in the early grades. Here another intervention will be tracked, namely parent and caregiver training in the school curriculum. The teacher education model, using the same site for researching the children and for teacher training, which is a first in South Africa, is also researched.

U J INS TITU TE FO R C HILDHO OD EDU C ATIO N The Institute will be based on the Soweto campus, where its research will be coordinated by the UJ’s Centre for Education Practice Research (CEPR).

The Funda UJabule School is the core of the Institute and most of its activities will be launched from the school.

GO VERNANC E O F THE S C HO OL The Funda UJabule School is a public school that is governed jointly by the University of Johannesburg and the Gauteng Department of Education. Children who attend the school come from the community where the school is based.

In order to ensure the viability of the special programs based in the school, and also to ensure that teachers and school management members are remunerated adequately in future, the school will have a trust fund, managed by trustees form the main benefactors and the University.

”

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IT’S TIME FOR ACTION …

LEARNERS’ PERCEPTION AS TO WHAT CONTRIBUTES TO

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THEIR SCHOOL SUCCESS

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IMPACT OF THE STRIKE ACTION ON THE MATRIC RESULTS

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MATHS AND SCIENCE LEARNER SUPPORT PROGRAMMES

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to inspire belief in the power of

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education.

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LEARNERS’ PERCEPTION AS TO WHAT CONTRIBUTES TO THEIR SCHOOL SUCCESS

L E ARN ERS’ P ERCEP TION A S TO WH AT C ONTRIB UTES TO THEIR SC HO O L SU CC ESS

TRUST THEME “Mr. Ndlala, when you behave in an unbecoming manner, he counsels you”.

“Mr. Ndlala often talks to the children”.

C AS E S TU D Y Over the years, the main research question in educational effectiveness research has referred to the reasons why one school or teacher does better than another when the differences in their performance cannot be attributed to differences in the learner population.

Towards this end, a number of models of educational effectiveness have been offered.

Educational effectiveness studies have so far revealed that the influences on learner achievement are both integrated and multileveled in nature (Creemers & Kyriakides, 2009:294; Creemers & Kyriakides, 2009:294-295; Teddlie & Reynolds, 2000).

A number of studies on effective schools have revealed that the classroom level is more influential than the school level in terms of the performance of learners (Creemers et al., 2002:291; Creemers & Kyriakides, 2009:293-296).

In the final analysis, it is the quality of teacher-learner interactions that determines learner progress which stresses the importance of teachers continuously learning and developing their personal and professional knowledge.

Learner and learning-related factors such as learning motivation, achievement motivation, learning styles, learning strategies, abilities and talents, attention, self-efficacy, understanding, aspirations and peer relations also play a role.

Opportunity to learn emerged as one of the major factors that is not only associated with both teacher and school effectiveness,

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but also with learner performance. Three factors are within teachers’ control that influence learner progress, namely, teaching skills, professional characteristics, and classroom climate.

These three factors point to essential pedagogical-dialogical features of opportunity to learn, such as offering information (structuring), asking questions (soliciting), providing feedback (reacting), the consistent application of accountability procedures, clarity with respect to when and how learners can get help and the options available to them when finished with an exercise.

“Most of us are groomed. We started at this school from Grade 1 and we are now in Grade 12”.

SCHOOL LEADERSHIP THEME “We are constantly encouraged to talk to our teachers. They never tell us to keep quiet”.

INST RUCTIONAL ACTIVI TIES THEME “When they [the teachers] teach us, they tell us how it (sic) explains the world around us”.

“The principal is like a Godmother and she is supportive, motivational and committed to her work. She is a ‘fairy tale’”.

“They [the teachers] encourage us to study. We are encouraged to go for extra classes”.

CARE THEME “Our teachers always make sure that us learners are protected”.

The themes that suggest that the learners and teachers find themselves in a secure relationship include:

“The teachers wish the best for us.

They are lovely people. Ma’am Ngoleni (deputy principal) and the principal have adopted children who stay far away from school”.

COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS THEME “When we had a crisis in Mathematics, the teachers got assistance from other schools to help us reach our goals”.

“Everything we do in class is co-operative. The teachers are not on a pedestal instructing us. They treat us as equals and if they don’t know, we go and find out together”.

MO TIVATION THEME “Our teachers really listen to us. They don’t look away and they don’t interrupt us”.

“When they [the teachers] listen to us, we really want to talk to them”.

“Because they [the teachers] always listen to us, we really want to listen to them when they talk to us”.

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“My brother died and the principal gave us support. She really cares”.

SUPPOR T THEME DISCIPLINE THEME

INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS AMONG ST AFF THEME “The principal gets on well with the other teachers in the school. They work hand in hand”.

VISION THEME “My friends and I believe Ms M when she tells us every day that to do well at school is what God wants”.

EXPOSURE TO LEARNING THEME

“The more I learn, the more I understand myself. I am starting to see where I fit in”.

“They [the teachers] encourage us all the time to think on our own”.

“We should work hard and prepare for the future”.

“When I am in the class, it’s not only about my feelings, but about the other kids’ as well. I must consider their feelings and also the teacher’s”.

“When the child reaches level 3 of misconduct, they [the teachers] will discuss with the parents. She [the class teacher] has all our parents’ contact numbers”.

“There is a code of conduct here. The teachers make sure that learners are protected“.

“Although I am in Grade 12, I can talk to Grade 1 teachers. They are supportive”.

“When I am lonely, the teachers are there to support me”.

“Orphans feel welcomed, loved and protected at our school”.

“The principal assists us to apply for (sic) higher institutions. She brings us application forms and supports us with bursaries. She is the cornerstone”.

“They [the teachers] … adopted children who do not have parents”.

LEARNERS’ PERCEPTION AS TO WHAT CONTRIBUTES TO THEIR SCHOOL SUCCESS

A dialogical basis for the identified themes can, essentially, be characterised by the principle of reciprocal engagement, for it is clear that the teachers and their learners are mutually approachable, available, tolerant and devoted; their encounters create and maintain an atmosphere of nearness, simultaneousness, belonging, voluntary interaction, genuine caring, sincere intimacy (closeness) and transparent participation (co-operation/collaboration) as well as acquiescence, equanimity, mutual acceptance and selfless reciprocity.

! expectation (the teachers expect their learners to give their very best and the learners expect their teachers to give their very best)

It seems that what makes the schools in the case study such examples of academic excellence, could, perhaps, in the final analysis be ascribed to the fact that parents, members of the wider community, as well as teachers aim to instruct the learners with regard to developing and improving their critical life- and social skills, including decision-making, refusal skills, critical analysis and systematic judgment abilities, as well as how to make sound judgments.

! commitment (teachers and learners are equally committed to the latter’s academic success)

Mutual acceptance seems to be the primary condition for the kind of successful pedagogical dialogue described above. A combination of these six essential qualities of mutual acceptance is required to achieve successful dialogue, as illustrated in figure 15: ! appeal (the teacher directs a pedagogical appeal to the learners)

! voluntary capitulation of the learners to the authority of their teacher educators and a voluntary show of continuous goodwill towards them ! response (the learners – of their own volition – decide to respond to the appeal made by their educators)

! Experiencing reciprocity and mutuality.

Based on his/her subject knowledge as well as on his/her subject pedagogy expertise, the teacher directs an educative appeal to his/her learners to participate in the teaching and learning process. This appeal leads him/her to have certain legitimate expectations of the learners – not only in terms of their subsequent behaviour, but also (and most importantly) in terms of their subsequent academic achievement.

Because the learners are convinced by (and of) their teacher’s proven subject and pedagogy expertise, they voluntarily submit to his/her educative authority.

LEARNERS’ PERCEPTION AS TO WHAT CONTRIBUTES TO THEIR SCHOOL SUCCESS

This leads them to respond to their teacher’s educative appeal by committing themselves to the task at hand with the result that both teacher and learner experience a sincere and profound reciprocity and mutuality that eventually culminates in the learners’ academic success (refer Figure 1).

Figure 2 is the re-interpretation of Teddlie and Reynolds’ (2000) and Creemers and Kyriakides’ (2009) dynamic model of educational effectiveness: successful academic achievement at school explained from the fountainhead of mutual acceptance and the bedrock of pedagogical dialogue Successful academic achievement (C) at a school seems to be the result of optimal pedagogical dialogical relationships among teachers (B) and learners (A). These relationships take shape in a context consisting of several layers ranging from the wider community in which the school is situated to the actual teaching-learning situation in classrooms.

Expectation

Appeal

2

Voluntary submission to the authority of teacher-educators and goodwill shown towards them

3

1

4

Response

Corrective feedback and action

Experiencing niveau-promoting reciprocity and mutuality

6

5

Commitment

FIGURE 1. Towards an understanding of why some poorly resourced schools manage to perform academically excellent: interrelationship between the six essential qualities of mutual acceptance as primary condition for successful pedagogical dialogue.

B. PARENTS AND TEACHERS

Successful academic achievement can only materialise if and when all the structural elements included in Figure 2 are in place.

Schools can therefore use Figure 2 for determining for themselves whether they are indeed performing in terms of all the essential ontological demands for academic success.1

A. LEARNERS

The Education System

The Wider Societal Context

The School

THE TEACHER LEARNING SITUATION

C. SUCCESSFUL ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT 1 Moloi, K.C., Dzvimbo, K.P., Potgieter, F.J., Wolhuter, C.C. & Van Der Walt, J.L. (eds) 2010. Learners’ perceptions as to what contributes to their school success: a case study.

South African Journal of Education, Vol 30:475-490.

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FIGURE 2: School successes

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IMPACT OF THE STRIKE ACTION

IM PA CT OF THE ST RIK E A CTION O N THE MATRIC R ESULTS T H E M AT R I C PA SS R A T E: W H E N S HOU L D W E C E L E B R A T E? The recent and unprecedented release by Umalusi, the body responsible for maintaining standards in the Matric exams, of the adjustments made to the 2010 scores has underlined how important it is to treat the Matric pass rate with care.

Contrary to popular belief, the Matric pass rate on its own is not a good measure of academic achievement in the schooling system, nor was the pass rate ever designed for this. However, the pass rate can serve as a measure of the opportunities open to our youths. If these opportunities increase, then we should celebrate.

The Matric pass rate, or the percentage of Grade 12 learners in public schools who obtain their National Senior Certificate, is understandably something that provokes lively debate and a fair amount of anguish every year.

The fact that the pass rate went up from 60.6% in 2009 to 67.8% in 2010 made headlines. To provide some idea of previous trends, in 2001 the pass rate exceeded 60% for the first time since 1994, but following a peak of almost 75% in 2003, there had been a fairly steady decline.

2010 seemed to mark the beginning of a new upswing. But there were doubts. How could such a dramatic improvement follow the worst teacher strike the country had ever seen?

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Misgivings about the marks adjustment process prompted Umalusi to open to public scrutiny, for the first time ever, documents from the standardisation process. The documents appeared to reassure the public that there had not been any undue inflating of subject marks – Umalusi is only able to adjust subject marks, not the pass rate directly. They moreover confirmed that improvements in individual subjects were smaller than the improvement that was seen in the pass rate. As an example, of the eight most commonly taken non-language subjects, one subject saw no change in the average mark, two saw a decline in the average and five saw an increase. In the case of the five subjects with an increase, the average increase was 3.5 points out of 100.

How, one may ask, is it possible to have increases of around 3.5 points in some subject averages whilst the overall pass rate increases by a whole 7.2 percentage points?

A key factor is the spread of learners across subjects. When this changes, the pass rate can change, even if performance in individual subjects remains the same. In particular, if learners move to easier subjects, more learners pass. There was in fact a small shift from the harder mathematics to the easier mathematical literacy between 2009 and 2010. The percentage of learners taking mathematics dropped from 51% to 48% – learners must take one of the two subjects.

Another important factor that influences the pass rate is the number of examination candidates. When this decreases, the percentage of well-performing learners tends to be higher, largely because the holding back of worse performing learners in Grade 11 in the previous year has been more widespread. 2010 in fact saw slightly fewer full-time candidates than 2009: around 559 000 against 581 000. This is almost certainly a factor that contributed towards the higher pass rate in 2010.

Comparing pass rates in different years is in fact not like comparing apples to apples.

This is not a uniquely South African phenomenon. Examinations like our Matric are simply not designed to compare the performance of the schooling system across years. They are designed to test whether the individual learner qualifies for a certificate, based on the subjects the learner has chosen. If one wants to compare how well the system is doing, one should turn to testing systems like the international TIMSS and SACMEQ programmes, where South Africa has participated for some years.

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The Project for the Study of Alternative Education in South Africa (PRAESA), is an independently funded multilingual education research and development organization based at the University of Cape Town. Since it began in 1992, PRAESA has carried out various language related research and development initiatives to inform understandings about and make changes to children’s language and literacy learning experiences through the implementation of a mother tongue based bilingual education system.

So is there any cause for celebration when our Matric pass rate improves? Yes, if this means that more youths have a certificate that provides access to further studies or employment. Moreover, the fact that the average mark in certain individual subjects should have increased, for instance from 35% to 38% in life sciences (formerly biology) between 2009 and 2010 does provide an indication that learners are learning better and this should also be celebrated.

More learners need to pass Matric. This is very clear. In comparison to other similar developing countries, South Africa’s enrolment up to Grade 11 is above average. In Grade 12 enrolment is around average. But the number of Grade 12 learners successfully finishing their grade, and therefore secondary schooling, by obtaining their Matric, is low by international standards. The pass rate needs to improve further, both through better learning and therefore performance in individual subjects, and through ensuring that learners choose the combination of subjects that maximises their opportunities.

The latter is not easy. Better counselling is needed. But the Grade 9 standardised assessments currently being introduced should partly be aimed at giving learners a better sense of where their strengths lie and hence what subjects they should select for the critical last three years of school.

2 Department of Education (2010) The Matric pass rate: When should we celebrate? Pretoria: DoE.

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Initiatives have included work in advocacy, language in education policy and planning, terminology development, bilingual education research, training of trainers and teachers for multilingual education in Africa and materials development in African languages as well as English.

Because of the persistent and urgent need to address literacy issues in early childhood, a major thrust of PRAESA’s work is that carried out by the Early Literacy Unit with a focus on shifting the way teachers and

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caregivers understand how children learn to read and write bilingually and on what needs to happen for positive results.

Our literacy work grows from two main notions that apply to all children – from both materially privileged and poor backgrounds in urban or rural settings: ! Learning is best in mother tongue, with other languages being added, not replacing a child’s mother tongue;

! Successful literacy learning requires methods which promote meaning making and enjoyment, like oral language learning.

Our recent programmes take place across home, school and community settings. We initiate, support and help sustain a ‘culture of reading and writing’ in mother tongue and in English. This involves mentoring teachers and other adults to become the kinds of interactive reading and writing role models children can admire, emulate and

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THE PROJECT FOR THE STUDY OF ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION

learn from both in schools and in community based reading clubs.

Non-formal, volunteer driven community reading clubs are now spreading throughout the country. Many of them have been inspired by the Vulindlela Reading Clubs.

The first such club was started by PRAESA in Langa in 2006, together with a local youth empowerment group.

Every Saturday morning, for two hours, PRAESA staff runs a programme where community members and other volunteers interact with children of all ages.

Storytelling, story reading, drawing and writing are at the heart of each session, but there is also play, song, rhyme and dance.

Up to 150 children come each week on a voluntary basis, to a space which is educational, nurturing and enjoyable.

To deepen and sustain reading habits, many more appropriate reading materials are needed in African languages than are presently available. The Early Literacy Unit has coordinated a pan-African book development project, Stories Across Africa, to create story collections for all children on the continent to read in their own languages.

EDITORIAL

Through reading versions of the same stories, children share a common universe of concepts and can come to appreciate their common African identity.

PRAESA works with publishers and others to publish good quality reading materials for children of all ages. They have initiated both original writing and translations and continue to do so in order to develop the kinds of conditions that are ones which give all South African children the chance to become thoughtful, creative and critical citizens.

MA TH S A N D S C I E N C E L E A R N E R S U P PO R T PR O G R AMME S ARTICLE BY BRIDGET-ANN WOODS, WESTERN CAPE FIELDWORKER AND COORDINATOR FOR THE BRIDGE PORTAL.

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In November 2010, Bridge hosted an initial meeting of an emerging national community for programme implementers and key investors supporting learners in maths and science. The community aims to have an increased impact on the number of quality maths and science graduates in the country and the objectives of its first meeting were to share research; identify what is required to accelerate the spread of successful maths and science programme objectives; create a collaborative process to identify critical success factors in maths and science interventions for both pre and post Grade 12; and establish a community for effective practice in this area.

Bridge had carried out a research process in advance of the meeting. All participants had been sent the research write-up before the meeting, while copies were given to attendees at the event. The write-up was intended to be a conversation starter and to stimulate discussion. It had identified several key themes in the field of maths and science learner support, including the role of mentorship, the challenges of monitoring and evaluation, learner selection and programme design, the role of government, psychosocial issues, and tertiary access.

The community, a multi-stakeholder one made up of representatives from provincial government, civil society, funders, business, and so on, discussed the research report and identified key issues of concern that the community members shared.

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It was agreed by the group that collaboration is vital and that the community would value sharing information and maximising resources, but an issue strongly articulated was the need for on-going national Department of Education involvement in the community. It was also agreed that this Bridge community should operate at both micro and macro levels and that it needs to be broken down into smaller focus groups and teams, with a focus on: ! Tertiary access ! Monitoring and evaluation ! Learner selection and programme design ! Saturday schools and after-hours tuition

This community and its focus groups have met, its learnings are documented and best practice case studies summarised. Its intended outcomes are greater co-ordination and collaboration among funders and between funders and government; agreed metrics and standards on monitoring and evaluating maths and science support programmes; greater, and less competitive, links between maths and science support programmes and higher education bursary programmes; the spread of effective practice within the community and its associated stakeholders and reduction in duplication (horizontal integration); and the vertical integration of policy and practice.

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THE ANNUAL NATIONAL ASSESSMENTS (ANA)

THE QUALITY LEARNING AND TEACHING CAMPAIGN

T HE ANN UAL NATIONAL A SSE SSM E NT S ( ANA)

T HE Q U A L I T Y LE A R N I N G A N D T E A CHI N G CA M P A I G N

The Department of Basic Education has completed the Annual National Assessments (ANA) of learners in Grades 2 - 10 in February 2011. This involved over six million learners throughout South Africa.

This important intervention is one of the key strategies that the department has put in place to improve learner achievement by 2014. The improvement of the quality and levels of educational outcomes in the schooling system is a top priority of both government and the Department of Basic Education. The extent to which these outcomes are achieved will be monitored through the administration of annual national assessments (ANA).

The department has set a target of improving numeracy and literacy attainment levels of Grades 3 and 6 from the current average attainment levels of between 27% and 38% to at least 60% by 2014. The ANA have been set by the national department in order to provide a benchmark for all schools in the basic education sector.

Literacy and numeracy are critical foundational skills that are fundamental to all learning. Each learner writes a test in literacy and numeracy. The tests will be based on the performance levels of the grade of

the previous year. The ANA timetable can be found on the Department’s website: http://www.education.gov.za.

ANA is intended to provide regular, welltimed, valid and credible data on learner achievement in the education system. Assessment of learners’ performance in the GET Band (Grades 1- 9) has previously been done at school level. Unlike examinations that are designed to inform decisions on learner promotion and progression, ANA data is meant to be used for both diagnostic purposes at individual learner level and decision-making purposes at systemic level.

At the individual learner level, the ANA results will provide teachers with empirical evidence on what the learner can and/or cannot do at a particular stage or grade and do so at the beginning of the school year.

Schools will inform parents of their child’s ANA performance in March 2011.

At systemic level, ANA provides reliable data for policy decisions related to provi-

TABLE 17: Who will write the ANA IN 2011?

sion and support required at various levels of the system. The ANA will make it easier for district offices to determine where support is most urgently needed and by allowing principals, teachers and parents to plan in a more informed manner how to improve performance.

The ANA will be administered and marked by teachers, moderated by districts. At national level, the DBE will also sample scripts for moderation (limited to Grades 3, 6 and 9) to check if marking was done consistently across districts and provinces.

The Minister is expected to report on the performance of Grade 3, 6 and 9 in ANA

by March of every year, beginning in 2011.

These grades are the exit point for each phase in the General Education and Training Band.

In the Foundation Phase, (grades 1-3) learners write the ANA in the language of learning and teaching of the child i.e. in one of the eleven official languages. In the Intermediate Phase, (grades 4-6) learners write the tests in one of the languages of learning and teaching (English or Afrikaans). In the Senior Phase only those learners who were in grade 9 in 2010 and who are now in grade 10 write the ANA as a pilot project.

50 schools in each province have been selected to participate.

Grade in 2010 at which the ANA will be tested

Grade in 2011 of learners who will be writing

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grade 2

Grade 3

Grade 3

Grade 4

Grade 4

Grade 5

Grade 5

Grade 6

Grade 6

Grade 7

Grade 7

Grade 8 (not writing)

3 More information on ANA can be found on

Grade 8

Grade 9 (not writing)

the Department’s website at http://www.education.gov.za. Above information sourced on the 04 February 2011.

Grade 9

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In 2011 Grade 9 tests will be piloted on samples of Grade 10 learners in 50 sample schools in each province.3

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“Education must be elevated from being a departmental issue, or even a government issue, to a societal issue – one that occupies the attention and energy for all our people”. A commitment should be made to a “Code for Quality Education”, which describes the responsibilities and discipline required of them – the “non-negotiables”.

It must be seen as a revolutionary act for cadres to subscribe to and act within this code.”4 On Friday, 11 August 2008, The African National Congress launched a health and education campaign at Walter Sisulu Square in Kliptown. This campaign arose from the decision of the ANC’s Polokwane Conference that health and education should be at the centre of the Government’s social transformation programme for the next five years. The campaign was launched on the very site where the Freedom Charter was adopted in 1955, a document that defines health and education as important elements of a free and democratic society.

Among other things, the Freedom Charter says: “Education shall be free, compulsory, universal and equal for all children; Higher education and technical training shall be opened to all by means of state allowances and scholarships awarded on the basis of merit.”

On the education front, the campaign calls on all individuals and organizations to assume responsibility for improving the quality of education. The education elements of the campaign will: ! Inform citizens about the importance of education, and their roles, responsibilities and obligations towards education;

! Mobilize communities to monitor and support schools, teachers and learners; ! Improve the quality of education for all children, especially the poor, and to demonstrate this improved quality through better learner achievements.

The achievement of quality education for all depends on the actions of departmental officials, school principals, teachers, students, parents and community members. Each of these are called upon to make a commitment to a ‘Code for Quality Education’, which describes the responsibilities and discipline required of them. If all sections of society work together – government, communities, health care workers, civil society, business, media and other sectors – we can ensure that all learners benefit from quality education.

Campaign coordinating structures are being set up at national, provincial and regional levels and Government now calls on all South Africans to join us in this campaign, as part of the ongoing effort to achieve a better life for all.

4 Mr Jacob Zuma, ANC President, January 8th Statement 2008. Extract from the Kliptown Pledges

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IMPROVED TEACHING QUALITY

IM PROVED TEAC H ING QU ALI T Y “Education must be elevated from being a departmental issue, or even a government issue, to a societal issue – one that occupies the attention and energy for all our people”. A commitment should be made to a ”Code for Quality Education”, which describes the responsibilities and discipline required of them – the “nonnegotiables”. (Mr Jacob Zuma, ANC President, January 8th Statement 2008).

The achievement of quality education for all depends on the actions of departmental officials, school principals, teachers, students, parents and community members. Each of these are called upon to make a commitment to a ‘Code for Quality Education’, which describes the responsibilities and discipline required of them.

! ensure all schools have their full staff allocation, and that any vacancies are filled without delay;

If all sections of society work together – government, communities, health care workers, civil society, business, media and other sectors – we can ensure that all learners benefit from quality education.

! respond to requests or concerns of education stakeholders;

! improve my own knowledge and skills base to be more effective; ! always be available to assist schools, principals and teachers;

! visit all schools within the district on a regular basis;

C O D E OF Q U A L IT Y EDUCATION

! monitor teacher and student attendance, and ensure no child is out of school;

The power to improve education lies with all of us. And we must make a commitment to a ‘Code for Quality Education’.

! assist all schools to improve their performance, ensuring regular tests are conducted, and results are reported to parents.

The Department of Education, together with teacher unions, today announced their united commitment to do everything within their power to endorse the pledges made in Kliptown, and to strive for quality learning and teaching for all. The launch date coincides with the celebration of World Teachers’ Day on 5 October each year.

AS A DEPARTMENTAL OFFICIAL, I PROMISE TO: ! ensure all schools receive the necessary resources in time for teaching to commence;

104

AS A TEACHER, IN LINE WITH THE SACE CODE OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS, I PROMISE TO: ! teach, to advance the education and the development of learners as individuals; ! respect the dignity and rights of all persons without prejudice; ! develop loyalty and respect for the profession; ! be punctual, enthusiastic, well prepared for lessons, and of sober mind and body;

CHAPTER 5 | TOWARDS QUALITY BASIC EDUCATION

! improve my own knowledge and skills base to be more effective; ! maintain good communication between teachers and students, among teachers themselves; and between teachers and parents; ! provide regular information to parents on their children’s progress; ! eliminate unprofessional behaviour such as teacher-pupil relationships, drunkenness, drug use, assault, sexual harassment and others; ! make myself available to provide extramural activities.

AS A LEARNER, I PROMISE TO: ! accept that the main reason for being in school is to learn and develop academically, socially and culturally; ! adhere to school rules; ! respect the legitimacy and authority of teachers; ! participate in Learner Representative Councils (LCR’s) to safeguard my interests; ! show respect to other learners and not to discriminate; ! avoid anti-social behaviour like theft, vandalism, assault, sexual harassment, alcohol and drug use, and other activities that disrupt the learning process.

www.ed.org.za

CHAPTER 6

SCHOOL MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP

IT’S TIME FOR ACTION …

INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

106

EDUCATING FOR OUR COMMON FUTURE

107

LEADERSHIP EDUCATION

112

REAL PEOPLE DOING UNREAL THINGS

116

Join

the

action

leaders

in

education, and let’s focus on action, by tracking the top 100 projects on www.ed.org.za to inspire belief in the power of education.

INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

EDUCATING FOR OUR COMMON FUTURE

IN TRODUCTION A ND OVER VIEW

ED U C A T I N G F O R O U R C OMMON F U T U R E : B U I L D I N G S C H OOLS FOR AN INTEGRATED SOCIETY

Recent media and research reports suggest that despite major advances achieved since the first democratic elections, the educational experiences of a number of learners in South African schools are still dominated by the spectre of race. This is despite the fact that we have dismantled the apartheid legislative framework that institutionalised racism in the education system.

We have always recognised that the first phase of educational reconstruction in the post-apartheid era would be about creating the framework within which the apartheid legacy could be confronted and dealt with.

Apartheid and its brutal legacy however still haunt the nation’s classrooms. The first decade of freedom has taught us, that life in the new South Africa has its own challenges, sometimes very similar to the challenges of the past.

One such lesson is that real renewal can only occur if teachers, managers, parents and communities recognise the importance of changing the old ways of doing things.

This implies commitment to redress, equity and transformation at an institutional level.

Systemic change can only occur if teachers, school governing bodies, managers and local communities commit themselves to the change process. The role of all stakeholders

The demands on school management have changed, with the emphasis growing on managing safe, diverse and integrated school environments.

is vital if racial integration is to be successfully achieved. We need to acknowledge that contexts and conditions differ and that a “one-size-fits-all” approach is necessarily doomed to failure. School communities need to reflect on their own situations and to find their own solutions in line with the values and principles of our Constitution.

Education is an essential aspect of meeting the challenges posed by integration.

We cannot live successfully as communities and as a nation if we do not respect each other’s differences, whilst recognising how these diverse elements shape the road ahead into unity and our common destiny.

Only by combining our efforts will we be able to rid our schools and communities of the scourge of racism. Nation-building and reconciliation are the challenges that we must be involved in. But first, we must exorcise all manifestations of prejudice, which leads to discrimination.2

Principals have to interpret the demands of their job and determine how they will perform this within the context of national development – and therefore tap into the full potential of themselves and the rest of the school community.

The core of the principals’ job is to improve teaching and learning in the school.

This includes the need to be aware and understand environmental demands and the ability to respond to the defined values in education.1 1 Thutong: South African Education Portal, (http://www.thutong.doe.gov.za/educationmanagement/ AdvancedCertificateinEducation/tabid/3699/Default.aspx)

106

2 Prof Kader Asmal, MP, Minister of Education, January 2004.

www.ed.org.za

www.ed.org.za

CHAPTER 6 | SCHOOL MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP

107

Nationwide

Limpopo

GAUTENG JOHANNESBURG North West

Free State BLOEMFONTEIN Pietermaritzburg Northern Cape DURBAN

High quality

School books for all

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“Wisdom is EDITORIAL

rightly applied.”

L E ADERSHIP EDUCATION: T HE K EY TO RES TORING THE E AR T H’ S HE ALT H ARTICLE BY PATRICK DOWLING, REGIONAL HEAD OF EDUCATION IN THE WESTERN CAPE FOR WESSA.

“

Copenhagen was not the great climate change success meeting the world was hoping for; Cancun added to the disappointment. Let us hope that Durban 2011 will not also be a damp squib and that the 17th annual meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) will show that global leadership can agree to take resolute action through legally binding commitments to avert worst-case climate change scenarios.

As much as the meeting will be about climate, the latest research and IPCC reports, post Kyoto arrangements and matters such as common but differentiated responsibilities, fair, affordable, and achievable climate change legislation and so on (much of it excuses for politicians to keep sitting on their hands “while Rome burns”), it will also be about leadership or lack thereof.

Real leaders know intuitively what the right thing to do is, what the feelings among ordinary people are, what sacrifices, radical change or acts of courage are required to meet a challenge. They would have an urgent sense too that business as usual is not an appropriate response and that leading by ethical example is.

They would know by now from scientific reports and tangible evidence that human activity-driven climate change is more than a 90% credible reality.

They would know that things could get a lot worse with ineffectual responses and that time is a luxury they do not have.

They would be well aware that doing the necessary things like reducing human induced carbon emissions, disciplining way-

Gain more knowledge by upgrading your qualification through our distance learning Educator Programmes. Stay ahead through the development and improvement of your teaching skills and continue to influence your students positively.

ward industries, strengthening local resilience, promoting renewable technologies and conserving natural systems would not only help mitigate climate change, but would have a hugely restorative effect on the planet which has been under increasingly destructive pressure for the last two centuries.

They would know that the global economy is a subsidiary of the environment and that committed corrective action would make the earth a fairer and healthier place.

Leadership dissatisfaction is at an historical highpoint globally.

If there is to be a change in the way in which we choose to lead and be led the subject is going to have to be brought out of corner of the life-skills curriculum it currently occupies and given much higher priority status.

Initiatives like Lead SA and Rights and Responsibilities have obviously recognized the need, but educators by nature or profession have a great role to play as well.

Government has signaled its intention to move towards a green economy and has drafted an Environmental Skills Sector Plan (ESSP) and several NGOs and Grant-making institutions are showing support for the idea of long-term leadership development.

To avoid some of the catastrophic predictions becoming self inflicted reality this is a subject worth detailed and urgent attention with emphasis on ethics, vision, courage and commitment.

”

We offer: year­round access to our educator programmes; various contact classes at centres nationally; vacation schools; SMS communication and excellent call centre support; exam centres throughout the country; nationally hosted graduation ceremonies.

The School for Continuing Teacher Education of the North­West University (NWU) currently hosts the second largest number of students in the open distance learning environment in southern Africa with a phenomenal pass rate achieved by its students.

The school provides open distance learning qualifications to a multitude of students in rural communities within South Africa and other southern African regions through a partnership with the Open Learning Group.

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Honours Bachelor of Education (HonsBEd): Curriculum Studies, Educational Management Law and Systems, Learner Support, and Mathematics Education.

The Open Learning Group is an accredited Private Higher Education Institution that provides logistical and operational support to NWU students. OLG implements various communication methods and technologically aided support which promotes an environment for learning and academic achievement.

OLG Regional Offices Contact Details: Western Cape, Eastern Cape, North­West, Northern Cape: Paul Beselaar (Tel) 021 930 2651; (Fax) 021 930 2935; (Cell) 083 650 5565; (Email) beselaar@iafrica.com Gauteng, Limpopo, North­West: Gerrie Minnaar (Tel) 011 979 7070/74; (Fax) 011 979 7091; (Cell) 083 759 2226; (Email) minagi@mweb.co.za / Gerrie.minnaar@olg.co.za Kwa­Zulu Natal: Eddie Bush (Tel) 031 764 3326; (Fax) 031 572 1056; (Cell) 082 413 3685; (Email) bush@iafrica.com Mpumalanga, Free State: Sakkie Manda (Cell) 082 926 4427 / 082 927 7487; (Fax) 086 678 6444; (Email) smanda@absamail.co.za OLG Head Office contact details: Tel: 011 670 4'()*)'+"))(",-.+ Fax: 086 635 7467

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OPEN LEARNING GROUP The Open Learning Group was founded in 1994 as the College for Open Learning South­ ern Africa (COLSA). Since 1997 the Group became formally known as The Open Learning Group. OLG has developed into a business where people are developed across various academic fields and their futures influenced positively. Our strict customer service model has successfully supported over 60 000 students during the past 15 years.

The Open Learning Group (OLG) forms part of Open Learning Holdings, with subsidiaries including the Business School of Excellence (BSE) in Namibia; Credo Books and Masithu­ thuke. OLG has partnerships both nationally and internationally and partners include the University of London; Edexcel (provider of internationally recognised qualifications); City and Guilds (qualifications approval provider) and the North­West University.

Training programmes and courses focusing on skills scarce industries are priorities and are accredited and quality assured either by universities, Education and Training Quality Assur­ ance departments (ETQAs) of SETAs or by the Higher Education Quality Council (HEQC) of the Council on Higher Education (CHE). OLG is equipped to operate across the three edu­ cational SAQA NQF bands namely General Education and Training (GET); Further Educa­ tion and Training (FET) and Higher Education and Training (HET). OLG is registered with the Department of Higher Education and Training as a private higher education institution and as a private FET college and is also registered with the IEB to conduct ABET assessments.

OLG has been awarded programme approval from the Council on Higher Education as well as from the national quality assurance authority, Umalusi, to offer accredited training programmes. OLG is accredited by the ETDP SETA. OLG is divided into two main business units namely an academic unit, and a logistics and operations unit. The four current focus areas on the academic side are business, skills, risk and education, and a variety of certificates, diplomas, degrees, and postgraduate degrees are included in the available curriculum, designed to meet the South African learning needs. Popular programmes often presented include Adult Basic Education Training (ABET), a Further Education and Training (FET) Certificate in Marketing, a Certificate in Logistics Management; Learnerships such as the National Certificate in Wholesale and Retail Ope­ rations; ETDP SETA skills programmes such as the Assessor course and the Moderator course; Risk Management programmes such as the Safety, Health and Environmental Represen­ tative course (SHE Rep), the Incident Analysis HBTA Process course, the Supervisor Safety course and the Train­the­Trainer course, and programmes offered through the partnership with the North­West University such as a National Professional Diploma in Education; a Honours B.Ed Degree as well as short courses in end­user computing. Programmes are cus­ tomised for students to apply new skills in the workplace.

On the logistics side OLG arranges training and contact sessions as well as graduations in locations nationally. Customised solutions are delivered through the OLG blended method­

ology of face­to­face, limited contact, paper­based and e­learning programme delivery as well as continuous support and student­paced programmes that are interactive and contextualised. A sophisticated web­based electronic management system manages stu­ dent information enabling regular stakeholder reporting and management of return on in­ vestment (ROI).

A supporting arm supports both academic and logistics units and provides support to stu­ dents and corporate clients through financial services, customer services, quality manage­ ment services, marketing support services, and administrative support services. It also offers accreditation support, assessment support for competency development, SETA funding support, accreditation services applications as well as applications for new course de­ velopers. Career guidance can also be provided to ensure that students align their future professions with their passion and talents.

Solutions are implemented in industries including pharmaceutical, medical and farming industries.

OLG strives to be the most trusted and sought after life­long learning solution partner for all, providing internationally recognised and quality assured affordable learning opportuni­ ties to any individual, anywhere. www.olg.co.za Open Learning Group (Pty) Ltd – Reg No. 1997/020392/07 a subsidiary of Open Learning Holdings (Pty) Ltd – Reg No. 1998/009375/07 Provisionally registered with the Department of Higher Education and Training until 31 De­ cember 2011 as a private higher education institution under the Higher Education Act, 1997. Provisional registration certificate no.: 2009/HE07/005 Provisionally registered with the Department of Higher Education and Training until 31 De­ cember 2015 as a private further education and training college in terms of Section 31(3) of the Further Education and Training Colleges Act, 2006. Provisional registration no.: 2009/FE07/101. .

EDITORIAL

R EA L P EOPL E DOING UNRE AL THI NGS – LEA DIN G W ITH THE H EAD ARTICLE BY KATE THOMSON, WRITER FOR THE FINANCIAL MAIL, 19 MARCH 2011

“

When David Wylde retired as a principal of St Andrew’s College in Grahamstown, he swapped the vast headmaster’s house for three rondavels in Mpumalanga – which he shares with a boomslang, a spitting cobra and a black mamba.

Wylde is now based near Nelspruit, where he initiated the Principal to Principal (PTP) initiative for Penreach, an outreach project of the Penryn College.

The origins of both programmes run back to two decades to when Wylde started as headmaster of St Stithians College in Johannesburg in 1989, and was looking for the right initiative for the school to support.

School leaders, in consultation with community leaders, decided to start an independent school in Mpumalanga that would be a beacon of hope for rural schools. The Penryn Trust was set up and Penryn College and Penreach was the result.

“It was on this platform that we started to talk to principals in rural and township schools. The outreach was aimed at teachers, in order to teach the biggest number of people. Frankly, however, whatever intervention we could come up with was doomed without the principals’ backing and support,” says Wylde.

He now spends his time communicating with, coaching and mentoring 10 principals of Mpumalanga schools (five primary schools and the 5 secondary schools they feed into).

“The idea is to improve the principals’ leadership skills and leadership consciousness. I’m looking through the eyes of the principal at the needs of the schools and coming up with strategies to satisfy those needs,” says Wylde.

The programme is not prescriptive. Rather, Wylde discusses the schools’ various needs with the teachers and principals before suggesting strategies.

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He recommends creating a house structure within schools, which creates vertical divisions and then breaking these further into tutor groups. A house system costs nothing but it gives people a sense of belonging. He also suggests motivational workshops for teachers and leadership camps with Grade 11 pupils.

Starting every day with a registration class is also integral to the system. It forces teachers and principals to arrive on time and makes them accountable if they do not.

“A principal told me how a teacher has approached to ask permission to go to a student’s house. The student hadn’t been to class in three weeks and the teacher was concerned. In 15 years as principal this was the first time a teacher had ever asked him that,” says Wylde. “We’re turning unmotivated individual educators into people who are really fired up and enjoy their jobs.”

The plan is to grow the programme by engaging retired school heads throughout the country, providing struggling schools with access to the huge network and wealth of experience that these individuals represent.

“I set off to change the world, but I’ve learnt it is far more complicated than I expected. The schools lack all the fundamentals,” says Wylde. “So now I’m less inclined to believing in a single solution, and more trying to make the right choices week by week, month by month.

You can’t get children to concentrate if they are not fed. The biggest challenge is the lack of food and water. We’re trying to institute a culture of care in the schools.”

”

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CHAPTER 7

THE TEACHER AND THE TEACHING CAREER

TIME TO CONNECT.

INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

118

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE INTEGRATED STRATEGIC PLANNING FRAMEWORK

120

THE TEACHING FORCE AND WORKING CONDITIONS

132

teacher for their extra-ordinary

STARS IN EDUCATION AWARDS

134

work

LITERACY PROGRAMMES

136

If you would like to recognise a in

inspiring

belief

in

others, please send the details to info@argo.org.za or enter on www.ed.org.za

INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

IN T RODUCTION A ND OVERV IEW Teachers are indispensable in bringing lasting change to future generations. Great strain was placed on teachers by the rationalization and curriculum change of the late nineties. Teachers also spend eight hours a day, five days a week with the children of a society shaped by poverty, the effects of apartheid, HIV/AIDS, unemployment and many other social ills.

The following chapter explores how all key role players could assist teachers to be more fulfilled, less challenged and more enabled to make a rich investment in our nation’s children.

ST AT ISTIC S 394 225 Teachers employed in South Africa in 2007 i.e. the largest group of employees in SA. 31.5: 1

national average learner to teacher ratio

70%

of teachers have over 10 years’ experience.

12.3%

HIV prevalence rate amongst teachers.

46% of teachers time is spent on teaching time compared to 64-79% expected by education policy.

54%

teacher’s time spent on administration tasks.

76 889

under-qualified teachers in 2000

28% reduction in under-qualified teachers between 1994 and 2004 2/3

of teachers are between 35-50 years old and were trained during Apartheid era

12% of teaching graduates speak an African language

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EDUCATION AS SOCIETAL REFORM

EDUC ATI ON AS SOCIE TA L REFORM Hig h l i g h t s f r o m t h e I n t e g r a t e d Strategic Pl an n in g Fra me w o r k f o r Te a c h er Education and D evelo p m e n t i n S o u t h A f r i c a ( 2 011–2025) The challenges facing Teacher Education and Development (TED) in South Africa are considerable. They include a lack of access to quality TED opportunities for prospective and practising teachers; a mismatch between the provision of and demand for teachers of particular types; the failure of the system to achieve dramatic improvement in the quality of teaching and learning in schools; a fragmented and uncoordinated approach to TED; the tenuous involvement of teachers, their organisations and other role-players in TED planning; and inefficient and poorly monitored funding mechanisms.

To meet these challenges, the Declaration of the Teacher Development Summit of 2009 called for the development of a new, strengthened, integrated national Plan for teacher development. The collaborative work towards the development of such a plan has led to the production of this plan.

The plan pertains to all teachers that service the schooling system – from Grade R to Grade 12 – including classroom teachers, school leaders and managers, subject advisors and other professionals who support teaching and learning at the school level. This includes all educators described in the Employment of Educators Act (No. 76 of 1998).

The Plan addresses the career of a teacher through a number of phases from recruitment through to retirement: ! Recruitment of potential teachers. ! Preparation of new teachers. ! Career-long (continuing) professional learning and development.

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The Plan recognises that the ultimate responsibility for recruiting, preparing, inducting, developing and utilising human resources in public education lies with the public authority, and must be operationalised and coordinated through its structures, and in particular the two national education departments (the Department of Basic Education, or DBE, and the Department of Higher Education and Training, or DHET) and the nine Provincial Education Departments (PEDs). However, stakeholders in education and, most importantly, teachers themselves, are essential contributors to the structure of the Plan and to its implementation.

The Plan places teachers firmly at the centre of all efforts to improve teacher development, and enables teachers to take substantial responsibility for their own development, with the support of the DBE and the PEDs, the DHET, the teacher unions, the South African Council for Educators (SACE) and the Education, Training and Development Practices Sector Education and Training Authority (ETDP SETA).

As required by the Teacher Development Summit Declaration, the Plan delinks teacher appraisal for purposes of development from appraisal for purposes of remuneration and salary progression, which will be taken up through an Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) exercise to streamline and rebrand the Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS).

The Plan must be considered by other planning processes such as those related to the IQMS, Whole School Evaluation

CHAPTER 7 | THE TEACHER AND THE TEACHING CAREER

(WSE), the National Education Evaluation and Development Unit (NEEDU) and the SACE Continuing Professional Teacher Development (CPTD) Management System.

The Plan is strongly aligned with national imperatives that are currently in place, including the following: The DBE’s Action Plan 2014, which includes: ! Goal 14: Attract a new group of young, motivated and appropriately trained teachers into the teaching profession each year. ! Goal 16: Improve the professionalism, teaching skills, subject knowledge and computer literacy of teachers throughout their entire careers. ! Goal 17: Strive for a teaching workforce that is healthy and enjoys a sense of job satisfaction.

The DHET’s Revised Strategic Plan (2010/11–2014/15): ! To monitor the production of initial teachers and the development of practising teachers for the preschool and school system through qualification programmes, in order to inform planning and determine enrolment and graduation targets. ! To strengthen the capacity and capability for the provision of preschool and school teacher education in universities in order to produce and develop sufficient quality teachers for the pre-school and school system in line with Ministerial targets.

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The Plan adopts a two-pronged approach to teacher education and development, and makes provision for quality teacher development to happen through activities that may or may not be linked to formal qualifications. Qualification-linked activities will primarily be led by the DHET, while activities that are not directly linked to qualifications will primarily be led by the DBE and PEDs. The DBE is considered to be the lead agency responsible for: the establishment of a National Institute for Curriculum and Professional Development (NICPD); the development of processes to assist teachers to identify their development needs and to enable expanded opportunities for access to quality Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities and programmes to meet these needs; and the identification of system priorities for targeted teacher development.

The PEDs are considered to be the lead agencies responsible for the establishment and development of: Provincial Teacher Development Institutes (PTDIs); District Teacher Development Centres (DTDCs); and Professional Learning Communities (PLCs).

The DHET is considered to be the lead agency responsible for: ensuring a sufficient supply of new teachers for all teaching specialisations (phases, learning areas and subjects) steered by information on the supply, demand and utilisation of educators in the schooling system; ensuring the development and provision of qualification-based CPD programmes for all types of teachers working in the schooling system; establishing a network of viable, accessible Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs), Teaching Schools (TSs) and Professional Practice Schools (PPSs); and establishing Provincial Teacher Education Committees (PTECs) that will assist to inform enrolment planning for teacher qualification programmes.

The primary outcome of the Plan is to improve the quality of teacher education and development in order to improve the quality of teachers and teaching.

All role-players need to continue to participate collaboratively in implementing

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HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE INTEGRATED STRATEGIC PLANNING FRAMEWORK

aspects of this Plan, in monitoring the effectiveness of its implementation, and in its adaptation as needs and contexts change over time.

Teacher unions have a responsibility to: ! promote teacher professionalism through advocating, supporting and encouraging teachers to access opportunities to identify and address their development needs; ! promote teacher professionalism through advocating and supporting the establishment of PLCs and encouraging teachers to participate actively and meaningfully in these; ! and assist in growing the profession by enhancing the status and image of teaching and teachers, and so encouraging new people to enter the profession.

SACE has an important quality management role to play in promoting and supporting the system for identifying and addressing teacher development needs. This includes ensuring that: the providers of teacher development programmes are fully approved by SACE; and the professional development courses available for teachers are endorsed by SACE and can lead to the accrual of Professional Development (PD) points on successful completion.

Universities that provide teacher education programmes, supported by the DHET, have the responsibility for ensuring that: ! their programmes are accessible to teachers and aspirant teachers; ! the programmes being offered are responsive to national, provincial and individual teacher priorities and needs; ! and the programmes are of high quality and lead to meaningful development for teachers. Universities will need to implement innovative mechanisms to strengthen the Work Integrated Learning (WIL) component of teacher education programmes, e.g. through the effective use of Professional Practice Schools (PPSs) and Teaching Schools (TSs).

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The ETDP SETA has the responsibility for: ensuring that its activities directed towards the support of teachers are aligned with the Plan, particularly in relation to making funds available for teachers or aspirant teachers to register for short courses or qualification programmes; supporting new teacher induction; and supporting meaningful WIL. The sourcing of funds and the planned allocation of funds to enable the Plan to be fully implemented are the responsibilities of the various lead agencies, in collaboration with their partners, under the auspices of strong leadership by the Heads of Education Departments Committee (HEDCOM) and the Council of Education Ministers (CEM).

While not a formally costed plan, the Plan provides an indication of where funds may be sourced. It is essential that effective and efficient use is made of funding currently available in the system, including Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) funds and the Skills Development Budget.

The Plan adopts a 15-year timeframe and in so doing recognises the need for immediate, medium-term and long-term deliverables to ensure quality teacher education and development. It ensures that immediate imperatives are addressed while putting in place processes to address medium-term and long-term imperatives.

OUTPUTS AND ACTIVITIES TO BE LED

BY THE DEPARTMENT OF BASIC EDUCATION

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE INTEGRATED STRATEGIC PLANNING FRAMEWORK

groups of teachers, can be identified and addressed.

Problem statement While it must be recognised that a wide variety of factors interact to impact on the quality of the education system in South Africa, teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; poor subject matter knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge are important contributors. Teaching resources and learner support materials are important only insofar as teachers have the knowledge and competence to interpret and utilise them effectively.

Teacher appraisal through the IQMS does not evaluate competence sufficiently deeply to assist teachers to identify their needs; in addition, by conflating developmental appraisal and performance appraisal the IQMS makes it even more difficult to identify teacher development needs transparently and accurately.

1: INDIVIDUAL AND SYSTEMATIC TEACHER DEVELOPMENT NEEDS ARE IDENTIFIED AND ADDRESSED

A National Institute for Curriculum and Professional Development (NICPD) will be established to develop and manage a system through which the development needs of individual teachers, and the development needs of specific categories or

CHAPTER 7 | THE TEACHER AND THE TEACHING CAREER

Develop and deliver teacher diagnostic self-assessments to assess curriculum competence. Diagnostic self-assessments are assessment instruments â&#x20AC;&#x201C; available online and/or in paper-based form â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which individual teachers are able to use independently, confidentially and in a safe and non-threatening environment, to test themselves on what they need to know and do in order to carry out their core function well.

Activity 1.3 Develop and deliver high-quality, contentrich, pedagogically sound CPD courses for teachers. Content-rich, pedagogically

a) Enable individual teachers to identify their own learning and professional development needs and to access opportunities to address these needs; and b) Identify system-wide priorities for teacher development that are applicable to groups of teachers.

Establish the National Institute for Curriculum and Professional Development (NICPD). The National Institute for Curriculum and Professional Development (NICPD) will be responsible for developing and managing a system for teachers to identify their development needs and access quality development opportunities to address these needs; and for ensuring that a viable, relevant curriculum is always in place for schooling in South Africa.

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sound short CPD courses are courses that are strongly aligned to the content frameworks for a particular subject and phase or specialist area. Successful learning on these courses must enable the teacher to improve their teaching practice.

Activity 1.4 Develop and deploy a TED ICT support system. A TED ICT support system is an online system that will contain the infrastructure to enable teachers to: access diagnostic self-assessments; identify relevant SACE-approved programmes; apply to register for the programmes; and apply for funding to pay for their studies.

3

A non-punitive system for assessing teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; current competences to deliver the curriculum and supporting them to develop in areas of their individual need is vital if the problem of poor quality education in the system is to be solved. In order to address these challenges, processes are needed that:

Activity 1.1 OUTPUT

Activity 1.2

Self-assessment results are used to direct the teacher to specific pedagogically sound, content-rich SACE-endorsed CPD courses/ activities which, once engaged with, will lead to development in the identified area(s) of need. The teacher will also be directed to SACE-approved providers of the appropriate courses through which to access learning opportunities.

Figure 8 is a diagrammatic representation of the processes described in Activities 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4. It shows how these processes work together to form an integrated system for identifying and addressing the development needs of individual teachers.

Activity 1.5 Identify and address immediate to medium-term systemic teacher development needs. From existing evidence linked to the review of the National Curriculum State-

SACE CPTD Management System (supports the new TED system) t $1% TIPSU DPVSTFT BSF FOEPSTFE CZ 4"$& t 1SPWJEFST PG $1% TIPSU DPVSTFT NVTU CF BQQSPWFE

by SACE. t 4"$& BXBSET 1% QPJOUT GPS TVDDFTTGVM DPNQMFUJPO of SACE-endorsed CPD activities.

1) The teacher is able to apply for funding to register for the identified course(s).

2 Teachers recognise a personal need for professional development on the basis of their learnersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; performance and put themselves forward for a series of diagnostic self-assessments, which have been designed for the teacherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s particular subject/ learning area. t5IFTF TFMG BTTFTTNFOUT DBO CF UBLFO JO POMJOF and/or in paper-based form, and they provide immediate, confidential feedback to the teacher on curriculum areas that need to be developed.

4

A variety of modes of study and support are available to the teacher at the localised sites like PRDIs and DTDCs to engage effectively with the course content, including independent, materials-based or online study, participation in formal or informal programmes and learning with colleagues and peers in PLCs.

5 1 Teachers are at the centre of the system. Teachers take responsibility for their own professional development. The key goals of teacher development must be enhanced classroom practice and improved learning outcomes.

Success measures are: 1) Improved classroom practice and learner performance; 2) Improved performance on diagnostic self-assessments; and 3) Increased collaborative activity through PLCs.

FIGURE 3: A system for identifying and addressing teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; development needs.

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CHAPTER 7 | THE TEACHER AND THE TEACHING CAREER

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HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE INTEGRATED STRATEGIC PLANNING FRAMEWORK

ments (NCS), National Senior Certificate (NSC) results and Annual National Assessments (ANA), as well as research on the qualification profiles of practising teachers, five categories of educators have been identified for targeted teacher development opportunities in the short to medium term.

2: INCREASED NUMBERS OF HIGH-ACHIEVING SCHOOL LEAVERS ARE ATTRACTED INTO TEACHING

OUTPUT

In order to meet system needs, concerted efforts will be made to attract and encourage high-achieving school-leavers to become teachers.

Problem statement Currently, South Africa is not producing sufficient new teachers to meet the demands of the schooling system. It is estimated that between 12 000 and 16 000 new teachers are required annually by the system. In 2008, just fewer than 6 000 new teachers were produced in South Africa. The need for new teachers is more pronounced in certain phases of schooling, in certain subject areas, and in certain geographic areas.

The poor public image of teachers, and the status currently ascribed to the teaching profession, coupled with the lack of funding for individual students to embark on teacher education studies, have been identified as primary factors contributing to the small numbers of new teacher graduates that are being produced.

In order to respond to these challenges, a strong recruitment and advocacy campaign, and strengthened, responsive, aligned national and provincial bursary programmes to provide adequate support to sufficient numbers of initial teacher education students, must be implemented.

Activity 2.1 Implement a strengthened teacher recruitment campaign

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CHAPTER 7 | THE TEACHER AND THE TEACHING CAREER

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Activity 2.2 Implement enhanced bursary funding schemes for initial teacher education students

resources, as sites of delivery for continuing professional development courses and as meeting points for teacher professional learning communities.

Activity 3.3

OUTPUT

3: TEACHER SUPPORT

IS ENHANCED AT THE LOCAL LEVEL Support to teachers and access to professional development opportunities will be enhanced at the local level.

Problem statement Teachers experience significant difficulties in accessing and receiving support, resources and continuing professional development opportunities close to where they live and work. For the large majority of teachers who work in rural areas, the difficulty is even more pronounced.

The call for the reopening of colleges of education is related in part to the difficulty teachers have gaining access to meaningful teacher development opportunities and support at the local level. To address these challenges, there is a need to develop teacher support structures and relationships at the provincial and district levels.

Activity 3.1 Establish Provincial Teacher Development Institutes (PTDIs). PTDIs are physical sites that will serve as the base from which provinces coordinate and deliver all national and provincial priority CPD programmes.

Activity 3.2 Establish District Teacher Development Centres (DTDCs). District Teacher Development Centres (DTDCs) are physical sites located in districts and manageably accessible to teachers working in surrounding schools. They will serve as local support sites for teachers, as sites from which curriculum support staff can operate, as sites where teachers can access shared

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Establish Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) to strengthen teacher professionalism. PLCs are communities that provide the setting and necessary support for groups of classroom teachers, school managers and subject advisors to participate collectively in determining their own developmental trajectories, and to set up activities that will drive their development.

4: AN EXPANDED AND ACCESSIBLE FORMAL TEACHER EDUCATION SYSTEM IS ESTABLISHED.

OUTPUT

An expanded and accessible formal teacher education system that both develops practising teachers and produces sufficient numbers of new, quality teachers with the specialised and differentiated competences that are required by the schooling system will be established.

Problem statement Formal teacher education provisioning is located within the higher education system.

Currently, this system is not producing sufficient new teachers to meet the needs of the schooling system. The need is more pronounced in some phase/ subject areas than in others. The schooling system needs both more teachers and better teachers: more teachers, qualified and competent enough to teach specific subjects or learning areas, in specific phases, in specific languages, in all schools, including special schools, in Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres, and in rural and remote schools.

Foundation Phase teacher production has been identified as an area needing urgent intervention. Moreover, access to qualification-based TED opportunities and facilities on the part of prospective and practising

teachers is currently limited. While almost all universities now train teachers, institutionsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; capacity and reach, and the quality and relevance of their programmes, vary widely; furthermore, the continuing professional development of practising teachers appears to be afforded inordinately greater institutional capacity and resources than is devoted to the training of new teachers. In part, the call to reopen colleges of education is linked to the fact that universities as they have been operating since 2000 have not been able to meet the demand for new teachers across all subjects and phases.

It is essential that the capacity of institutions currently providing TED is optimised, extended and expanded, and that new TED delivery sites are identified and resourced.

TED facilities in general need to become more accessible. It is also important that existing economies of scale in TED are better exploited, and that existing efficiencies are optimised by focusing, rather than unnecessarily dispersing, available resources.

Teacher quality has also been identified as an area that needs attention. The Policy on the Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications defines standards at a generic level for all teacher education qualifications, in line with the requirements of the Higher Education Qualifications Framework (HEQF).

More specific standards need to be developed that relate to the areas of expertise in which teachers need to specialise. In order to address these challenges, all existing accredited public (and private) providers of formal TED programmes will be drawn into a nationwide network of Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs). The intention is to cater for the multiple and varying needs for more and better teachers, and to give particular consideration to ECD practitio-

CHAPTER 7 | THE TEACHER AND THE TEACHING CAREER

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HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE INTEGRATED STRATEGIC PLANNING FRAMEWORK

Teacher knowledge and practice standards are statements that describe what a teacher needs to know and be able to do to carry out their core function professionally and effectively. The statements are specific to a subject area and school phase or to a specific extended role, for example, school leadership.

The standards are not tied to a particular school curriculum statement. They relate more to the academic and practical knowledge required to teach a particular subject or discipline well and, if met by teachers, will allow them to deliver the curriculum that is in place at a specific time, and to adapt effectively when the curriculum changes. There is a need to develop more specific teacher knowledge and practice standards for each subject area or area of teacher expertise, in order to guide programme design at this level.

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Activity 4.3

! adequate time for quality teacher education and development;

Establish Provincial Teacher Education Committees (PTECs) to inform enrolment planning at public TEIs, to match evidence-based TED targets. Provincial Teacher Education Committees (PTECs) are committees comprising high-level national education department representatives, provincial education department representatives, and representatives of universities that operate in the province.

! and sufficient funding for quality teacher education and development.

Activity 4.4

This becomes even more important in the light of two national education departments having being set up, and teacher education and development issues straddling both departments.

Strengthen Foundation Phase teacher provisioning Activity 4.5 Strengthen the teaching practice/ school experience component of teacher education programmes through the development of Teaching Schools (TSs) and Professional Practice Schools (PPSs). TSs are ‘teaching laboratories’, where student teachers can engage in learning-from-practice, such as by observing best practice, participating in micro-teaching exercises and taking subject methodology courses.

PPSs are sites at which student teachers are placed for the actual practical components of their programmes (including school observation visits and WIL experiences). Student teachers will spend extended periods of time at the schools.

ENABLING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN There are at least four essential requirements for the plan to succeed:

COLLABORATION AND COHERENCE IN TEACHER EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT The successful implementation of this Plan is dependent on continued collaboration on the part of all the stakeholders that contributed to its development.

partments Committee (HEDCOM) for the DBE and the DHET will continue to be the primary vehicles through which teacher education and development is steered at the national, provincial and district levels.

A COORDINATED NATIONAL SYSTEM FOR TEACHER EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT This Plan proposes a single outcome for teacher education and development in the country, reflected through four outputs, and achievable through 15 activities. ! It is vital that the processes and structures put forward in the activities make up a single, coordinated system in which multiple role-players contribute, rather than a scenario comprising disparate entities in which various agencies work

in isolation from, and perhaps in conflict with, one another. ! Figure 9 illustrates how the various aspects of the Plan that will be built up over time create a single, coordinated TED system, which brings together operations at the different levels of the national system.

ADEQUATE TIME FOR QUALITY TEACHER EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT

HEDCOM

– Be integrated into the school timetable through adjustment of the schooling week.

In order to ensure that time is available for teacher development a number of strategies could be followed:

Teacher unions

CEM

– Utilise the immediate pre- and postterm periods, so as to minimise loss of teaching time; and/or

Adequate time must be made available for teacher development activities and funding mechanisms must be strengthened and rendered more effective.

! A National Teacher Education and Development Committee (NTEDC) will be established. ! The NTEDC will comprise the DBE, DHET, PEDs and all national role-players, including SACE, the ETDP SETA, the HESA-EDF, the ELRC, and all the relevant unions: the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU), the National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa (NAPTOSA), the Suid-Afrikaanse Onderwysersunie/ South African Teachers’ Union (SAOU/ SATU), the Professional Educators Union (PEU) and the National Teachers’ Union (NATU).

! Time for teachers to participate in professional learning communities and engage in quality school based teacher development could be scheduled into the school year. Specifically, scheduled time for teacher development could:

SACE

ETDP SETA

! Time for teachers to engage in pedagogically deep and content-rich CPD short

HESAEDF

DBE

CEM

DHET

HEDCOM

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Develop teacher knowledge and practice standards. The Policy on the Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications has been developed to guide the design and development of teacher education qualification programmes. The policy describes standards at a generic level that should be met by all teacher education qualification programmes, regardless of their level, purpose or target group.

Optimise, extend and expand the capacity of Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs)

! a coordinated national system for teacher education and development;

NICPD

NTEDC

TSs

TEls

PPSs

National level PEDs

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Activity 4.1

Activity 4.2

{

ners and Foundation Phase and Special Needs teachers. Existing universities will be strengthened; in addition, and as part of the response to the call to reopen colleges of education, new, dedicated institutions will be established where needed and appropriate. TED programmes will be enhanced by the development of teacher knowledge and practice standards, which will inform curriculum and programme design, and the establishment of Teaching Schools (TSs) and Professional Practice Schools (PPSs) to ensure meaningful Work Integrated Learning (WIL).

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE INTEGRATED STRATEGIC PLANNING FRAMEWORK

PTDIs

PTECs

Provincial level

! The NTEDC will advise on, and monitor the implementation of, the Plan across the system, and assist in the periodic review of the Plan to ensure that TED needs are addressed in a dynamic and coherent manner.

DTDCs

PLC PLC

PLC PLC

PLC District level

! enhanced collaboration among roleplayers;

CHAPTER 7 | THE TEACHER AND THE TEACHING CAREER

! The Council of Education Ministers (CEM) and the Heads of Education De-

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FIGURE 4: A coordinated, coherent national system for teacher education and development.

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CHAPTER 7 | THE TEACHER AND THE TEACHING CAREER

127

!"#$%&'()*+,-

We educate South Africa’s teachers one ODL step at a time.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE INTEGRATED STRATEGIC PLANNING FRAMEWORK

courses or qualification programmes could include: – The possible re-instituting of prolonged formal study leave and the appointment of substitute teachers (by developing a database of supply teachers to be utilised for this purpose); and – Innovative relationships between PPSs and other schools during times at which initial student teachers are out in schools during WIL (teaching practice/ practicum) periods, so as to enable prolonged CPD opportunities. Once the system is fully functioning there could be up to 80 000 student-teachers in schools across the system at any particular time; in conjunction with properly mentored and structured WIL, this could enable a large number of teachers to be released for formal development purposes. Any specific strategies that

The Unisa School of Education is committed to the training of professional teachers, education researchers, adult basic education and training (ABET) practitioners and to the upgrading of teacher qualifications through a combined system of open distance learning pedagogies, supervised practical experience and online support which is part of the model of a virtual learning environment.

relate to educators’ conditions of service will be subject to negotiation at the ELRC. SUFFICIENT FUNDING FOR QUALITY TEACHER EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT The successful implementation of this Plan is dependent on the effective use of funding already available in the system, as well as on obtaining additional funding, for example, through new MTEF bids. a)

In order to ensure that funding for TED is utilised effectively, the coordination, monitoring, reporting and data management procedures regarding funding provision and utilisation will be improved and streamlined as a matter of urgency. This is particularly relevant to the use of teacher development funds obtained through national bids to Treasury, and which are currently available in the provincial baselines.

b)

c)

d)

CEM and HEDCOM structures will help to ensure the effective and efficient utilisation of financial resources to address the priorities that have been established.

Mechanisms to direct the more effective use of funds available for teacher development in the Skills Development Budget allocation will be examined and utilised.

The bulk of funds available for teacher development programmes will be allocated to programmes that deepen the subject specialisation knowledge of teachers.

Sourcing of funds to enable the Plan to be fully implemented is the responsibility of the various agencies in collaboration with their partners.

THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION IS DIVIDED INTO 4 SPECIALISED DEPARTMENTS, NAMELY: " !

The Department of Further Teacher Education

" !

The Department of Teacher Education

" !

The Department of Educational Studies

" !"" The Department of Adult Basic Education and Training The Department of Further Teacher Education serves and assists educators and training practitioners through excellent distance quality education programmes which are underpinned by the principles of open distance learning, relevant and effective research as well as community projects. Teachers are thus retrained and their qualifications upgraded, to enable them to become specialists in their areas of expertise and or school subjects within a reasonably short period by completing the Advanced Certificate in Education.

The Department of Teacher Education fulfils a special function and plays a very important role in the provision of teachers in South Africa. The Department targets students who want to become foundation, intermediate, senior phase and further education teachers through the Bachelor of Education degree and Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programmes.

Although the first priority is South African students who will be able to teach in South African schools, the focus of the Department is also on providing teacher education to the rest of the continent and accommodates a significant number of students from countries like Botswana, Mozambique, Mauritius, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

In its practices, the Department of Teacher Education embraces the principles of life-long learning, student centredness and flexibility.

All the programmes in the Department are also responsive to some of the national, regional and professional priorities in education such as Multiculturalism, Inclusive Education, Environmental

Learn without limits.

Education, Computer Integration in the Classroom, HIV/Aids and Language Education.

The Department of Educational Studies specialises in postgraduate education qualification for teachers and other education specialists. These include, but are not limited to PGCE, Honours Bachelor of Education, Master of Education in different areas of specialisation, and Doctoral degrees in education.

The mission of the department is to; produce quality educationalists whose expertise is applicable to all levels of teaching and society; explore and extend the sphere of education further, and to make a contribution to the improvement of the practice of education by addressing compelling and contemporary problems in education and teaching and to enhance the quality of life of individuals and communities by using the resources at its disposal.

With the problems of widespread poverty, shrinking work opportunities and a tremendous backlog of adults requiring some form of adult education, the Department of Adult Basic Education and Training offers programmes to enable trained practitioners to present and manage ABET programmes in their communities; use, design and evaluate materials; assess learners; and analyse the learning needs and social context of adult learners.

Programmes offered have a wide application including specialisations in the teaching of different trades, entrepreneurship, health education, environmental education, English, literacy, numeracy and water and sanitation.

Most of the UNISA ABET graduates are employed as educators by all the 9 provincial education departments to teach adult learners at the various adult centres in the country. Most of them are the ‘foot soldiers’ and pillars of South African literacy drives such as SANLI and Kha Ri Gude. Some of the graduates are either engaged in self-employment activities or are employed by some municipalities and NGOs. The School of Education is therefore at the fore front of educating knowledgeable and effective practitioners for our education system and the African continent. Through our multi-, intra- and trans-disciplinary research and teaching activities, we will continue to respond to the needs of our schools and both provincial and national education departments for highly qualified and competent educational practitioners.

college of human sciences

EXCELLENCE IN IN"SERVICE TEACHER TRAINING Offering you more than you would have imagined possible

Macmillan Teacher Campus is a division of Macmillan Educa!on South Africa, a publishing company that has been providing quality learning and teaching material to the South African educa,on sector for many years.

Macmillan Teacher Campus provides opportuni!es for educa!on and training for all members of the educa,on community.

Macmillan Teacher Campus’s mission is to: hiocer tailor-made workshops and courses for educators, parents and educa,on department oVcials hiocer curriculum workshops and unit standard aligned courses hiprovide cujng edge training aligned to the needs of the educa,on system and profession hiimprove quality and competence of teachers in the teaching and learning context hitake acordable training and development opportuni,es to the doorstep of the educators hiprovide educators with a posi,ve training experience and a gateway to career success through lifelong learning hisupport educators with con,nuous professional development and help them to acquire their PD points as indicated by SACE

Macmillan Teacher Campus ocers a variety of workshops and accredited courses to teachers, principals, parents and educa,on department oVcials. These workshops are aimed at improving the skills, knowledge and values of par,cipants so that they can ocer even be_er service to educa,on in South Africa. Macmillan Teacher Campus also hosts educa,onal conferences to promote new ideas and prac,cal solu,ons in educa,on.

Macmillan Teacher Campus ocers accredited as well as nonaccredited courses. The accredited courses were piloted with teachers, departmental heads and subject facilitators from dicerent provincial educa,on departments and are ocered under the license of the Assessment College of South Africa. The non-accredited courses are supported by the South African Council for Educators (SACE). Teachers who a_end these workshops receive a cer,Mcate issued by Macmillan and by SACE. Our teacher-training team is available to assist schools countrywide by running workshops right at the educators’ doorsteps.

Tel: 011 731 3409/3350 Fax: 011 731 3552/3563 email: mtc@macmillan.co.za

Macmillan Teacher Campus (MTC) has become very well known for the excellent in-service teacher training it has been providing since its incep,on in 2007.

What makes their training so special and in demand is the fact that MTC provides workshops developed in line with all the latest policies as well as all the relevant performance standards contained in the IQMS. Accredited courses based on unit standards are contextualised for classroom and school applica,on.

As MTC is part of a well-known publishing company, there is a guarantee that the facilitators and the course material all demonstrate a thorough knowledge and prac,cal understanding of the curriculum as well as an apprecia,on of the challenges educators face when they implement the curriculum.

They make training and development opportuni,es easily available to all educators. Workshops can be conducted on special request, at any place or venue, as long as there are a minimum of 15 people registered for the workshop.

Facilitators use educators’ knowledge and experience as a point of departure. A variety of facilita,on methods such as group, pair and individual work are used to enhance learning. Educators apply what they have learnt in the workshop, rebect on it and discuss their challenges. This interac,ve hands-on approach aims to link theory to prac,ce and to make a dicerence in the classroom.

As curriculum changes occur, like the new CAPS, they are promptly incorporated in the appropriate workshops.

Schools and Educa,on Departments can nego,ate special packages when training large groups of educators.

MTC workshops vary between three hours and three days, and are ocered in Mve categories: 1. Learning Area/Subject speciMc with the main focus on Mathema,cs,

2.

3.

4.

5.

Sciences, Technology and Languages (Grades R to 12) Reading Planning and assessment General teacher, parent and district oVcial training FET colleges

The workshops are supported by the South African Council for Educators (SACE). Teachers who a_end these workshops receive a cer,Mcate signed by both Macmillan and SACE. Workshop material is submi_ed to SACE for endorsement as well as for the alloca,on of PD points once the Con,nuous Professional Teacher Development System is in place.

As part of Macmillan’s corporate social investment programme a number of workshops are also ocered for free.

Terms and condi,ons do apply for these.

Macmillan Teacher Campus o"ers workshops and unit standard aligned courses Some of the many exci,ng workshops that MTC conduct are for example: hiEstablishing func,onal professional learning groups (PLG) to improve the quality of teaching and learning.

Par,cipants are guided to understand the importance of professional development; to iden,fy and apply criteria that will lead to successful professional learning groups and to set up a yearlong programme that will meet their teaching and learning needs. hiEstablishing and maintaining an Ins,tu,onal-Level/School-Based Support Team (ILST/SBST). This workshop addresses the strategies needed for schools/ins,tutes to become fully inclusive in their quest to help learners and teachers overcome learning barriers. hiWith South Africa’s reading and language levels history in mind, the

four available reading workshops as well as Teaching English First Addi!onal Language in a fun way in the Founda,on Phase, are a must.

Reading across the curriculum gives teachers of all grades and subjects strategies to apply in their classroom so as to improve reading and understanding in speciMc subjects.

The MTC accredited courses are based on Unit Standards from SAQA (Assessor; Modera,on; Facilita,on), but have been contextualised for applica,on in a classroom. They address departmental and school policies, methodology and strategies unique to classrooms. They are not generic to corporate companies but focus on the performance standards for teachers as indicated in the Integrated Quality Management Systems (IQMS).

The accredited courses are seen by teachers as an opportunity to expand their professional competence, widen their perspec,ves on dicerent topics and to add qualiMca,ons to their CVs and in so doing giving their careers a boost.

Some of the feedback received from par,cipants at a variety of workshops: hiI gained enough knowledge but I wish my colleagues could a_end the same workshop to have ‘light’. hiI cannot wait to impart the knowledge to my class. hiPoetry was made alive and the problems of teaching was handled in detail. hiWhat a delighkul experience it was to a_end this workshop. hiThe workshop addressed challenges of assessment that we are generally faced with and was enriching and very developmental. hiThe facilitator was excellent and very informa,ve.

To book your workshop and take advantage of this opportunity contact Macmillan Teacher Campus.

EDITORIAL

EDITORIAL

T HE TEA C HING FORC E AN D W O RK I NG C O NDI T I O NS

meant for beginner teachers. Some schools, through their school governing bodies, raise funds for the induction and mentoring of new teachers, while other schools predominantly in rural and township areas, do not have support structures and programmes for beginner teachers.

B E G IN NER T E A CHE RS I N SOUT H A F RI CA

It was noted that salary incentives, sufficient teaching and learning resources and well-paced education changes would contribute to beginner teachers staying in the profession.

ARTICLE BY F ARENDS AND M PHURUTSE. HUMAN SCIENCES RESEARCH COUNCIL (HSRC)

“

There is a growing realisation that a high number of beginner teachers leave the profession in their early years of teaching.

The government’s investment in subsidising initial teacher training translates into a waste of resources when new teachers resign from teaching or if new trainees do not take up teaching positions.

The study covered teachers in the Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and the Western Cape. These provinces were selected on the basis of earlier research that showed that they were hiring new teachers in higher numbers in relative terms to the other provinces (Crouch 2001). While turnover patterns have stabilised in the interim, at the time of this study these provinces still had the greatest potential to absorb beginner teachers in both urban and rural areas.

The study included an investigation of the perceptions of principals and heads of departments (HoDs) about the skills and knowledge of beginner teachers. The study also sought to evaluate efforts by individual schools and by district, regional and provincial education offices to support and assist beginner teachers in their work.

The evaluation was informed by observations that found that without the necessary support (mentorship, induction programmes), many beginner teachers develop burnout symptoms in a short space of time.

F I NDI NGS Analysis of the data indicates positive comments about the current sole provision of teacher education by universities.

Research participants noted that some universities offer good teacher education programmes, while others do not. The data showed that many of the participants had no problem with the duration of teacher education programmes. Most were satisfied with beginner teachers’ content knowledge (theoretical knowledge of the learning area or subject they teach).

For many, however, the pedagogical knowledge of beginner teachers was an area of concern and it was suggested that the final year of teacher education should be set aside for teaching practice to give teacher trainees enough practical experience of working in classrooms. Overall, beginner teachers’ quality of teaching was not considered problematic.

As with beginner teachers’ content knowledge, the data showed that most of the school managers have no reservations about beginner teachers’ assessment practices. This includes their assessment strategies and whether they are able to use assessment to improve teaching and learning.

Besides assessment, the research findings dealt at some length with support provided to beginner teachers, noting that most research participants were not aware of any support specifically

An interesting are is the confidence beginner teachers expressed about their classroom teaching ability. Beginner teachers were confident that they were more than adequate in lesson preparation, content knowledge, making key concepts explicit to learners, relating content knowledge to everyday experiences, helping learners to engage with text, and creating a stimulating classroom environment.

This was in contrast to findings reported in similar studies and by school managers. Possible explanations for the contraindications were explored, for example, that beginner teachers may feel pressure to be seen to be coping; the teaching experiences may be threatening beginner teachers’ sense of self, and portraying competence may be a coping strategy; teachers may perhaps not be capable of self-reflection in the early stages of their career; or the teachers may genuinely be competent when they start teaching but the schools may erode their confidence and competence, reducing them to incompetent, inexperienced teachers.

Both beginner teachers and school managers reported the challenge of ill discipline in schools. Beginner teachers also expressed the desire to learn more in this area. Managing classrooms and the ill discipline in schools is a challenge for both beginner teachers, who have not yet developed discipline-management strategies and may still be struggling to assert their authority early on in their career.

School managers, probably as a result of their experience, have concrete ideas on how young teachers could be supported to succeed in the profession. Those same school managers, however, are not necessarily providing the needed support or even facilitating beginner teachers’ access to that support when it is not within the school. The school managers also tend to point fingers to the DoE and its officials for the unfavourable teaching conditions beginner teachers are exposed to. This is because some of the school managers were also once enthusiastic young teachers but have now become disillusioned about their profession or their employer, and are therefore not in a position to motivate and mentor young teachers.

The education system in South Africa does not have formal structures, policies and strategies for teacher retention. Some schools and provinces, especially those in urban areas, by virtue of their proximity to resources, easily attract teachers, as opposed to rural provinces and schools that struggle to recruit and retain qualified teachers.

”

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IM P L I C ATI O NS F O R P O L I C Y- M A KE R S A ND S C HO O L M AN AG E R S THE FINDINGS CALL FOR: ! Differentiated intervention programmes

and strategies to tackle the problems experienced by beginner teachers; ! The fleshing out of school- or district-

based beginner teacher support, with the primary aim of ensuring that these teachers teach well and stay in teaching; ! The national DoE to set clear targets and

how these can be achieved; ! The DoE to invest substantially in the twin

roles of the school managers (being an instructional and an operational leader at the same time); ! The DoE to continue its training course for

all school managers to improve their management of schools; ! Longer immersion in practical experience; ! The DoE to come up with implementable

intervention strategies as well as ensuring the monitoring of proper implementation and support; ! The DoE to put in place programmes and

plans for the periodic assessment of the impact of educational changes on teachers; ! Efforts to ensure that learners in poor con-

texts have competent teachers; ! The prioritising of issues of equality and

equity in education; ! A multi-sectoral approach to pool resourc-

es with other government departments, notably the departments of social development, health, and arts, sport and culture; ! A high premium being placed on the con-

stant and continued investigation of teaching and learning, including teacher competency.

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STARS IN EDUCATION AWARDS

STARS IN EDUCATION AWARDS

S T ARS I N EDUCAT ION AW ARD S: A BR IGH T S POT IN EDUC ATI O N “ I ju st w a n t m y f a the r t o l o ve me” . T eacher R oslyn N arain listened, nea r t o t e a r s a s h e r G r a d e 8 s t udent explained that he stayed away from s c h o o l a s h e w a s s o a f f e c ted by the lack of attention from his father si nc e h is pa re nt’s d i v o r c e . Ro s l yn had a light bulb moment and devised a pro j e c t w h e r e t h i s b o y c o u l d d iscover that even if he didn’t receive the love h e n e ed e d , h e c o ul d g i v e i t. R oslyn realised that ‘education is not just s o m e t h i n g t h a t ’ s r e c e i v e d from text books, but also something that dev elo p s t h e s e l f e s t e e m”.

A toy collection drive was held at the school and in weeks hundreds of toys were collected. This boy was dressed up as Father Christmas and joyfully distributed toys to hospital children. Over the next five years he was constantly called into the principal’s office, not to be disciplined, but to be told “well done’ for his repeated involvement in Roslyn’s community projects which boosted his self esteem. A bright spot of hope had been created by a teacher’s initiative.

S O , WH A T ’ S A BR IG H T SP O T ?

According to Chip Heath, a professor at the Graduate School of Business At Stanford University and Dan Heath, a senior fellow at Duke University’s Centre for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) in their bestseller “Switch, how to change things when change is hard”, a bright spot is a success story that stands out against a challenging reality. Roslyn’s story of how she encouraged a child’s self esteem through service to others is a classic example of how to encourage values and inspire belief in learners at schools, no matter what the circumstances.

Roslyn’s impact on this boy’s life is a story which tells of achievement that shines out against the perception that education is in

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crises and that teachers are unprofessional.

In fact, it is stories like this that inspired the team at Argo to start the Stars in Education awards four years ago, in the aftermath of one of the most bruising teacher strike actions.

Whilst we can continue to debate the merits of strike action, we cannot deny the impact of the strike action on teacher morale and societal perceptions of teachers. There can be no denying that there are teachers that bring the profession into disrepute.

But, these teachers are far outnumbered by ordinary teachers who go beyond the key task of educating our children, who will define our future for us.

When we remember our time at school, most of us can name a teacher who inspired us, by believing that we had potential and that we were not defined merely as a product of our environment. This is the essence that we would like to recognize with the Stars in Education awards. Four years ago, the team at Argo realised many teachers were going above and beyond their classroom tasks by starting “Bright Spot” initiatives in their communities.

The project was launched in the 2008 National Teachers Diary, which was published on behalf of the South African Democratic Teachers Union, by the Argo team. De-

CHAPTER 7 | THE TEACHER AND THE TEACHING CAREER

spite reaching over 240 000 teachers across South Africa, we received only 12 entries, which highlighted the lack of self-esteem in the teaching profession. However, whilst we were disheartened by the number of entries, the quality of the entries was astounding and the judging of these entries was an emotional experience, as we discovered what teachers do for their communities.

This inspired us to continue with the project, and we received support from Via Afrika, a leading educational publisher to partner with us to grow the ‘Stars in Education Competition’ to recognize and reward these teachers. Over the next 3 years, we have been able to recognize the work of ordinary teachers, who have inspired us with their work; from projects such as ‘Alternatives to Violence’, Mokone Peter Mofokeng – Motswela Secondary School, Kroonstad (2008), Care for ‘Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC)’, Mam Maluleke – Leubaneng Primary School - Limpopo (2009) and ‘Roslyn’s Academy for Adult Learning (RAFAL)’ – Roslyn Narain – North West Secondary School - Durban (2010). Runner ups have been School Vegetable Garden projects, Ambitious Children’s Christmas Parties, Adopt a Child Blanket projects and Soul Buddies programmes set up by teachers.

The Stars in Education competition rewards teachers who go beyond their call of duty

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and take the time to inspire their learners.

Many learners cannot learn properly as they are faced with highly challenging economic and social situations. A ‘Star in Education’ is a teacher who recognizes and addresses these challenges and addresses these deeper needs with ambitious community projects that demand extra time, energy and care.

THE P O WE R TO I N S P I RE O THE RS These ‘brightspots’ have been profiled in the National Teachers Guide, which is distributed to the top 2 000 high performing, under resourced high schools (quintiles 1,2 and 3). The impact of profiling these stories is evident in the increasing number of entries that we receive on an annual basis. We have also had letters from teachers, thanking us for the inspiration that they get from these “Stars”, which gives them a sense of pride to be a professional teacher.

The project has also been showcased on national radio and television, with both Metro FM and Hectic 99/Okuhle productions playing an essential role in encouraging the youth to recognize their teachers as “stars”. The television show has also received support from leading celebrities.

This project has not only made a direct impact on inspiring teachers, but it has also encouraged society, particularly the youth, to recognize teachers for their contribution to our future. This has the spin-off effect of encouraging learners to develop community values and do things which leave their community a better place.

The 2010 winner of stars in Education, Roslyn Narain, found that she wanted to encourage learner self-esteem through community contribution, which has resulted in an ABET project, which has encouraged adults in building their self-esteem.

There are a number of teacher awards, which recognize the role of the teacher in educating learners about the curriculum and these awards are important to encourage good classroom practice.

The Stars in Education awards recognises that the teacher is at the heart of inspiring learners to believe in themselves and in the power of education to change their worlds, so that they can become all they were meant to be. Contact the team at Argo on info@argo.org.za or call us on 021 865 2813, if you would like to support our Stars in Education and recognize that teachers provide the inspiration to learn.

Judging the competition last year was as rewarding and as moving as it was the first time I was involved.

Our teachers are amazing, and the teachers whose stories we read about make me realise just how critical teachers are to our future well-being as a nation.

The projects that have been started show a deep sense of community concern and I am pleased that I may be a part of honouring the men and women who are making such a difference.

I am sure that the quality of the submissions is only going to improve in the years to come, and look forward to being part of it.

Christina Watson. CEO Via Afrika

S TARS I N E D U C ATI O N – I TS E L F A B RI G HT S P O T S TO RY In 2012 we celebrate the fifth year of The Stars in Education awards. We feel the same sense of achievement as any groundbreaking project. At first, we experienced the challenge of receiving just a handful of entries. We felt the need for teachers themselves to grow in self esteem and pride in their projects. Yet as we’ve invited learners to recognize their teacher’s efforts, entries and enthusiasm for the competition has grown.

Roslyn Narain (left) and Shiksha Lutchmipersadh (nominating learner).

Don’t miss out on your chance to be part of the Stars in Education Competition ‘Bright Spot’ stories and win cash to support your project. If you are a teacher, nominate your own project or if you are a learner, let us know about your teacher’s great achievements in a project. Send us your entry by 31 August 2011 to FREEPOST CB8152, PO Box 7177, Stellenbosch, 7599. For more information please visit www.ed.org.za or complete your entry online.

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EDITORIAL

LITERA C Y P ROG RAMMES DE SI G NE D I N A C CORDANCE WI T H T H E NE W C URR ICU L UM AS S ES S MENT P O LIC Y STATEMENT ARTICLE BY THE MOLTENO INSTITUTE FOR LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

“

The Molteno Institute for Language and Literacy has welcomed government’s move to introduce a new education policy statement aimed at helping teachers to do their jobs more effectively.

Molteno says the draft Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), as a clear articulation of the curriculum in terms of the standards it requires, gives teachers a thorough framework for exactly what they should be teaching and achieving in the classroom on a daily basis.

“It’s a real stamp of approval for us that, for some time now, we’ve been promoting the approach that is being adopted by CAPS,” says Molteno’s Research and Development Manager, Dr Paula Gains. “This includes our belief in the importance of the introduction of a first additional language in the foundational grades, providing that teaching in the home language is maintained.”

At the same time, Molteno has announced that its busy realigning its literacy courses, already in use by teachers around the country, seeking to ensure they’re included in the approved list of resource books that are deemed by the education department to be in alignment with CAPS’ requirements.

Both courses are designed to support teachers, particularly those in undertrained, under-resourced situations, whose first language is not English. The materials, based on rigorous applied linguistics research, have been developed and continuously improved over many years.

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CHAPTER 7 | THE TEACHER AND THE TEACHING CAREER

“Our Breakthrough to Literacy programme is a very powerful mother tongue literacy programme that gets people reading meaningful sentences right from the beginning of their learning,” says Gains, explaining that it’s based on a language experience approach that’s particularly effective in the phonically regular African languages. (The course is available in all the official African languages.)

“By the middle of the year on our programme, children in Grade One are able to read and understand a range of texts beyond the graded readers and write better than their peers.”

The Bridge to English programme enables the effective introduction of English from Grade One. The education department announced earlier this year that it would introduce English as a first additional language for non-English speakers from next year.

“A major problem is that most teachers, who are not comfortable in English themselves, are expected to teach, without having had training in first additional language teaching,” she says.

As a non-governmental organisation, Molteno is committed to making a difference in the classroom with materials and teacher training that are demonstrated to have a real impact.

“As a non-profit organisation, our only objective is to provide the very best quality in terms of learner materials and teacher support Gains concludes. “That’s why we spend time developing materials that are based on research and aligned with good teaching principles.”

”

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CHAPTER 8

TEACHING RESOURCES

SUPPORTING TEACHERS.

GOVERNMENT TAKES OVER PROCUREMENT OF SCHOOL BOOKS

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TEXTBOOKS AND WORKBOOKS

141

WORKBOOKS BY THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

144

THE EQUAL EDUCATION CAMPAIGN FOR SCHOOL LIBRARIES

145

QUALITY OF SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS

150

E-LEARNING AND THE ROLE OF ICT IN EDUCATION

152

We are conducting research on supporting teachers in the classroom.

Please contact us on 021 865 2813 or visit www.ed.org.za if you can help develop insight on how to support our future teachers.

Let’s work together.

GOVERNMENT TAKES OVER PROCUREMENT OF SCHOOL BOOKS FROM PROVINCES

G O VERNMENT TA KES OVE R P R OCUREMENT OF S CHO OL B OOKS F R OM P ROVINCES Mot s h e k g a a n n o u n c e d i n p a r l i a ment that an age n c y w o u l d b e e s t a b l i s h e d i n her department to c e n t r a l i s e t h e p r o c u r e m e n t of teaching m at e ria ls su c h a s t e x tb o o k s . The rationale is that t h i s w o u l d s a v e t h e g o v e r nment hundreds of m i l l i o n s o f r a n d s a n d p r e v e n t teaching time bein g w a s t e d a t t h e b e g i n n i n g of the school yea r, wh en t e x tb o o k s a r e l ate .

“We will appoint a national agency to manage the central procurement of teachingsupport materials, to deliver on our promise of one textbook per child per subject,” said Motshekga.

Teaching at public schools has for years been compromised by the late or non-delivery of textbooks and the annual delays in the supply of essential teaching aids.

Motshekga said the aim of the new agency was to cut out the many middlemen in the procurement of textbooks, which had led to an unnecessary rise in the price of the books.

“The most serious inefficiencies were around procurement and the value chain. There were too many actors in between, such that, by the time the book reached the school, we had paid almost three times the price,” she said.

“The agency is going to look at all those inefficiencies and mainly they are around procurement and using our power as a state to see if we can get better deals.”

It is not known when the new agency will begin operating, but Motshekga said it

would be during the 2011-2012 financial year.

Provinces would from now on be responsible only for the distribution of textbooks to schools, she said.

Her announcement was made against a backdrop of uncertainty about whether millions of primary and high school pupils will get their 2012 textbooks on time.

Earlier this year The Times reported that a series of missed deadlines, and the department’s indecisiveness about the content of textbooks, is likely to tarnish the 2012 school year.

At that time, department spokesman Granville Whittle said the department had budgeted R4.4-billion for the development of the textbooks, and “risk management plans” were in place to “ensure that the process is concluded in time”.

The director-general of Basic Education, Bobby Soobrayan, said the department expected to make considerable savings from the centralised buying of textbooks.

Source: The Times, Apr 14, 2011, www.timeslive.co.za by THABO MOKONE

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TEXTBOOKS AND WORKBOOKS

TE XT B O OK S A ND W O R K B O OK S “The role that quality textbooks could and should play in ac h i e v i n g e x c e l l e n c e i n t ea c hi ng a nd l ea rni ng i s no t suffi c i ent l y rec o g ni zed. ” SC HO O L T E X TB O O K S – SHO U L D WE B E C O N C E RN E D AB O U T THE I R Q U AL I TY? When we talk about excellence in teaching and learning, we always seem to focus on the role of the teacher, or the role of the principal, or the importance of educational leadership. We also talk about the socioeconomic conditions that prevent learners from benefiting from teaching – how can we expect a learner who has not had a proper meal for days to benefit from anything that the school may wish to offer?

These things are important, and it should be addressed. However, doing anything about these things, whatever we wish to suggest should be done, is not likely to have an impact on the quality of teaching and learning in the short term, which causes me to raise the issue of textbooks.

Should we be concerned about the quality of textbooks? Is the quality of textbooks an issue that we need to address when we talk about excellence in education? If we were able to improve the quality of textbooks, is it likely to have an impact on the quality of teaching and learning in our schools, colleges and universities?

In 2006 the department of education spent R1 490 million on school textbooks, a major investment by any standard.

How good are these textbooks? We do not know. Textbooks are not subjected to independent evaluation in SA, as it is done in the USA. In 2004 twelve of the

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most commonly used textbooks used in teaching History in high schools in the USA were evaluated. The evaluation was done by the Thomas B Fordham Institute, a private sector organization playing a watchdog role on the quality of teaching and learning in the USA. Five of the books were found to be totally unsuitable, none were found to be very good, they range from serviceable to abysmal, the best are merely adequate. A general conclusion was: “Fat, dull, boring books that mentions everything but explain practically nothing . . . “ In South Africa 34 textbooks have been approved for mathematical literacy and 20 books for teaching mathematics, in grades 10, 11 and 12. Crazy! How good are these textbooks? We don’t know. We do know that the effectiveness of maths teaching is poor; but we do not know whether the textbooks used for maths teaching are any good, and to what extent poor textbooks might have contributed to poor maths results.

Textbooks for grades 10, 11 & 12 are evaluated by the National Education Department.

For the lower grades textbooks are evaluated by provincial departments. In a document submitted by the publishing industry (PASA) to a UNDP research team reviewing Education in South Africa, the evaluation of textbooks by Provincial Education Department was identified as a problem area.

A publisher will submit a textbook to one provincial department who would approve it with acclaim; another department will reject the same textbook for not meeting minimum requirements. Maybe the people who are required to evaluate textbooks do not know what a quality textbook is supposed

to look like, or maybe other considerations apply when textbooks are approved?

Newspapers recently reported on the problem with the reading skills of first year University students. Maybe this is one of the reasons that 30% of university students drop out in their first year? Nothing however was said about the quality of the textbooks that students are required to read and study.

According to Theuns Horne, a literacy specialist, textbooks used in schools are often written in a language well above the ability of students to deal with. We blame the schools for not teaching students how to read, but it is alright for education departments and faculties to prescribe textbooks that are written at a language level that most students will find difficult to deal with. Studies by UNESCO on the quality of textbooks repeatedly report that poor instructional design and reading material that is too difficult or inconsistent . . . have been found to contribute to early dropouts in a number of countries.

We know that South Africa is rated 45th, bottom of the list, on the international TIMSS and PIRLS ratings for literacy and numeracy levels in schools. What we probably do not know is that the countries who top the TIMSS and PIRLS ratings, countries like Singapore, Canada, Hong Kong, Korea and others are all actively involved in textbook research. Institutions involved in textbook research include: Japan Textbook Research Centre, Korean Educational Development Institute, National Institute of Education Singapore, Textbook World - Hong Kong, International Association for Research on

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TEXTBOOKS AND WORKBOOKS

!" Every learner in Grades 1­6 must get a literacy and numeracy workbook !" The workbooks must be handed out to learners and they must be allowed to take them home to do home work !" All learners must write in their workbooks and use them to answer questions and practice reading, writing and numeracy !" At the end of the year, the workbooks become the property of the learner and a record of the learner’s progress during the year !" The books will be supplied for free to the schools or parents.

They are entirely funded by the Department.

If schools have not received workbooks at all or received the wrong number or books in the wrong languages, principals should phone the following Departmental Toll Free number:

0861 36 3600 or 012 357 4195

Textbooks and Educational Media - Norway. In South Africa I could not find any research on the quality and use of textbooks.

Maybe not quite true: In 1999 Wilkinson and colleagues at the Vista University reviewed a number of textbooks. They then concluded that many print based learning resources in fact constitute a “stumbling block in the achievement of true academic knowledge, skills and attitudes.”

A year ago I was trying to raise the question of the quality of textbooks with a senior member of the ANC’s education team.

I was told that the quality of textbooks is not an issue that fits in the ANC’s current policy framework for improving education.

The quality of textbooks is one thing. The importance of textbooks is another. Prof Jonathan Jansen once said that OBE suggested that teachers do not require textbooks; that such a notion was not only bi-

zarre but it also had a catastrophic effect on the development of teachers.

According to Prof O’Connell, UWC, the biggest mistake Prof Bengu made was to introduce OBE suggesting it could work without textbooks.

The importance of textbooks is well recognized in education literature: “Textbooks are . . . as crucial to the teacher as a blueprint is to a carpenter.” “In maths . . . as much as 90% of the work students do is assigned directly from a textbook. Any effort to improve student achievement cannot ignore the central role of the textbook in the curriculum.” “As younger, inexperienced teachers are thrown into classrooms . . . as much as 90% of the burden of instruction rests on textbooks.”

In a TV programme, Fokus, on SABC 2 on the 21st February 2010, Prof Saartjie Gra-

vett from the Education Faculty at the Johannesburg University, suggested that the short-term solution to the quality of teaching and learning problem at schools is good textbooks.

In a recent DA workshop on education the Premier of the Western Cape, Helen Zille identified the quality of textbooks as one of the key factors that need to be addressed in dealing with the education crisis in the country.

In order to achieve quality in teaching and learning the real challenge, it would seem, is to devise strategies to improve the quality of textbooks, and then to encourage teachers to use them effectively. Ultimately, the effectiveness of all practitioners is determined by the quality of the ‘tools’ they work with?1

1 Article by Christiaan Visser, Director of the Textbook Development Institute. www.tdevi.com

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WORKBOOKS BY THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

EDITORIAL

W ORK B OOKS BY THE DE P ART M E NT O F E D UC ATI O N

TH E E Q U AL E DU C A T I O N C AM P A I G N FO R SC H O OL L IB R A R I E S

The D BE h a s i n t r o d u c e d W o r k b ooks for G rades 1 - 6. Below are answers to so m e o f t he q ue s ti o n s y o u might have on the w or kb ooks. grade 1 to 6, it is possible for the teacher to work separately with different grades in the same classroom – giving each grade its own grade specific workbooks.

They will also be useful for teaching mixed ability groups – with each group working on a different worksheet.

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE WORKBOOK AT THE END OF THE YEAR?

5.

They will assist the teacher to manage teaching time and to monitor the tasks that children do in the workbooks.

IS THERE ANY COST INVOLVED FOR THE SCHOOL OR PARENTS?

6.

The workbooks will assist teachers to identify learners’ needs for extra support from early in the school year. The Department’s new workbooks all start with revision of the previous grade level with grade 1 giving attention to school readiness and cognitive development.

The start up of each grade with a review/revision of previous grade’s work will enable the teacher to use this to identify learners in need of extra support or remedial action. In the workbooks each alternate lesson also requires the teacher to make a judgment on which learners require additional or remedial support and which high achievers many need extended activities.

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THESE WORKBOOKS? 1.

2.

3.

4.

They will provide organised work in the form of worksheets for every child in mathematics and language. The aim of the workbook project is provide every child with two books of worksheets – one for numeracy/mathematics and one for literacy/language in the child’s mother tongue. Each book contains 128 worksheets (two pages each) – one a day for four days of the week. In the third term, learners will be provided with another two books – one for mathematics and one for language. Learners will use the books to do written exercises in language and mathematics.

They will be a great help to teachers.

The worksheets are also intended to assist teachers who have large classes and who won’t necessarily have resources like photocopiers or stimulating reading materials for children to read.

The workbooks will help teachers who teach multilingual classes. The worksheets will also be useful for teachers (mainly in urban areas) where they have to teach multilingual classes.

Sometimes teachers have up to five different mother tongue languages in one class. Because the books are available in all 11 languages, teachers will find the books useful in mixed language.

The workbooks will also be helpful for teachers who have to teach more than one grade in a class. Because the workbooks are available for learners from

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ARE LEARNERS ALLOWED TO WRITE IN THEIR WORKBOOKS? All learners must write in their workbooks.

The difference between a workbook and a textbook is that the workbook is designed to enable the learner to answer questions and practice reading, writing and numeracy in the workbooks. A textbook does not have the same design features. In fact, learners should be discouraged from writing in textbooks so that these may be handed from one class to the next each year.

At the end of the school year, the workbooks become the property of the learner and a record of the learner’s progress during the year.

The books will be supplied for free at no cost to the schools or parents. They are entirely funded by the Department.

ARTICLE PROVIDED BY EQUAL EDUCATION

“

It is common knowledge that libraries are an integral part of the education process.

In 2007 only 7.23% of South African public ordinary schools were operating functional libraries. Since 1997, five drafts of a National Policy on School Libraries have been circulated by the Department of Education (DoE), and yet there still exists no official policy. A sixth draft, entitled National Guidelines for School Library Services have recently emerged, but it is a discussion document, not a policy, and therefore contains no implementation plan.

Equal Education (EE), founded in 2008, is a movement of learners, parents, teachers and community members working for quality and equality in South African education through analy-

HOW WILL SCHOOLS RECEIVE THE WORKBOOKS? The Department is in the process of delivering the workbooks to all primary schools for all Grade 1-6 learners. Each learner will receive two books – one for language and one for numeracy/mathematics and again in the second half of the year. By the end of the year each learner will have four workbooks – two in mathematics and two in language.

sis and activism. Among its overarching objectives are: the development of learning facilities and resources; the improved availability, practice and content of teaching; the building of commitment and passion among teachers and learners; and the overall efficacy of the public education system.

During 2009, EE embarked upon a new campaign: 1 School 1 Library 1 Librarian. In order to address the acute shortage of school libraries in South Africa, its members – thousands of high school students, their teachers and parents – have made a commitment to ensuring that the government provides every school in the country with a library; a trained, full-time librarian or library administrator; adequate shelving; computer facilities; 3 books per learner; 9 as well as annual funding to service each library by ring-fencing 10% of the Learning Teaching Support Materials (LTSM) allocation.

”

23 178 SCHOOLS WITH NO LIBRARIES & NO LIBRARIANS

24 979

ARE THE LEARNERS PERMITTED TO TAKE THE WORKBOOKS HOME?

1 801

Teachers should encourage learners to take their workbooks home so that they can do home work. Teachers should encourage the parents and care givers to engage actively with their learners’ workbooks in order to participate in their children’s learning.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN SOUTH AFRICA

SCHOOLS WITH FUNCTIONAL LIBRARIES

Workbooks do not replace textbooks.

They are an additional learning and teaching aid.

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145

EDITORIAL

EDITORIAL

S CHOOL TEXTBOOKS – S H OULD W E BE C ONC E R NE D A BOUT TH EIR QUAL ITY?

pore, Textbook World - Hong Kong, International Association for Research on Textbooks and Educational Media - Norway.

In South Africa, it is extremely difficult to find research on the quality and use of textbooks.

ARTICLE PROVIDED BY CHRISTIAAN VISSER, DIRECTOR OF THE TEXTBOOK DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE. WWW.TDEVI.COM

“

“The role that quality textbooks could and should play in achieving excellence in teaching and learning is not sufficiently recognized.”

When referring to excellence in teaching and learning, we always seem to focus on the role of the teacher, or the role of the principal, or the importance of educational leadership.

We also talk about the socio-economic conditions that prevent learners from benefiting from teaching – how can we expect a learner who has not had a proper meal for days to benefit from anything that the school may wish to offer?

These things are important, and it should be addressed. However, doing anything about these issues is not likely to have an impact on the quality of teaching and learning in the short term.

Thus the issue of textbooks arises.

Should we be concerned about the quality of textbooks? Is the quality of textbooks an issue that we need to address when we talk about excellence in education? If we were able to improve the quality of textbooks, is it likely to have an impact on the quality of teaching and learning in our schools, colleges and universities?

In 2006 the department of education spent R1 490 million on school textbooks, a major investment by any standard.

What is the quality these textbooks? Textbooks are not subjected to independent evaluation in South Africa, as it is done in the United States of America (USA). In 2004, twelve of the most commonly used textbooks used in teaching History in high schools in the USA were evaluated. The evaluation was done by the Thomas B Fordham Institute, a private sector organization monitoring the quality of teaching and learning in the USA. Five of the books were found to be entirely unsuitable, none were found to be very good, they range from serviceable to abysmal, the best are merely adequate. A general conclusion was: “Fat, dull, boring books that mention everything but explain practically nothing . . . ” In South Africa, 34 textbooks have been approved for mathematical literacy and 20 books for teaching mathematics, in grades 10, 11 and 12. What is the quality of these textbooks?

We do know that the effectiveness of mathematics teaching

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is poor; but we do not know whether the textbooks used for teaching are any good, and to what extent poor textbooks might have contributed to poor mathematics results.

Textbooks for grades 10, 11 & 12 are evaluated by the National Education Department. For the lower grades textbooks are evaluated by provincial departments. In a document submitted by the publishing industry (PASA) to a UNDP research team reviewing Education in South Africa, the evaluation of textbooks by Provincial Education Departments was identified as a problem area. A publisher will submit a textbook to one provincial department who would approve it with acclaim; another department will reject the same textbook for not meeting minimum requirements. This could be a result of those that needs to evaluate textbooks do not know what a quality textbook encompasses, or maybe other considerations apply when textbooks are approved?

In 1999, Wilkinson and colleagues at the Vista University reviewed a number of textbooks. They then concluded that many print based learning resources in fact constitute a “stumbling block in the achievement of true academic knowledge, skills and attitudes.”

The quality of textbooks is one thing. The importance of textbooks is another. Prof Jonathan Jansen once said that OBE suggested that teachers do not require textbooks; that such a notion was not only bizarre but it also had a catastrophic effect on the development of teachers.

According to Prof O’Connell, University of Western Cape, the biggest mistake Prof Bengu made was to introduce OBE suggesting it could work without textbooks.

The importance of textbooks is well recognized in education literature: “Textbooks are as crucial to the teacher as a blueprint is to a carpenter.” “In maths as much as 90% of the work students do is assigned directly from a textbook. Any effort to improve student achievement cannot ignore the central role of the textbook in the curriculum.” “As younger, inexperienced teachers are thrown into classrooms . . . as much as 90% of the burden of instruction rests on textbooks.”

In a TV programme, Fokus, on SABC 2 on the 21st February 2010, Prof Saartjie Gravett from the Education Faculty at the Johannesburg University, suggested that the short-term solution to the quality of teaching and learning problem at schools is good textbooks.

In a recent Democratic Alliance workshop on education, the Premier of the Western Cape, Helen Zille identified the quality of textbooks as one of the key factors that need to be addressed in dealing with the education crisis in the country.

Newspapers recently reported on the problem with the reading skills of first year University students. Is this one of the reasons that 30% of university students drop out in their first year?

Nothing however was said about the quality of the textbooks that students are required to read and study.

According to Theuns Horne, a literacy specialist, textbooks used in schools are often written in a language well above the ability of students to comprehend. We blame the schools for not teaching students how to read, yet dismiss prescribed textbooks that are difficult for students to grasp. Studies by UNESCO on the quality of textbooks repeatedly report that poor instructional design and reading material that is too difficult or inconsistent have been found to contribute to early dropouts in a number of countries.

We know that South Africa is rated 45th on the international TIMSS and PIRLS ratings for literacy and numeracy levels in schools. What we probably do not know is that the countries who top the TIMSS and PIRLS ratings, countries like Singapore, Canada, Hong Kong, Korea and others are all actively involved in textbook research. Institutions involved in textbook research include: Japan Textbook Research Centre, Korean Educational Development Institute, National Institute of Education - Singa-

www.ed.org.za

In order to achieve quality in teaching and learning the real challenge, it would seem, is to devise strategies to improve the quality of textbooks, and then to encourage teachers to use them effectively. Ultimately, the effectiveness of all practitioners is determined by the quality of the ‘tools’ they work with.

”

Helping teachers to help learners

E-LEARNING AND THE ROLE OF ICT IN EDUCATION

! Provides simulations of variety of experiments;

Addressing the gaps between the previously and currently advantaged and disadvantaged communities in South Africa is possibly the most important role for computers in South African education. Computers can improve access to education, learners’ involvement in the information society, learning and teaching process and finally, the globalization of the curriculum.

! Provides access to presentation tools allowing learners to communicate their ideas or understanding to educators and their classmates;

The effective involvement of computers in education is hampered by the fact that less than 10% of learners in this country have access to the Internet .

(Chiles, 2003).

The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has embarked on the “Khanya project” that attempts to provide computers to all schools in the Western Cape.

The provision of computers is only part of the solution. The teachers will have to be trained to effectively use it in the school and in the classroom. This does not even include the effective integration of computers and the different subjects.

Although there are many negative factors influencing the integration of computers and subjects, the role that computers can play in an educational setting may include the following: ! Provide easy access to large amounts of information that is designed to meet the specific needs of the learners; ! Provides quality teaching and assessment;

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! Provides powerful tools for viewing data. These include graphs, animations and 3-D computer graphics;

! Provides access to Internet with its vast amounts of information; ! Exposes learners to new or other learning strategies; ! Provides access to a digital form of communication (including e-mail) that is fast and cheap (Nakleh, 1994; Roth et al, 1996).

The above-mentioned factors indicate that computers will definitely be able to aid learning especially in disadvantaged communities. Educational software and the Internet may be a relatively cheaper solution for supplying enormous amounts of material resources that will otherwise not be available. With the new Open-source software the expenditure on software becomes minimal. Although cost is minimal, most teachers do not know how to use Open-source software because most were trained in a Microsoft environment. An added advantage is that Microsoft is providing the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office package free of charge, for a short period, to schools in South Africa.

Simulations of experiments especially in science could make up for the absence of functional laboratories and equipment. In disadvantaged schools, experiments are not done often because of a lack of equipment, limited space and large number of learners per class. Especially interactive simulations would allow learners to view experiments but also influence the outcomes by changing the different variables.

If software for these simulations is placed on a schools’ intranet, all the learners would be able to access these simulations and learning could still take place outside the science labs and after hours. Another advantage of these simulations is that reagents and materials usually used in experiments do not have to be replaced. The disadvantage of these simulations is that learners will not actually experience the real thing.

The efficient use of data is promoted by the use of computers and presentation software would allow the learners the opportunity to communicate their knowledge with fellow learners. These charts are relatively easily to develop or create with wizards (software) that guides learners step for step through the process.

With all the above-mentioned positive roles that computers can fulfil within a classroom, there are still numerous difficulties that prevent more vigorous integration of computers in teaching and learning: ! Teachers are not adequately trained to use computers in their classrooms (Woodrow, 1991). ! Teachers lack expertise in effective usage of hardware and software. Educators also have limited time to learn or develop these skills. ! There are still too many teachers and learners that do not have access to computers. ! Teachers fear change due to insecurity about their new role in the classroom and their inability to effectively use technology.

In South Africa, the level of computer literacy amongst teachers is very low (DoE, 2000) which would automatically make teachers hesitant to integrate computers in teaching and learning because they would not know how to use the available technology. Research in other countries have

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Education is key to the future of South Africa, which is why the Old Mutual Foundation supports education initiatives which build excellence in secondary mathematics and science.

The Foundation targets three key areas of education: ! Instructional functionality: By improving the quality of

teaching, we improve the transfer of knowledge

! Regulatory functionality: By developing school leadership

and management skills, we improve the system within which educators work ! Infrastructural functionality: By providing key resources to assist teachers with teaching mathematics and science.

In the area of infrastructural functionality, a critical education initiative funded by the Old Mutual Foundation is the Association of Mathematics Education of South Africa (AMESA), a professional association of mathematics educators in South Africa.

The Foundation has been a primary donor of AMESA for a period of 18 years and has invested over R1 000 000 in the printing and distribution of AMESA publications around South Africa. These publications reach 2 200 members and impact on approximately 340 000 learners across the country annually.

The aim of AMESA is to promote mathematics education and to enhance the quality of teaching and learning of mathematics. To achieve these aims, AMESA implements the following strategies: ! Provides a forum for all involved with teaching mathematics, !

! !

!

at all levels of education Encourages research related to mathematics education and brings the results of such research to the attention of its members Formulates policy statements on matters pertaining to mathematics education and promotes such perspectives Actively engages in mathematics education projects that result in the social, economic, political and cultural development of society Encourages and assists its members to strive towards a high standard of professionalism in the exercise of their profession

The Old Mutual Foundation funds the printing and distribution of three AMESA publications which contribute towards these aims: ! Pythagoras is a peer­reviewed research journal which

presents current research and developments in mathematics education, at national and international level. It is accredited by the SA Department of Education and is published twice yearly. ! Learning and Teaching Mathematics (LTM) provides stimulating and challenging ideas relating to mathematics teaching and learning at all levels. LTM is a peer­reviewed journal and is published twice yearly. ! AMESA NEWS keeps members regularly informed about issues and events occurring within AMESA and is published quarterly.

By contributing towards the support of mathematics teachers through providing key resources, the Old Mutual Foundation invests in the future of South Africa.

The annual AMESA Congress 2011, supported by the Old Mutual Foundation, will be held on: Date:

11 July – 15 July 2011

Venue:

Wits School of Education Campus, Johannesburg

Enquiries: Noeline Tomsett

011 484 8917

congress@amesa.org.za

For more information, contact AMESA on info@amesa.org.za or www.amesa.org.za

OMMS 03.2011 T2357/AMESA

E- LEA RN ING AND T HE ROLE OF ICT IN ED UC A TION

indicated that educators who are trained and mentored in usage of computers show a significant increase in the integration of computers in science teaching and learning In 2000, only 13% of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s schools had computers (DoE, 2000). Although this would definitely have increased, the percentage of have-nots will still be very high.

So the effective implementation of computers into the various subjects or learning areas throughout the country would be impossible within the near future.

The following requirements may hamper the effective integration of computers in teaching and learning because: ! Integration requires smaller classes; this is problematic especially in secondary schools where class sizes range between 40 and 70. ! Parents would have to carry the additional costs; in disadvantaged schools this is problematic because of the low level of school fee currently being paid.

It would difficult to motivate these parents to pay additional fees to fund computer and its integration; ! Integration should become part of the normal school routine; for this to happen there should be computers in all classrooms and this is obviously impossible at this point in time and finally ! Each school should have at least one dedicated computer teacher (DoE, 2000); most educators are not adequately trained to use computers in their classrooms and few are able to maintain networks within a school environment.

Any teachers with the above-mentioned expertise will not remain in education very long because an ordinary computer technician with A+ and N+ (four weeks of academic and practical training) earns the same salary as a head of department in South African education system.

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Defining your destiny!

For more information visit us at www.learn.co.za or contact us on 011 639-0179 or info@learn.co.za

EDITORIAL

EDITORIAL

COULD C HI LD ’ S PLAY HE LP SC HOO L S TAR T E RS BE B E TT E R LE ARNE R S? RURAL KZN SCHOOL CONNECTS THE DOTS IN WORLD-FIRST TEACHING TRIAL

“

Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal – 23 March, 2011 – In a world-first, a study testing the benefits of integrating interactive hands-free gaming systems into primary school classrooms is being conducted in South Africa.

The game-changing study – a brain-child of Microsoft’s – is being run in the remote district of Vryheid in rural KwaZulu-Natal, at a small school that services subeconomic elementary learners.

To reach Lakeside Park Primary, some learners run 3-4 miles a day, says Yunus Kirsten, the headmaster. “But they get there, on time every day; young minds keen to learn and grow. The school is so popular in the area that this year we had to suddenly fit in an additional foundation phase class, where we already have on average 42 learners per class in grades 1-3.”

“Having grown up in Vryheid I often thought of Lakeside as the kind of inspirational school we’d like our technology to help transform,” says Larry Venter, Senior Director of Retail Solutions for Microsoft Worldwide in Redmond, USA. “I had been toying with ideas to get education into watershed play with technology when Kinect for Xbox 360 was launched and with it, during a demonstration, my new inspiration to pilot and test gaming technology as a way to step up youth literacy.”

Momentum kicked in with Microsoft’s Live@Edu team funding the pilot, which engaged local educational technology experts, NGO SchoolNet SA, to develop the teacher training materials and conduct training, and also to review, select and purchase appropriate games, install the devices and security systems and manage an independent evaluator, Mindset.

Eight teachers were trained and their classrooms equipped with the interactive Xbox and Kinect gaming platforms and security. SchoolNet’s Peter de Lisle says coaching the teachers to integrate Kinect in their lesson plans has illuminated the challenge.

“In South Africa’s rural primary schools, the chances are good that a learner’s home language is not English, but rather one of the 10 other official languages,” says de Lisle. “But in many schools, English is the language of learning from as early as Grade 1. The huge challenge is to create learning experiences which help to bridge this gap, rather than exacerbate it. The teachers saw the promise of Kinect’s English-based games – involving the hesitant young learners in trying the new language, through active involvement in play.”

With Kinect, you can play a variety of sport, edutainment and instructive games using body movements and voice. Sensors replicate your motions via an on-screen avatar – your ‘mirror image’. Change was afoot from the word ‘go’.

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“Shy learners, who take months to speak up in class in their mother tongue – let alone in English, were already shouting out to classmates to ‘jump’ and ‘duck’ with no inhibition,” exclaims Lakeside Park Primary Deputy Principal, Karen Kirsten.

“In inspiring the learners to interact with their classmates through the creative gaming and learning exercises they seem to engage with the games so intimately that seem to overcome their early inhibitions inadvertently and so, can learn more readily.”

As the saying goes, if children do not learn the way we teach, then we must teach the way they learn. Kirsten tells of a partially deaf learner, who previously had to repeat grade 1 yet scored the highest marks in class on the first day of school by acing the Xbox dance game. Studies of gaming in education show that learners really engage when teachers design their lesson activities around the topics in games, simply due to the added stimulus.

“A 2010 study by the Molteno Institute for Language and Literacy found that legitimising learners’ experiences by allowing them space to participate in the process of knowledge construction doesn’t diminish a teacher’s role,” says de Lisle. “It actually affirms them as facilitators of the learning process, while kids learn better through active participation. Our aim with the Kinect is to create experiences which skilled teachers can then use to promote language use.”

Mustek South Africa has additionally installed Microsoft’s 5-user Windows Multipoint Server solution, which allows five users to access the computer via one hard drive, at the school. This expands the limited number of computers available for education purposes, and gives the teachers much-needed networking and information storage capabilities through the Live@Edu online facility.

“The teachers have been trained on how to use Live@edu effectively and we will ensure that as the project develops, these facilities are increasingly integrated into both the professional development and classroom practice of the teachers. Hopefully the kids will be using some of the online features like email in the future,” adds de Lisle.

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Asked to comment, the Department of Basic Education (DoBE) said outcomes-based education will succeed if teachers can make the paradigm shift from authoritarian knowledge transmission to learner-centred education. “We look forward to this evaluation of quantifiable numeracy, literacy and comprehension among learners who were exposed to the studentcentred classroom practice,” said Edward Mosuwe, the DoBE’s Deputy Director-General for Curriculum Policy, Support and Monitoring at the Department of Basic Education. “Meaningful outcomes of this pilot could only add dimension to our existing game plan for 21st century education solutions, and hence we welcome the endeavour.”

The pilot project ties in closely with local Microsoft’s Partners in Learning education programmes, which offer schools, teachers and learners the tools and know-how to improve their learning and teaching outcomes.

“In the near future, Microsoft plans to install its Kodu developer software on the Xbox / KINECT solution to lay the foundation for software development from within this school. By these efforts, we are supporting the Department of Basic Education in their aim to uplift our youth and ensure they are developing relevant skills,” says Kabelo Makwane, Public Sector Director at Microsoft South Africa.

“South African schools continuously receive zero-rated Microsoft software, teachers who attend our annual free technology in education workshops contest worldwide in the Innovative Education Forum awards and our Africa School Technology Innovation Centre displays partnered technology solutions to inspire thought leadership in education innovation.”

If Lakeside Park Primary is a microcosm, then the opportunity ahead is immense.

“As a non-fee paying school, Lakeside can accommodate 80 first grade students each year,” says Kirsten. “Yet, this year, the Department of Basic Education provided us with a prefabricated classroom to accommodate the extra class of grade 1 learners seeking entry this year. The technology access is making Lakeside even more popular than before. It has amazed me to see the departmental attention and learning opportunities that this initiative has bestowed on our school.”

”

CHAPTER 8 | TEACHING RESOURCES

157

Via Afrika Future produces and supplies e-learning material in the form of digital textbooks and e-learning material to government and independent schools as well as to the home schooling market. The e-learning material is suitable for learners from Grades R to 12.

@ Core Concepts is a CD-based learning-support product containing digital textbooks and Teacherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Guides. @ !)<8&33/7 %6) %:%-0%&0) -2 $36( %2( *361%8 *36 %00 subjects from Grade R to 9, and 22 subjects from Grade 10 to 12 in various South African languages. @ !,) -28)6%'8-:) ) 0)%62-2+ 1%8)6-%0 -2'09()7 %9(-3 %2( :-()3 '0-47 -'6373*8 3;)6 3-28 0)7732 46)7)28%8-327 %2( 8,) new Talking Textbooks. A â&#x20AC;&#x153;built-in tutorâ&#x20AC;? guides the learner, 78)4 &= 78)4 8,639+, 79&.)'87 0-/) %8,)1%8-'7 %8,7 -8)6%'= %2( :%6-397 786%2(7 3* ,=7-'%0 '-)2')7 -2 6%()7 to 12. At the click of the mouse each concept is explained by a subject expert by means of audio with visual support.

@ 8,)6 463(9'87 -2'09() ,=7-'%0 '-)2')7 6%'8-'%0 Experiments on DVD, the highly-interactive, internationally %''0%-1)( Destination Maths and Destination Reading products which have been localised for the South African market. @ #-% *6-/% 9896) ,%7 8,) )<'097-:) 6-+,8 83 %(%48 %2( (-786-&98) 6)0%2( &%7)( 7 1908-1)(-% 0)%62-2+ materials in SA. @ "2-59) 97)6 *6-)2(0= ,%6(;%6) 73098-327 0-/) 8,) -28)6%'8-:) pen, which makes any smooth surface interactive, the all-inone laptop trolley and mobile science laboratory, are available. @ )%62-2+ %2=8-1) %2=;,)6) ;-8, #-% *6-/% 3 %( 2.3= % rich learning experience with this small, portable tablet device, developed and backed by IT School Innovation, loaded with full curriculum material including textbooks and assessments, provided by Via Afrika Future.

3<

)203 %6/ !)0 %<

E-mail: admin@futureentrepreneurs.co.za www.futureentrepreneurs.co.za

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With more than ten years of experience, Via Afrika Future is well-placed to meet the diverse needs of the South African educational market with an extensive multimedia and interactive catalogue.

CHAPTER 9

IT’S TIME FOR ACTION …

Join

the

action

leaders

in

education, and let’s focus on action, by tracking the top 100 projects on www.ed.org.za

EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT AND ADULT BASIC EDUCATION AND TRAINING

INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

160

GRADE R TARGETS AND ROLL-OUT ACHIEVEMENT

161

IMPROVED IMPLIMENTATION FOR GRADE R

163

THE THREE R’S AT ANY AGE

166

FAIRHILLS GROWING “FORESTS” THROUGH EDUCATION

171

ADULT BASIC EDUCATION AND TRAINING AND LITERACY

174

to inspire belief in the power of education.

www.ed.org.za

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GRADE R TARGETS AND ROLL-OUT ACHIEVEMENTS

I NT R O D UC T I O N AND OVE R VI E W

GRADE R TARGETS AND ROLL-OUT ACHIEVEMENTS

Just as strong foundations are crucial in a well-built house, the first few years of learning have shown to be fundamenta l in d evelop ing a w elleducated and literate nation. Formal learning has often been perceived as beginning at age 6 or 7, yet recent studies have shown that ECD is essential. South Africa is still in the process of addressing dispari ties in education for ECD as well as grade R (ages 5-6). Targets have been set and the DBE look forward to a time when Grade R is offered by all gover nm ent schoo l s.

The nationwide phasing-in of grade R has a target of full c o v e r a g e by 2010, with 85% of provision at public primary school a n d 1 5 % a t community sites. ECD Policy intends grade R to be rolled o u t a t p u b l i c schools as parents have greater confidence in public scho o l s r a t h e r t h a n c ommuni t y si t es.

In 2009, more than 78% of 5-year-olds attended an educational institution (see Table 22). Table 22 indicates that there was an increase from 39% in 2002 to approximately 78% in 2009 in the number of 5-yearolds attending an educational institution. This translates into an increase of 39% over the 2002 to 2009 period.

Table 22 also indicates an unusually high increase of almost 15% in the proportion of 5-year-olds in the country attending an educational institution between 2008 and 2009.

It is interesting to note that, in 2009, “poorer” provinces, such as Limpopo, the Free State and the Eastern Cape, showed higher proportions of 5-year-olds attending educational institutions (93%, 86% and 85%, respectively), as compared to Gauteng (73%), which is considered a more affluent province.1 Over the past decade, there has been an approximate 40% increase in the proportion of 5-year-olds receiving some sort of education in South Africa. However, much more needs to be done to reach the target of 100% enrolment of 5-years-olds for Grade R by 2014.

In a critical analysis of the current nature, context and status of provision of ECD in South Africa, the Presidency (2009b) draws attention to the following challenges that would have to be addressed for ECD targets to be reached:

A fragmented legislative and policy framework for ECD, resulting in uncoordinated service delivery; limited access to ECD services; inequities in existing ECD provision; the variable quality of ECD services; a lack of adequate human and financial resources for the high demand by the ECD sector, at national, provincial and local/district level; as well as limited interdepartmental/intersectoral collaboration to ensure adequate, efficient and quality ECD provision for children.

No single government department is in a position to provide services to children that cover all aspects of children’s needs. An integrated ECD approach is therefore central to the provision of coherent and coordinated programmes for developing young children in South Africa. It is therefore important that government departments work in close collaboration, so as to ensure universal access to, and good quality ECD services for all children (The Presidency, 2009b).

There is sufficient evidence to suggest that, irrespective of the targeting criteria, the best way to give children a good start in life, is by means of an integrated approach to ECD. It has been proven that focusing on a single aspect of child development does not yield sustainable results. The integrated approach includes programmes pertaining to health, nutrition, water and sanitation, early learning, as well as psycho-social care.

Furthermore, the evidence also suggests that coordination both between and within the different tiers of government and community organisations is one of the key factors for success in providing ECD services.

TARGETS AND FI N AN CI A L SUP P O R T FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR ECD PROVISION R1.3 billion projected 2010 budget spend on ECD. R9.7 billion investment in ECD roll-out plan.

R686 budget per 5 year old ECD learner in 2006. Public schools are hesitant to include

1 Statistics South Africa, General Household Survey: 2002 – 2009

www.ed.org.za

www.ed.org.za

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EDITORIAL

I M P R O V E D I M P L I M E N T A T I O N FO R G R A D E R

TABLE 18: Percentage of 5-year-olds attending educational institutions: 2002 – 2009.

PROVINCE

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

EC

49.6

52.7

60.8

69.0

70.9

69.3

80.3

85.4

FS

33.3

54.7

56.3

55.6

59.2

61.3

60.4

86.0

GP

45.9

59.2

51.3

60.0

60.9

64.3

61.3

73.3

KZN

33.4

35.0

38.7

50.1

54.3

51.5

57.5

70.1

LP

43.1

55.7

68.4

73.2

76.6

71.8

74.3

92.7

MP

28.9

37.9

60.1

55.5

57.0

63.6

65.1

83.2

NC

21.5

34.2

25.9

55.2

46.7

59.1

50.0

80.1

NW

36.6

42.8

48.2

47.4

50.5

45.7

53.2

66.8

WC

41.2

53.7

grade R as it receives less funding than other grades.

OECD REPORT SUGGESTIONS: ! Re-address ECD financial policy as current ECD budget does not allow for full coverage. Community involvement is the fall-back plan, one which the OECD

49.6

60.3

65.7

cautions against as current policy aims to introduce Gr R at schools. ! Re-prioritise ECD in the light of international experience of its vital importance. ! Adapt policy to the needs of most disadvantaged sites instead of basing policy on best practice of advanced sites.

52.2

53.5

79.1

! ECD Teachers Training should be an urgent focus.

! Re-think the model’s learner to teacher ratios of 30:1. Research holds that the early years require the most intensive teacher to child ratio.

“

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR G RAD E R S U P P O RT

programme is the second category of teachers outlined above, namely teachers who have a Level 4/5 ECD and who want to access the B Ed.

Recommendations have to take account of three types of teachers in the system:

RECOMMENDATION

a. Teachers who are qualified teachers but who are not qualified to teach Grade R. b. Teachers who have Level 4 or Level 5 ECD training who want to continue their studies to a B Ed. c. Teachers who have Level 4 or Level 5 ECD training who do not want to go on to a B Ed but who will need to have some form of upgrading to stay in the system.2 All of the following recommendations require collaborative work, across the NGO, FET, HEI and government sectors, and in most instances will supplement and build on existing plans and work that has begun or been done.

RECOMMENDATION

Develop national standard quality CPTD programmes and materials on identified gap areas: ! methodologies to support teaching and learning through

play ! the NCS and early childhood development ! home language emergent literacy instruction, including

multi-lingual teaching and learning ! first additional language emergent literacy instruction ! emergent numeracy instruction ! teachers’ language, to support professional development

and for meaningful participation in the professional teaching community

1

Review and refine quality criteria for Grade R, in collaboration with provinces, NGOs, FET colleges, HEIs etc., to be presented to the DoBE for consideration. While we understand that the determination of qualifications and standard setting is the mandate of the Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education, we hope that this will contribute to the collaborative development of national standards for a possible new Level 6 ECD qualification, incorporating Grade R. In addition the consolidation of these quality criteria will enable providers to review their existing programmes and adjust them accordingly. The development of the CPTD programmes and quality support materials will be based on these quality criteria.

RECOMMENDATION

3

! fundamentals

It would be ideal to develop programmes and materials on all of these areas, but this would be dependent on available time and funds. We would therefore like to suggest that programme outlines are developed for all of the above, and that programme outlines and materials be developed for those that we believe are at the heart of quality teaching, namely: ! methodologies to support teaching and learning through

play ! home language emergent literacy (and possibly numeracy)

instruction, including multi-lingual teaching and learning

2

Develop a program outline for a Level 6 ECD qualification, making sure that it aligns with Level 4/5 qualifications and the B.Ed. This would have to include critically analysing the existing B.Eds that offer ECD in the light of the Higher Education Qualifications Framework (HEQF) and the emerging revised Norms and Standards for Educators. The target group for this

! teachers’ language, to support professional development

and for meaningful participation in the professional teaching community The target group for the CPTD programmes is the first and third category of teachers outlined above, namely those who are qualified but not experienced in Grade R teaching, and

2 It is worth noting that the third category of teacher will have to be accommodated differently in the system if it is decided that the minimum qualification for a Grade R teacher is a BEd. These are teachers who are teaching already and who we don’t necessarily want to lose. It is possible that they would study until Level 6, and then, for example, either be allowed to teach only Grade R and not the whole Foundation Phase, they could be employed as teaching assistants, or another option.

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EDITORIAL

those who may not want to study a B Ed but who need some form of upgrading.

These should speak to and supplement or adapt some of the useful materials that have already been produced in different provinces and nationally, not limited to, but including lesson plans appropriate to Grade R. Sound, guided ongoing support will be built in to the CPTD programmes. The materials will be written in line with sound distance education principles. In this way they can be used for CPTD in various contexts. They can also then be used by programme developers to supplement existing teacher education programme materials, thereby filling the gaps that may be identified in the review against the Grade R quality criteria.

! Test and verify the criteria through the pilot of the CPTD

programmes.

D. Develop programme outline for Level 6 ECD ! Identify a team of qualified experts in programme design

and provision. ! Deepen the programme reviews conducted in this review

against quality programme criteria, in order to inform the programme outline. ! Develop programme outline according to:

– Purpose – Admission requirements

A PLAN FOR IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATIONS

– Target learners and learning assumed to be in place

A. Develop a clear project plan:

– Progression

Outputs for the project will include:

– Exit level outcomes

! Quality criteria for Grade R ! Outline for Level 6 ECD programme ! National standard quality CPTD materials, including guided

ongoing support ! Reports on implementation of one or more of the CPTD

programmes.

B. Identify partners: The partners will be interested and suitably qualified teacher education service providers and researchers across the ECD sector, in particular those who were identified in this project as having components in existing programmes and materials that could benefit the project. There may be different partners for different components of the project.

C. Develop quality criteria for Grade R: ! Identify a team of qualified experts. ! Develop criteria through a process of review and refinement

of existing criteria, policy documents and policy guidelines.

Documents to draw on would include: departmental guidelines for costing a package (DoE, 2008), the Department of Social Development guidelines for ECD (DoSD, 2006), to some extent in other national department documents (DoE 2008, 2008a) ! Develop criteria at the level of quality in the classroom,

quality materials (including support materials), and quality teacher programmes.

164

– Recognition of Prior Learning – The design of support components will draw on existing research findings, plans and evaluations. In particular the research referred to in this report done by the Eastern Cape Department of Education, which outlined a plan to strengthen the support and monitoring system, as part of Cycle 2 of their research, needs to be drawn on. An integrated plan will draw in DoE, provinces, districts, schools and parents.

– Structure – Content – Learner Support – Resources – Assessment

– The design of the support component should include the

identification of needs, response to needs and reporting on delivery of the CPTD programme/s.

E. Develop CPTD programmes and materials ! Identify a team of qualified experts in programme design,

materials development and ECD teacher training provision.

– The support component should include integrated moni-

toring and support guidelines for Curriculum advisors or district officers in districts and field workers.

! Develop CPTD course outlines according to:

– Purpose

F. Pilot the targeted CPTD courses

– Prior learning

The CPTD programmes will be piloted by selected providers in collaboration with provincial curriculum advisors or district officers and field workers with selected schools in one or more of the provinces. The target group should include ECD and Grade R and Foundation Phase teachers, Heads of Department and principals. There should be a targeted approach to selecting schools, and therefore provinces, districts, curriculum advisors or district officers and field workers.

– Course / module outcomes and assessment criteria – Structure – Content – Learner Support – Resources – Assessment tasks ! Develop and/or adapt materials from existing programmes

through a rigorous process of workshops, development or adaptation, editing, critical review and re-development, in line with sound materials development practice for high quality education materials, including access, support, mediation of concepts and opportunities for reflective practice. ! Develop support components of the CPTD programmes

CHAPTER 9 | EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT AND ADULT BASIC EDUCATION AND TRAINING

www.ed.org.za

! Identify suitably qualified providers to deliver the CPTD

course

– A model of delivery – A model of support – Assessment strategies – Monitoring and evaluation ! Implement the pilot plan for the CPTD course/s:

– Project managers and departmental officials will collaborate to lead the implementation of the course/s – Departmental Curriculum advisors or district officers, and field workers from experienced teacher education service providers, will collaborate in the field.

– Through this process facilitators and field workers will provide monitoring and support, and in turn, will gain valuable experience and insight into implementing and supporting Grade R. – Clear records will be kept and reports written against the quality criteria developed for the project. ! Monitor and evaluate the pilot. The purpose will be to re-

view and refine the materials, the model of delivery, the nature and level of support, and to evaluate the impact on the practice of the teachers and to make recommendations for the possible upscaling of the courses. ! The project will end with the refinement and finalisation

! Develop a pilot plan in the context of the selected target

group. The plan should include:

3 Grade R Research Report. 30 March 2010. South African Institute for Distance Education.

www.ed.org.za

– Training of trainers to deliver the course, if necessary

of criteria, programmes, materials and processes for quality CPTD.3

”

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THE THREE R’S AT ANY AGE

THE THREE R’S AT ANY AGE

“F i f t y y e a r s a g o I l e f t sc h o o l . A n d w h e n I c a m e t o he r c l a s s I le a r n e d mo s t o f th e t h i n g s I d i d n ’ t kn o w … h o w t o r e a d an d w r i t e , e v e n co l o u r i n g a n d d o i n g su m s . I l o v e m y ma ’ a m ” . A n e l d e r l y lea r n e r ’ s e y e s l i g h t up a s s h e s p e a k s of h e r t e a c h e r a t RA F A L , a n A B E T pr o g r a m m e i n Du rb a n .

gramme for thirty-five adult learners established in early 2010. Narain was nominated by one of her high school students, Shiksha Lutchmipersadh who lovingly compiled a detailed portfolio of her teacher’s achievements in running the ABET centre.

T HE THREE R’S AT A NY A GE

RAFAL teaches reading, writing and mathematics to adult learners who are between the ages of 32 and 79. Of those in the class, 95 % of them have never been to school.

She also introduces non academic aspects when she feels the need, knowing that the students need to develop holistically and not just academically.

Every now and then a success story gives us hope and becomes a bright spot in a dark landscape. A closer look at the landscape around Newlands West in Durban shows that there is one bright person consistently responsible for many sparks of hope in the area.

Roslyn Narain is a teacher at New West Secondary School in Durban. An impassioned onslaught on all social ills faced by her learners was ignited one day when one of her learners tragically attempted suicide.

That day she resolved to become a beacon of hope within her community by starting various projects.

The elderly members of her class are clearly moved by Roslyn’s respect of them as learners and encouragement of their right to learn no matter what age they are.

The project which caught our attention and got Roslyn awarded the 2010 Stars in Education award is RAFAL, Roslyn’s Academy for Adult Learners. It’s a literacy pro-

166

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www.ed.org.za

set up a sports day to bridge a racial gap between communities of Inanda and Phoenix.

After equipping herself with an HIV/AIDS care and counselling certificate she organized an HIV awareness week, offers counselling and writes an HIV/Aids education column in a daily paper. She’s also worked on campaigns against crime in her area.

Argo is delighted to recognize the “bright spot” that is the RAFAL project and award yet another teacher initiating groundbreaking community projects. We also acknowledge that the most lasting impact is the legacy of students who now see the elderly as a bright and valuable part of their landscape.

WHY E D U C ATE THE O L D E R G E N E RATI O N?

“I will teach my grand children how to be with a teacher. I have the best and I love her a lot”, says one RAFAL learner. “When we are down she picks us up”, says another warmly.

This question is answered in one homework session.

Roslyn’s response to this community need has been from many different angles. She

Child B returns home to work alone while their illiterate parent or grand parent sits

www.ed.org.za

Child A returns home to work alongside a parent who is involved and educated.

helpless and often less able to read or write than even 6 year olds.

D O YO U F E E L T H E R E’ S A L I N K BE T W E E N A D ULT AN D CH I LD LI T E R A CY ?

A.

Strongly disagree. A child should do homework independently

B.

Disagree. A child should get school support from their teacher

C.

Agree. There must be some frustration if a child can’t ask questions and get help at home.

D. Strongly agree. Parental involvement and education is an essential part of teaching a child.

Log onto www.ed.org.za to cast your vote or offer your thoughts on the issue.

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•

PUTTING EDUCATION FIRST The Sunday Times aims to make the lives of teachers, parents and learners easier through our many education-focused publications. In 2011 we plan to produce the following publications: •

ReadRight is a 16-page magazine published 12 times a year and inserted into

the full run of the Sunday Times. It was launched more than 10 years ago to address a need for educational material for classrooms and homes. It is aimed at children aged between 6 and 13 years, the parents of these children and teachers of Grades R to 8.

The magazine contains a pull-out-and-keep centre-spread poster ideal for use in the classroom, teacher tips and activities for the learner to do in the classroom.

It also contains four pages that can be folded into a 16-page booklet filled with useful information, puzzles or fun facts on a particular topic. In 2011 ReadRight will be published on January 30, February 20, March 27, April 24, May 29, June 26, July 31, August 28, September 25, October 30, November 27 and December 18.

For more information, contact: Sandra Fivaz on sandra.fivaz@avusa.co.za

•

The Sunday Times Career Quest is a standalone 48-page

tabloid supplement, which will be published on April 17, 2011. It is aimed at learners in Grades 9-12, taking them from their subject choice dilemmas in Grade 9, to tertiary education concerns and career queries in Grade 12. In the 2011 edition there will be a special focus on scarce skills and how learners can make themselves more employable by getting the skills the country needs.

For more information, contact: Margie Harris on harrism@avusa.co.za •

The Matric Q&A has been published since 2008 and contains Matric

exemplars and memoranda set by top teachers in their field. Each paper is checked for accuracy by curriculum advisers at the National Department of Basic Education. The Matric Q&A, which will be published in May, will give Grade 12 learners an opportunity to check their exam readiness during the June/July holidays, before they write their prelims.

For more information, contact: Suzan Chala on chalas@avusa.co.za

•

The newspapers in education programme (NIE), which was launched more than five years ago, trains teachers at no cost in how to use newspapers as an additional resource in their classrooms. About 2 000 teachers are trained a year and also receive free workbooks full of ideas of how to use newspapers at all education phases from Grades R to 12. If you would like to attend one of our NIE workshops, please contact Nozi Canca on 011 280-5374.

For more information, contact: Phanuel Mnguni on mngunip@avusa.co.za

o The NIE programme runs the ReadRight Rockz Club, which has 22 000 members; the Planet Power Your Future Sowetan Education Club, which has 7 200 members; and the Teachers’ Club, which has 8 200 members. The Sunday Times sends regular SMSs to the teachers and learners who are members of these clubs to keep them up to date with our educational projects, events and the supplements published in Avusa newspapers. To join the Teachers’ Club, SMS the word TEACH followed by your name, grade you teach and school to 32545. SMSs are charged at R1 For more information, contact: Nozi Canca on nozi.canca@avusa.co.za

The Sunday Times Storybook has been translated into all

11 official languages and is aimed at addressing the lack of reading resources in schools. Corporates, the Department of Basic Education and Sunday Times readers contributed to the printing and distribution of 650 000 storybooks in 2009/2010. In 2011 the Sunday Times will deliver another 500 000 copies to schools.

For more information, contact: Patti McDonald on patti.mcdonald@avusa.co.za Grade 4 learners, taught by Happy Khukhama (above left), take turns to read from a ReadRight cut-out-and-keep storybook

EDITORIAL

FA I R H I L L S G R O W I N G “ FO R E S T S” T H R O U G H E D U CAT I O N

Via Afrika Smile produces a range of curriculum-linked educational apparatus such as educational puzzles and posters, and mathematics kits for pre-school and Grades R to 3. These materials take the learner from the concrete (touch and feel) to the abstract (written and printed materials). The company also offers a very cost-effective science kit and a technology kit for Grades 4 to 6 classrooms.

Good products need the support of good teaching, so the materials include a comprehensive teacher’s guide and Training DVD. These materials provide teachers with a suggested structure within which to use the learning material to achieve the required learning outcomes.

All the Via Afrika Smile materials are non-toxic and safe for the learners to use. Most of the materials are plastic and no toxic colourants or paint is used in the manufacturing process.

More than 90% of Via Afrika Smile’s products are produced in South Africa using local labour and so carry the “Proudly South African” logo.

Via Afrika Smile supplies learning materials and kits to South Africa and various African countries. It also exports to Australia, New Zealand, Cyprus, Ireland, the Middle East and the United Kingdom.

“

They say the best time to plant a tree, was twenty years ago.

The next best time to plant it is now. When you are born on one of the farms in the Fairhills Fairtrade Wine Project, you can look forward to growing really tall in life, if you like. The soil certainly has been prepared.

This empowerment project was started in 2005 as a partnership between Origin Wine, a wine marketing and sales company, Du Toitskloof Cooperative Cellar and its community of farm laborers in Rawsonville in the Western Cape. More than1200 people, all living on Du Toitskloofs’ 21 Fairtrade accredited farms, benefit from various micro-projects funded by the sales of the Fairtrade wines, government subsidies and client donations with most of the investment going into education.

P O Box 899, Halfway House, 1685 Tel. 011 314 7175 Fax 011 314 5297 E-mail: carien.vanrooyen@smilesa.co.za www.smilesa.co.za

www.globecreative.co.za

All the objects and charts are developmentally and age-appropriate for learners in the first years of school.

Interaction with the materials will enable learners to develop and integrate knowledge, skills and values that will set them on their way to future educational success.

“Investing in education is equivalent to investing in the bigger democratic project. Yes, in theory we have a democratic society, but in practice this only comes to life when people, all people, are equipped to participate socially, politically and economically in said society. Education is the key to that,” says

www.ed.org.za

Bernard Fontannaz, CEO of Origin Wine and the founder of Fairhills.

As per Fairtrade regulation, the community ultimately governs the application of the Fairtrade Premium (surcharge charged on all Fairtrade accredited goods), and they decided to secure the future first. This they did by setting-up three daycare centers.

Staffed by 22 trained Educare teachers, all of them women who previously either worked the vineyards or ran informal daycare centers from home, it now takes care of a total of 170 children from the ages of 3 months to 5 years. Malnutrition and ill health not being friends to effective learning, the kids receive two warm meals per day and weekly medical check-ups. Educational musical performances and extra art workshops are some of the tools used to further stimulate young minds.

Teachers are also constantly encouraged to moved beyond any perceived limitations. Two have completed their Level 5 ECD qualification and seven are still toiling away at Level 4. “It takes a lot of motivation. Sometimes I know the teachers feel out of

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EDITORIAL

FOCUSED ON

FUTURE their depth with the academic work. However, we understand that we are not just doing this for ourselves, but to offer our children a better quality education,” says Cynthia Peterson, headmistress of all the daycare centers and herself a recent Level 5 ECD-graduate.

The feedback from primary schools is inspiring. “The level of school readiness from learners that we deliver into the education system in terms of numeric and literacy skill has improved dramatically over the last five years. Do you have any idea just how proud that makes us? Not just as teachers, but as mothers, grandmothers, sisters and aunts,” says Cynthia.

Given the many social challenges in this rural community, teachers are trained by and continue to work closely with the clinical psychologist appointed to the project to identify children at risk and facilitate early intervention. Issues such as domestic violence, fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and abuse unfortunately do still feature. But having the kids in an environment where they are closely monitored by medical and teaching professionals, is slowly changing this scenario.

“In the first two years of this project we had the unfortunate incident of a baby dying due to neglect and malnutrition. That has not happened since. All parents are now obliged to attend workshops in nutrition and hygiene. And we are seeing fewer cases of FAS. We can make no empirical claims that it is due to the alcohol abuse rehabilitation program we have been running, but we’d like to think it’s a contributing factor. That is the difficulty of complex, interwoven issues such as education and poverty alleviation. You can keep children safe for a few hours, but for real, sustainable development, you have to address the environment which they go home to as well,” says Charlene Truter, PR Manager to Fairhills.

Part of doing this was launching one of the largest ABET programs in the Western Cape to extend education to

adults in the community. The program was presented by the Worcester Community Learning Center and the Overberg District Municipality.

To date 270 individuals have taken part in courses ranging form basic reading and writing skills to curricular subjects. In 2008/2009 the Grade 12 students achieved a pass rate of 75%, the highest in the Western Cape for a project of this nature.

An impressive figure, but ‘reading’ the sense of self-worth on the face of someone for whom indiscriminately strung together alphabetic characters were transformed into meaningful words, tells a far more compelling story.

“The first time I could read my Bible and newspaper fluently brought a joy which, ironically, I cannot put into words, says Frans Willemse (47), a laborer on one of the Fairhills farms.

Like so many others in his age group (40 to 60 years) Willemse was at a literacy level of between Grade 3 and 4. For the age groups 30 to 40 years literacy was at Grade 6 level and for those younger than 30 at Grade 10.

“We did what our parents and their parents did before them.

We became farm laborers. Working with the soil, having a hand in shaping a beautiful thing like a vine, is wonderful. But, being a diesel mechanic could have been something too. I might still do it. I can read properly now, can’t I?” Willemse chuckles.

Giving people the power of choice is what was at the heart of Fontannaz’s decision to start this project. “There is nothing wrong with working on a farm. But true freedom lies in being able to choose the direction of your life. And we want people to be free,” he says. Also the reason why the project has invested in an extensive bursary program to deliver the first generation of youngsters from this community receiving a tertiary education in fields as diverse as engineering, sports management and teaching.

The forests, it seems, is rapidly thickening with tall trees.

For more info on Fairtrade or Fairhills go to www.fairhills.co.za or phone (021) 865 8100.

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CHAPTER 9 | EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT AND ADULT BASIC EDUCATION AND TRAINING

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ADULT BASIC EDUCATION AND TRAINING

ADULT BASIC EDUCATION AND TRAINING AND LI TE RAC Y

TABLE 19: Number and proportion of the population aged 20 and above by level of education: 2002 – 2009.

Year

No Schooling Number (‘000)

Measures of literacy are important in many sectors of society. Employers use literacy levels as an indicator of the capacity of individuals to participate in an economy where literacy has been largely assumed; educators rely on literacy data for feedback on how well programmes are providing the skills considered as a prerequisite for participation in the social, economic, and political arenas; and policy-makers rely on such data to determine where, and to what extent educational resources are needed to promote literacy (Wiley, 1991).

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Complete Grade 7 and higher

Total

3016

4487

18140

25643

11.8

17.5

70.7

100

2958

4262

19110

26330

11.2

16.2

72.6

100

2820

4178

19215

26213

10.8

15.9

73.3

100

2774

4091

19732

26597

10.4

15.4

74.2

100

2816

3821

20201

26938

10.5

1406

75.0

100

2542

4002

20856

28165

9.0

14.2

74.1

100

2417

3828

21360

27862

8.7

13.7

76.7

100

211935

3529322

22751845

28392102

7.4

12.3

79.4

100

2002 % of total

It is commonly accepted that literacy is essential to human existence in an ever-changing world. It strengthens the capacity and capabilities of individuals and communities and enhances their participation in economic, social, political and cultural activities.

As such, it is an agent for social change and a means towards the creation of peace and stability, the promotion of poverty reduction and an improvement in democratic governance (OSISA, 2010).

Some Primary Schooling

Number (‘000) 2003 % of total Number (‘000) 2004 % of total Number (‘000) 2005 % of total Number (‘000) 2006 % of total Number (‘000) 2007 % of total Number (‘000) 2008 % of total 2009

Number (‘000) % of total

MEASURING LITERACY UNESCO defines literacy as “the ability to read and write, with understanding, a short simple sentence about one’s daily life” (UNESCO, 2006).

According to Terryn (2003), this definition of literacy is very limiting and also makes no allowance for the different types of literacy skills needed for work or for family life, nor for numeracy.

Furthermore, indicators pertaining to literacy are necessarily general and limited in number. They are useful in overall monitoring, but somewhat less useful in building an understanding of literacy (Terryn, 2003).

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However, attempts to measure literacy have their drawbacks. The ability to measure literacy across a large population is limited by a lack of resources allocated to measuring literacy, by instruments of assessment, and by notions of what it means to be literate (Wiley, 1991).

The measurement of literacy is complex; therefore, it is commonly undertaken using proxy measures. “No formal education” is taken as a proxy measure for total illiteracy, while the proxy measure for functional literacy is the completion of primary school which, in South Africa, is the attainment of a Grade 7 level of education.

ADULT LITERACY RATES

Table 23 indicates that in 2009, some 7% of the adult population in South Africa (people aged 20 and above) were totally illiterate (that is, they had received no education at all) and 12% of the adult population were, to varying degrees, functionally illiterate, as they had dropped out of school before completing Grade 7. This means that approximately 5.5 million adults were either totally or functionally illiterate in 2009.

CHAPTER 9 | EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT AND ADULT BASIC EDUCATION AND TRAINING

175

ADULT BASIC EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Table 23 indicates that the proportion of functionally literate adults increased from 71% in 2002 to 79% in 2009, and the proportion of totally illiterate adults decreased from 12% in 22 to 7% in 2009.

These trends represent the combined effects of access to education, a literacy campaign and Adult Basic Education programmes conducted amongst older illiterates, as well as learner retention in the schooling system.

The adult literacy rate for females is slightly lower than that for males. However, the gender gap in adult literacy is closing fast.

Via Afrika Stimela specialises in the development of learning and teaching support materials for :.+ '*;2: +*;)':/54 '4* :8'/4/4- $ ,583+82? $ 3'81+: ,58 2+<+29 :5 /4 #5;:. ,8/)'

All the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s courses emphasise active learning rather than 6'99/<+ 2+'84/4- +'84+89 ;9+ */,,+8+4: :+).4/7;+9 :5 *+'2 =/:. /4,583':/54 '4* :5 58-'4/9+ :.+/8 =582*9

The four levels of ABET training are the equivalent of Grades R to 9. ABET provides training pertaining to: ! language, literacy and communication; ! mathematical literacy, mathematics and mathematical science; ! natural science; ! arts and culture; ! life orientation; ! technology; ! human and social science; and

'6')/:? (;/2*/4- =5819.569 54 ,')/2/:':/54 ;4/: 9:'4*'8* interpretation and general programme planning and 3'4'-+3+4: '8+ '<'/2'(2+ ,58 68'):/:/54+89 95 :.': :.+? )'4 /3685<+ :.+/8 9+8</)+ :5 :.+ '*;2: 2+'84+89

ADULT BASIC EDUCATION AND TRAI N I N G ( AB E T)

! economic and management science.

%/' ,8/1' #:/3+2' 6;(2/9.+9 ' <'8/+:? 5, (5519 ')8599 :.+ $ A+2* '4* )5<+89 :.+ ,;22 $ );88/);2;3 5519 '8+ '<'/2'(2+ /4 :.+ ,5225=/4- $ 2+'84/4- '8+'9 C ;4*'3+4:'29 '4* )58+ 533;4/)':/54 ;3+8')? '4* /,+ 8/+4:':/54 C )'*+3/) 9;(0+):9 ;3'4 '4* #5)/'2 #:;*/+9 ':;8'2 #)/+4)+9 )5453/) '4* '4'-+3+4: #)/+4)+9 8:9 '4* ;2:;8+ '4* $+).4525-?

C %5)':/54'2 9;(0+):9 662/+* -8/);2:;8+ 4)/22'8? +'2:.

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'82? ./2*.55* +<+2563+4: '4* &.52+9'2+ '4* "+:'/2

Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) is available to adults who want to finish their basic education. As an outcomes based programme, ABET aims to provide

! Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs);

Furthermore, learners can also choose to take courses pertaining to:

! Wholesale and retail;

! Travel and tourism; ! Applied agriculture; ! Early Childhood Development; and ! Ancillary health care.

PROVINCIAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT are empowered by the Adult Basic Education and Training Act, 2000, to register private adult learning centres to offer programmes accredited by UMALUSI, the Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training. Many more adult education programmes accredited by SETAs are offered in, and for the workplace (Department of Education, 2009a).

Table 24 below indicates that in 2008, learner enrolments at ABET centres across the country exceeded 290 000. Meanwhile, the number of educators increased from approximately 17 000 in 2005 to more than 19 000 in 2008, while the number of ABET centres increased from 2 278 in 2005 to 2 482 in 2008.

TABLE: 20: Number of learner, educators and institutions in ABET programmes by province: 2005-2008.

Year 2005

2006

2007

5> &/+8*' !'81

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'>

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2008

=== -25(+)8+':/<+ )5 @'

Via Afrika Stimela develops materials using the following guiding principles: C *;2: 35:/<':/54 /9 /3658:'4: C *;2: /4:+8+9:9 '4* +>6+8/+4)+9 9.5;2* (+ 8+96+):+* C *;2:9 .'<+ :5 2+'84 '(5;: :./4-9 :.': '8+ /3658:'4: :5 :.+3 '9 /4*/</*;'29 C &.': /9 2+'84+* 9.5;2* -/<+ 2+'84+89 )54A*+4)+ :5 .+26 shape our society, and give new ways of understanding in :.+ =582* /4 =./). =+ 2/<+ C #+2, 8+B+):/54 /9 '4 /3658:'4: 6'8: 5, (+)53/4- -55* ': 2+'84/4- C $.5;-. 2+'84+89 2+'84 (+9: /4 685(2+3 659/4- 9/:;':/549 lessons and/or materials should not invoke negative feelings 58 *+96'/8 '4* .+262+994+99

basic learning tools, knowledge and skills, and it provides participants with nationally recognised qualifications.

EC

FS

GP

KZN

LP

MP

NC

NW

WC

National

Learners

45783

25658

61311

12002

39547

21790

6200

29100

27749

269140

Educators

4610

1592

2876

943

2042

1845

279

1395

1599

17181

Institutions

307

209

53

139

597

272

136

182

382

2278

Learners

45354

22098

62917

12002

33803

22583

5532

16183

31138

251610

Educators

4080

1225

3391

943

2228

4133

342

767

1499

18608

Institutions

299

208

50

139

656

297

153

140

325

2176

Learners

43724

20670

85170

12948

29718

24814

8818

29311

37561

292734

Educators

3565

2074

3241

981

1746

4200

580

1389

1424

19200

Institutions

295

208

67

248

545

372

179

200

362

2476

Learners

39181

16984

83242

20912

36619

28259

5788

24352

35281

290618

Educators

2644

2257

3340

1991

1716

4126

353

1372

1645

19454

Institutions

275

204

53

437

526

302

120

252

313

2482

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CHAPTER 9 | EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT AND ADULT BASIC EDUCATION AND TRAINING

177

South African Child Gauge

The only publica!on that monitors the situa!on of children in South Africa on an annual basis by presen!ng academic evidence in plain language for mul!ple audiences The South African Child Gauge is published annually by the Children by the Children’s Institute, University of Cape Town to monitor South Africa’s progress in realising children’s rights.

Key features include a collection of themed essays; an overview of legislative developments affecting children; and quantitative data which track children’s access to a range of services.

2006: Children and poverty This issue presents a multi­dimensional model of child poverty and reviews barriers that prevent children accessing key poverty alleviation programmes such as social assistance, education, primary health care, housing and water. A pull­out poster provides provincial data on key child­centred socio­economic indicators.

2009/2010: Healthy children: from survival to optimal development This issue focuses on the tension between children’s rights and the poor status of child health in South Africa. It identifies current challenges and recommends key interventions to promote children’s health, survival and optimal development

2005: Children and HIV/AIDS The essays discuss antiretroviral roll­out to children, social security for children in a time of AIDS, schools as nodes of care and support for children affected by HIV/AIDS, and children’s participation in law­making processes.

2008/2009: Meaningful access to basic education Essays focus on the right to education; meaningful access; budgetary frameworks; school­fee waivers; children out of school; poverty and exclusion; partnerships between schools and communities; and strengthening numeracy and literacy in the foundation phase. A pull­out poster maps national and provincial education provisioning and outcomes.

Nearly 1 in 5 children lives far from school

2007/2008: Children’s right to social services 2007/2008: Children Within the context of a developmental social welfare system, the essays describe and analyse the law and policies that aim to give effect to children’s right to social services, and make recommendations on key budgetary, human resource and implementation challenges related to the Children’s Act.

Proportion of children living far from school Source: Statistics South Africa (2010) General Household Survey 2009.

Analysis by Children’s Institute, University of Cape Town.

For more information see www.childrencount.ci.org.za.

Coming soon: South African Child Gauge 2010/2011: Children’s participation in social dialogue Download or order a hard copy at www.ci.org.za. For more information, contact +27 21 689 5404 or info@ci.org.za.

CHAPTER 10

SUPPORTING STUDENTS. We are conducting research on

HIGHER EDUCATION

INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

180

TRANSFORMATION MODEL IN HIGHER EDUCATION

180

PROMOTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA

190

STUDENT ACCESS, EQUITY AND FUNDING

196

supporting students on campus.

Please contact us on 021 865 2813 or visit www.ed.org.za if you can help develop insight on how to support our future leaders.

Let’s work together.

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CHAPTER 10 | HIGHER EDUCATION

179

INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

IN TRODUCTION A ND OVERV IEW A nation’s graduates have the power to define a country’s forward movement. Our graduates become political and thought leaders. They are inventors, managers, entrepreneurs, scientists, engineers, writers and teachers.

Their knowledge has the power to impact our environment and when applied to our enterprises, industries, services and infrastructure, cause immense positive change.

So it is imperative that equity, restructuring, financing of bursaries, student’s access to institutions and quality of higher education are all addressed to maximize the influence of our graduates.

180

CHAPTER 10 | HIGHER EDUCATION

TRANSFORMATION MODEL IN HIGHER EDUCATION

TRANSF OR MATI O N MOD E L I N HI GHE R EDUCAT I O N HIGHER EDUCATION STRATEGIC PLAN 2010 - 2015 The DHET’s long-term strategic plans for the post-school education and training system will optimise continuity and change.

The foundations were laid in the solid work of the past 20 years, but future possibilities will require versatile and creative strategies.

The challenges that we face cannot be addressed within the limited perspective of five years. The work we have set out to do, as outlined in this Strategic Plan, forms part of a longer-term horizon that was imagined over many years of public debate - and ongoing debate must continue to mould our vision of the future.

A COMMITMENT TO INCLUSIVE CONSULTATIVE PROCESSES Consultative processes across this newly unified sector were historically fragmented and new conversations must be created in an atmosphere of mutual trust, so as to seek a unifying common public good for a coherent system, despite diverse and often competing interests. We believe that it is through vibrant and inclusive debate that the best ideas should gain support and that the consensus and momentum required for successful agreement on, and realisation of, this vision will be built.

We can only sustain this project over the next decades and succeed in the task if it has the support of those that who are expected to implement it and benefit from it.

For this reason, in 2010/11 the Minister will lead a policy process to seek consensus across the system on a vision for the future.

This will culminate in a legislative review. This system must then be built systematically over time - building on established foundations.

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BROAD OVERARCHING CHALLENGES IN THE POST-SCHOOL EDUCATION AND TRAINING SYSTEM Our long-term goals must be guided by our understanding of our current context and its relationship to the structural consequences of apartheid - in particular the devastating systemic impact on the human resources potential of our country. Structural challenges include skills bottlenecks, especially in priority and scarce skills areas; low participation rates; distortions in the shape, size and distribution of access to post-school education and training; as well as quality and inefficiency challenges in the system and its sub-systems and in institutions. If we are to meet the economic and social goals of participation in an inclusive economy and society, these challenges will have to be addressed so that we are equipped to compete in a more sustainable, diversified and knowledge-intensive international economy, which will meet the developmental goals of our country.

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UNIVERSITY SPECIFIC CHALLENGES

Success

The Human Resources Development of South Africa (HRDSA) prioritises three key goals in relation to universities in particular:

The poor performance of the schooling system is a major systemic constraint to success in the university system. Access to programmes with specialised entry requirements is a major concern to universities, as is the under-preparedness of students and the consequent high drop-out and poor completion rates. Not only must graduation rates be improved, but there must be a systemic focus on the production of high-quality graduates.

! To increase the participation of men and women in under-graduate and postgraduate science, engineering and technology, in absolute numbers and in proportion to the population demographics, with respect to race and gender. ! To increase the size and calibre of the academic teaching and researcher population, in order to create the knowledge required for economic and societal development in the next 50 or more years. ! To ensure that the level of investment in education is equivalent to the global average for the further and higher education and training systems.

In order to achieve these goals and others, broad challenges in the university sector that must be addressed, include:

Quality Success rates must be improved, not only by interventions that are focussed on the needs of students, but also on the improvement of teaching and learning practices, in order to promote equity in learning opportunities. Best practice must be identified and lessons applied across the system. The improvement in quality of the academic experience includes improving the broad support given to students, including an improved residential experience.

CHAPTER 10 | HIGHER EDUCATION

181

TRANSFORMATION MODEL IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Differentiation

!"#$%&!$'($)#*#+',-./$%0"-#*#12

The differentiation debate in the university sub-system has not been concluded.

Universities are currently differentiated by an uneasy resolution of institutional type, but a more profound differentiation is the ongoing legacy of differential resource allocations under apartheid. This legacy remains a differentiation by effectiveness, by geographical location, by research output, by the number of academic staff with doctorates, by student success, by leadership capacity of institutions and by differentiated market capacity to select more high-performing students.

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Universities are the primary loci of knowledge production and the reproduction of knowledge for the country. If we are to build academic capacity for the future, the system must focus on high-quality graduate training and deepen post-graduate studies and research.

Access Whatever the model’s size and shape that determines access to universities, it is clear that we will need additional capacity over the next 20 to 30 years. If we are to achieve a 50% participation rate in universities and colleges with a growing number of young people in the 18–to-25 year age group, and achieve the goals of broader geographic access, the capacity of the system will have to increase. No new universities have been established since the advent of our democratic South Africa. Looking to the future, the questions do need to be asked: How do our HRDSA projections, on the basis of longterm development planning, guide the programme and qualification mix needs across the sector relative to current capacity?

FET COLLEGE SPECIFIC CHALLENGES The FET colleges’ sub-system is poised to be a significant locus of delivery of vocational and continuing education and training with strong links to industry, in order to meet critical skill shortages. It is also the sub-system that is the most fragile in the complex and

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incomplete transitions it has experienced in recent years, and in its new location in the post-school education and training system.

system. A national FETMIS system is in the process of being developed and will be extended to the sector by 2011/12.

The multiple roles and challenges will have to be carefully developed with active stakeholder engagement and with strong support mechanisms to assist the subsystem to meet these multiple roles in the context of current challenges, which include:

Relevance, responsiveness and quality of curricula

Identity of the sector FET colleges went through major changes over the past two decades, and their shifting identity has left them opaque in the understanding and, therefore, in the aspirations of many families. Their names were changed through processes of amalgamation and their qualification structures were changed. These identity changes present a ‘branding’ challenge, as government seeks to promote the vocational colleges as ‘institutions of choice’.

Governance transitions The governance transition in FET colleges has happened at two levels, and the transition is not complete as yet. At institutional level, in order to create greater institutional responsiveness and flexibility, college councils were made employers of teaching staff.

At system level, it is the intention that colleges should become part of the national post-school education and training system and be governed and funded nationally.

Funding framework transitions The National Plan for FET Colleges was followed by the introduction of programmebased funding, geared for the NCV. The policy goal of a mix of programme offerings requires complementary funding, but the mechanisms by which this diversity of offerings is to be achieved is not well developed.

Poor coordination and management information A national efficient and effective administrative and planning system must be put in place to support colleges as part of an integrated higher education and training

The National Certificate (Vocational) at Levels 2, 3 and 4 of the NQF, was put into place to solve the problems of poor quality programmes, the lack of relevance to the economy, as well as the low technical and cognitive skills of FET graduates. This programme does not meet all the needs of the vocational programmes, and does not enjoy universal support in the industry.

Content and pedagogical knowledge of FET lecturers Curriculum reforms must be grounded in the expertise of teaching staff. Both the content and pedagogical knowledge of FET lecturers have, in general, not kept pace with curriculum changes and developments in industry.

Poor success and completion rates Success and completion rates are inadequately understood, but are generally accepted as poor. An urgent project to analyse these and to establish baselines, differentiated across subject areas and localities, as well as the development of intervention mechanisms will be undertaken.

SKILLS DEVELOPMENT SPECIFIC CHALLENGES The overall goal of the skills development system is to contribute to the development of ‘decent work’, as articulated by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), by effectively connecting education to technical training, to labour market entry, to the workplace, and to lifelong learning. It is these linkages that sustain productivity.

It is these linkages that we believe will be facilitated by the location of skills legislation at the DHET. Before 2020, our integrated skills development must have made demonstrable and significant progress towards:

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TRANSFORMATION MODEL IN HIGHER EDUCATION

! promoting economic and employment growth and social development by focusing on education and training;

ency-based fora (representing in the main labour, business and government), whose key functions include:

A STRATEGIC FOR HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA

! the development of the skills of the South African workforce and the improvement of the employment prospects of unemployed persons, via training and education;

! The development of a sectoral skills plan within the framework of the National Skills Development Strategy.

The growing complexity of the workplace, accelerated by the dynamic impact of globalisation on national economies, production and trade, requires greater flexibility and capacity in the workforce, in order to adjust speedily to the rapid changes in technology, production, trade and work organisation. South Africa needs to develop as a 21st century economy, but we have gaps in critical skills required for a range of social and economic development strategies currently being implemented by all spheres of government. These include the National Industrial Policy Framework (NIPF); the Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP); the Anti-Poverty Strategy; the Rural Development Strategy; and the Technology and Innovation Plan. Skills shortages in a number of occupations and economic sectors inhibit growth and investment. These include skills shortages in SET fields with regard to sectors such as energy, medium and high-technology manufactured goods, and agricultural biotechnology.

! the use of the workplace as an active learning site; and ! increasing levels of investment in education and training in the labour market and improving returns on that investment.

The Department is resolved to align the National Skills Development Strategies (NSDP) more carefully to the HRDSA so that learners are able to move more easily from full-time learning to structured workplace learning and from work to learning.

This will be evident in the next multi-year NSDS, NSDS III, which is still ‘under construction’ but should be launched later in 2010. However in the next five years we have our work cut out for us on some more immediate priorities which include: ESTABLISHING THE NATIONAL ARTISAN MODERATING BODY (NAMB) AND THE QUALITY COUNCIL FOR TRADES AND OCCUPATIONS (QCTO) Artisan training is an urgent priority for this government. Recent amendments to the NQF and to the Skills Development Act provide for the establishment of a National Artisan Moderating Body (NAMB), reforms in trade testing, and a Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO), to quality assure qualifications for trades, as well as for learning in and for the workplace. Both the QCTO and the NAMB have yet to be fully established.

IMPROVING THE FUNCTIONING OF THE SECTORAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING AUTHORITIES (SETAS) The SETAs established by the Skills Development Act. They are essentially constitu-

! The implementation of sectoral skills plans. ! Identifying workplaces for practical work experience. ! Approving workplace skills plans. ! Establishing and promoting learnerships. ! Monitoring education and training in the sector. ! Allocating grants in the prescribed manner to employers, education and training providers and workers.

All of these key functions could be performed more effectively across the current 23 SETAs, and this is compounded by a poor public understanding of the role of the SETAs. IMPROVING THE FUNCTIONING OF THE NATIONAL SKILLS FUND (NSF) Our goal is for the NSF to operate at the highest standards of efficiency and effectiveness, with high levels of client satisfaction, and making use of its resources to have a major impact on the provision of skills development in the country. The NSF had the primary function of funding projects identified in the National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS) as a national priority. Immediate key challenges for the NSF include: ! An alignment of the NSF with priorities of the post-school education and training system and HRDSA. ! Improving its own institutional mechanisms and capacity. ! Establishing provincial capacity, after finalisation of the move of the NSF from the Department of Labour to DHET.

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The goal of the long-term HRDSA Strategy will be to contribute to human development, including building capabilities for generating sustainable economic growth, as well as capacities related to social values, good citizenship and to wider development objectives. The Strategy will encourage optimal responsiveness from education and training activities and resources to the country’s developmental needs, and to the demand for skilled human resources.

ACCESS A strategic priority of the HRDSA is to address the demand for quality further and higher education, which is to be accessible in all provinces and at all locales. It is clear that the capacity of the system must be substantially increased to provide greater access to post-school youth between the ages of 16 and 24, and more in particular

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those who have left the schooling system.

Estimates are that currently 2.8 million or more 18-to –24-year-olds are not in employment, education or training.

SIZE AND SHAPE OF THE POSTSCHOOL SYSTEM The post-school learning system is dominated by a public perception that opportunities for personal advancement can only be met through access to university. Diversity in post-school options must be increased and vocational colleges promoted as a viable and an attractive alternative. Linkages between formal vocational education and workplace opportunities must be strengthened. The post-school system must be supported by an institutional base that is both diverse and differentiated, as well as being conceptualised as an integrated and coherent whole in which meaningful learning pathways are developed across institutional and workplace education and training forums. The differentiation of the system must recognise the unique role and identity of the sub-systems, and the further differentiation of mission and purpose of institutions within these subsystems. Funding frameworks must be developed to move towards these differentiated goals for the post-schooling system.

Support must be provided to individuals as they navigate transitions between sub-systems and between basic and post-school education and training. A high quality, integrated and responsive career guidance and information system will support the goals of the DHET, in relation to equity, access, success rates and overall development.

PLANNING, COORDINATION AND MONITORING The university, vocational college and skills sub-systems were planned with insufficient integration of the holistic needs of the economy across these sectors as interrelated components of the post-school education and training system. In order for the system to be relevant to national develop-

ment, it must be in alignment with longterm development requirements. The role of the HRDSA will be key, as will effective co-planning with the Planning Commission, and key partner departments such as DST, DTI, the National Youth Agency and Rural Development and Land Reform.

Strategic Priority Nine of the HRDSA is to generate annual data on the demand for priority skills, in order to guide measures for supply, including HET and FET enrolment planning, SETA sector skills plans, and managing the immigration of skilled persons. We need to do this and more. What is needed is knowledge and planning instruments for the system as a whole – strategic intelligence for strategic decision-making for the post-school system.

QUALITY AND RELEVANCE Another strategic priority of the HRDSA is to create an environment within which the occupational learning and the further and higher education systems can focus on continuous improvement in the quality of educational inputs and outputs, and increase the level of throughput. This is necessary in order to develop a skilled and capable workforce to support our inclusive growth path, and will require the support of a diverse set of higher education and training institutions and programmes. The DHET plans to promote the notion of PIVOTAL programmes, namely Professional, Vocational and Technical, as well as Academic Learning Programmes, which embrace both an institutional as well as a workplace/community dimension, such as professional engineers and artisans, as well as social workers and rural extension officers.

These programmes have moved to centre stage, following the highlighting of the critical skills scarcity in many of the occupations towards which they are geared.

FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN: GOALS FOR 2015 The DHET identified the following ten key goals from its long-term vision and from the Medium-Term Strategic Framework (MTSF):

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TRANSFORMATION MODEL IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Understand skills needs: An agreement between the public and private sector (receivers and providers) on skills classification and needs will be developed.

2

Communicate skills needs: The Master Skills List information will be easily accessible to various users, so as to steer the system and guide choices.

3

Raise the base: Provide second-chance opportunities for those who do not qualify for other forms of post-school learning, in order to ‘raise the base’.

DHET must build the base – both by strengthening the schooling system and by providing ‘second-chance’ basic entry learning opportunities to those who wish to study further, but who do not currently meet the entry requirements for doing so. This will include ABET programmes, as well as foundational entry-level learning opportunities.

4

5

6

Expand access to education and training for the youth: The youth will constitute a particular focal point of all the DHET’s efforts and the Department seeks to increase the ratio of young people who are in education, employment or training by 2014/15.

PIVOT: Increased numbers and the relevance of academic, professional and vocational learning. DHET must strengthen the capacity of the education and training system to provide PIVOTAL programmes to a growing number of young post-school learners, as well as to adults who find themselves at a turning point in their career.

Pivotal programmes are those ‘Professional, Vocational, Technical and Academic Learning’ programmes that meet the critical needs for economic growth and social development.

Workplace: Increased numbers, as well as improved quality and relevance

of workplace learning. DHET must facilitate lifelong learning. Professionals have long recognised the importance of this and it is referred to as ‘continuing professional development’.

7

8

9

Promote employability and sustainable livelihoods through skills development. This is ‘lifelong learning’ that includes the training of those people in the community who may be currently unemployed, but who do have ideas on how they could improve their lives via projects for which they require additional skills.

Research: Expand research, development and innovation capacity for economic growth and social development.

This priority of HRD will shape the future by developing a growing cadre of people, across generations, who are able to come up with ways in which they could improve people’s future prospects. By and large these are researchers and innovators who understand specific challenges more broadly and/or more deeply, and who look for new ways in which these could be met.

Improve institutional efficiency: Improved capability and strengthened alignment of information, finance, governance and management in the postschool learning system. This goal is internally focused on the urgent need to build the capacity of individual institutions that provide or facilitate learning.

10 Optimise both institutional and system shape and capacity: A post-school learning system, capable of achieving these service outputs of providing a skilled and capable workforce to support an inclusive growth path, will be the overall goal of the Department’s work from 2010/11 to 2014/15. This capacity building must specifically create pathways for moving ‘up and down’ (e.g. between universities and colleges) in order to find meaningful

progressive pathways, as well as pathways to transfer between institutions at similar levels, and also ‘sideways’ between SETAs and learning institutions.

This would enable learners who leave institutions to navigate their way into the labour market, and those who are working to re-enter these institutions to advance their studies.

SERVICE DELIVERY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMME The Public Service Regulations require that the Executing Authority publishes an annual statement of public service commitment, which will set out the Department’s service standards that citizens and customers could expect, and which will serve to explain how the Department will meet these standards.

This statement is to be accompanied by a service delivery improvement programme.

The Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) finds itself in the unusual situation that, while it has a large number of ‘clients’ in public and private colleges and universities, and in a range of skills programmes, it does not as a Department provide education and training directly. Its relationships with its ‘customers’ are therefore mediated through the providers.

The operational and strategic plans of the different branches of the Department indicate that direct services are offered on an ongoing basis to institutions, as indicated in the table below. DHET is a new department, although it has inherited functions from the Departments of Education and Labour. As a new department it will, in this financial year, undertake customer satisfaction surveys in order to establish indicators, current status and desirable targets for the improvement of service delivery. These surveys will form the basis of the Service Improvement Plan for the 2010/11 financial year.This plan will also indicate the mechanisms for complaints.1

3 Department of Higher Education, Strategic Plan 2010 - 2015 and Operational Plans for the 2010/11 Financial Year. Pretoria.

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Via Afrika Publishers publishes a comprehensive range of educational materials for schools and FET Colleges in South Africa. These publications include textbooks, readers, literature titles, atlases, study guides, wall charts and various teacher support materials for all grades and FET college levels. Via Afrika Publishers is increasingly using its website to enhance its printed products.

The company has a proud history of publishing for all South African schools and in all of South Africa’s official languages.

This South African success story started over sixty years ago with the formation of Via Afrika. But a company cannot expect that its past will carry it forever, so Via Afrika Publishers recently re-assessed its place in the developing educational market.

This re-assessment has resulted in Via Afrika Publishers initiating an innovative new publishing phase based on the company’s traditional values of quality and accessibility.

Via Afrika Publishers partners with authors who are leading educationalists, including teachers, academics and Department of Education officials. This partnership enables Via Afrika Publishers to develop learning materials that make a difference.

Via Afrika Publishers is also highly selective in the quality of freelancers and other service providers it contracts to add value to authors’ manuscripts.

Thanks to its long history and strategic acquisitions, Via Afrika Publishers has an extensive backlist of quality educational materials. Teachers continue to select these titles to enhance their teaching and the learning experiences of their learners.

Via Afrika Publishers publishes under the following imprints: Action, Bateleur, Juta, Gariep, Nasou and Via Afrika.

Via Afrika Publishers works in close conjunction with the other companies in the Via Afrika Group to support its range of materials with, for example, electronic products and curriculum-linked educational apparatus.

Remaining true to its roots, all printing, warehousing and distribution of Via Afrika Publishers materials are outsourced to South African businesses.

P O Box 5197, Cape Town 8000 Tel. 021 406 3528 Fax 021 406 3086 E-mail: customerservices@nasou.com www.nasou-viaafrika.com

www.globecreative.co.za

1

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Celebrating

Years of Technological Innovation

Central University of Technology, Free State

As a regional university, all science, engineering and technology research programmes are directed at the development of the region and to solve the problems of the region. Units such as the Unit for Applied Food Safety and Biotechnology (UAFSB), the Centre for Environmental, Community and Industrial Development (CECID), Centre for Health Sciences (covers HIV-Aids research), Catchment Management Information Systems, the Sleep Laboratory and the Centre for Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing (CRPM) are widely recognised for the research conducted.

CUT's Hotel School is recognised nationally and internationally as one of the best Hotel Schools in the country. The employment rate of students in the School of Tourism, Hospitality and Sport is extremely high. Ninetyeight percent of the students are employed within three months, whilst half of the students achieve senior management positions within two years after graduation.

From its inception the institution has been aware of its social responsibility towards the broader community. The Science Park was established in 1999 to allow the community access to the institution's technology and applied research.

The Science Park serves as a bridge between CUT's expertise on the one hand, and the community that stands to benefit on the other.

By making technology and expertise available to the entrepreneur, the development of new business in the region is encouraged and jobs are created. The university is aware of the fact that not everyone has the privilege to study at the main campus on a full-time basis.

Therefore, selected learning pro-grammes are offered at CUT's Welkom Campus, as well as at the regional learning centre in Kimberley in conjunction with the National Institute of Higher Education.

This year, the institution is celebrating its 30th year of technological innovation - soaring to 2020 and our new Vision. This milestone is a reflection of the universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pursuit of quality education and academic excellence. In our efforts to educate, teach and train our students with the aid of world class technology, we will also focus on those values we hold dear, namely customer service, excellence, innovation, integrity and diversity.

Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT) is always one step ahead, and we are always thinking beyond Research beyond today's boundaries Education beyond today's paradigms Science, engineering and technology beyond our peers Technology based community projects beyond the norm

Faculties and Schools National certificates, diplomas and degrees up to doctorate level are offered by the three faculties: Engineering, Information and Communication Technology; Management Sciences; and Health and Environmental Sciences. There are more than 50 programmes at the Bloemfontein and Welkom campuses for prospective students to choose from.

Engineering and Information Technology This Faculty has schools of: Civil Engineering and Built Environment; Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering; Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mathematics; and Information Technology.

Management Sciences There are schools of: Entrepreneurship and Business Development; Accounting; Government Management; and Tourism, Hospitality and Sport.

Health and Environmental Sciences This Faculty has schools of: Health Technology; and Agriculture and Environmental Sciences.

Humanities There are schools of: Communication Sciences; Design Technology and Visual Arts; Jewelry Design; and Teacher Education.

Facilities Accommodation is available in residences conveniently situated on or near the campus.

Students can participate in a wide variety of sports and cultural activities on campus. The main campus in Bloemfontein houses lecture theatres, state-ofthe-art laboratories, computer centres, the Library and Information Centre with a multitude of resources, sport facilities and a student centre.

Six projects are underway where buildings will be upgraded or build to improve the physical standards and efficiency of the CUT.

Industry partnerships that go beyond the conventional

Admission requirements

Graduates that expectation

For more information and special requirements with regard to international students and postgraduate studies, visit our website: www.cut.ac.za

perform

beyond

Thinking Beyond

PVC ¡ 051 448 5832/4

Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT) is one of the foremost higher education institutions in the heartland of South Africa, dedicated to quality education and training in science, engineering and technology. Over the past 30 years CUT has developed into a leading institution able to take its place in the national as well as international higher education landscape. With the restructuring of the higher education landscape a few years ago, CUT embraced its new status as a university of technology and thus positioned itself to succeed as such.

Soaring to 2020

PROMOTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA

P R OM OTING Y OUTH EMP LOY M E NT I N S O U T H AF RI C A In the wake of the latest proposals by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report on the South African economy, particularly the proposed measures to tackle youth unemployment, it becomes more urgent for various strata of society to refine strategies aimed at addressing the escalating youth unemployment. However to simply propose short term measures will not wish away the increasingly compounding challenge that continues to eat at the core of our country’s social fibre. Unlike many European countries with ageing populations, South Africa has the most youthful population, positively demonstrated in the last National General Elections and confirmed recently by the 2010 Mid-year Population Estimates report released by Statistics SA. While negative characteristics of this youthful population can be seen leading from the front during community protests, by going out in their numbers to vote in the last general elections young people demonstrate that they want both a bright future for themselves and the country. The negative characteristics however suggest that if not carefully guided their energies can be misdirected or even manipulated by those who have malice intents.

young people into glorified slaves of companies in the interest of maximising profits.

One such limitation is a potential cycle of hiring a young person for a chosen period at a minimum wage, releasing them without any clear exit opportunities to go back and join the ranks of the unemployed. Lessons from interventions of similar nature must teach us never to commit similar expensive mistakes without at least modifying areas where they failed.

In August 2006 Minister Mdladlana referred to it as the youth unemployment time bomb; he cautioned that it is about to explode unless the country provides access to learning, livelihood opportunities, employment and other contextual and social aspects that make up the entire socioeconomic spectrum.

Interventions such as learnerships, employer’s subsidies and internships have failed to make a meaningful impact on youth unemployment. Learnerships were implemented on the premise that they will create a skills base that will be absorbed by the labour market; instead they created unsustainable expectations from young people, as they were not absorbed into the labour market.

Almost the same can be said about internships. Even with increasing numbers of unemployed skilled young people, the numbers of young people who are unskilled still far outweigh the ability and willingness of firms to make a meaningful contribution.

The OECD report contains some progressive recommendations including improved basic education, job search assistance and better access to credit for small enterprises. However the unfounded training-based wage subsidy carries with a high potential of unintended consequences and will achieve very little in improving the conditions of youth. Instead of decisively dealing with the challenge, the proposal could turn

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What is required is a multi-dimensional approach that will remedy both basic and higher education on one hand whilst addressing

a basket of issues relating to government policies and programmes, labour market, private sector commitment to develop, nurture and retain young talent. Among these is a need for structured and targeted skills development programmes that match the basic needs to grow the country’s economy while improving the quality of service delivery. Such interventions will also open up self-employment opportunities for the youth. Necessary to note is that at local government level we are sitting with huge skills shortages such that service delivery is hampered. This provides an opportunity for government to implement skills development programmes that address service delivery limitations at local government while enhancing youth skills. One such programme is the National Youth Service programme implemented by the National Youth Development Agency in partnership with government departments.

Furthermore the system of basic education must be diversified such that it has both academic and technical streams so that pupils are taught both the traditional subjects and the technical subjects so that when pupils leave school they have skills to fall back on.

Basic technical subjects such as carpentry, sewing, cooking, agriculture, mechanic, etc

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have to be re-introduced at basic education level. These subjects must not be seen as extra-mural subjects but as part of the education system. This speaks to placing emphasis on interventions such as artisan training, to ensure that young people are able to improve their livelihood opportunities when they leave school. It is encouraging to note that this is the route the Department of Higher Education is adopting.

There can be no uncertainty about the need to avail resources to allow for young people to either start or expand their existing businesses to ensure their participation in the economic mainstream. Given government’s vision and commitment to tackle this problem head on, these radical interventions are required towards halving unemployment by 2014 and to help bring young people to participate in the mainstream economy. Andile Lungisa is the Chairperson of the National Youth Development Agency and Deputy President of the ANC Youth League. He is writing in his personal capacity.1

1 Lungisa, A. (2011) Promoting youth employment in South Africa. National Youth Development Agency and African National Congress Youth League.

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STUDENT ACCESS, EQUITY AND FUNDING

The Minister of Basic Education, Mrs Angie Motshekga, MP has repeatedly made the clarion call that “we owe it to the learners, the country and out people to improve Grade 12 results as committed”.

The National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination has established its status as the most important indicator of performance of the cohort of learners that have gone through twelve years of schooling. The DBE has therefore guarded the integrity and credibility of this examination process and the announcement of these results by the Minister of Basic Education, on an annual basis, signify an important culminating point.

The improvements in the quality of the results with regard to the increase in the percentage of passes in Mathematics and Physical Science as well as the increase in the number of learners gaining admission to University, sets us firmly on the trajectory towards the attainment of our set specific objectives for the Action Plan to 2014 and broadly the vision for the Basic Education Sector as outlined in the Schooling 2025 basic education sector plan.

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Figure 10 compared the number of learners who enrolled for the NSC in 2008, 2009 and 2010. From the data provided, overall in the country the number of learners enrolled for the NSC in 2010 has increased by 21809, compared to 2009.

A total of 642001 candidates enrolled for the 2010 Grade 12 examination compared to the 620 192 that enrolled in 2009. A total of 783540 and 858754 candidates enrolled for the public examinations in 2006 and 2007 respectively.

This unprecedented increase was due to the fact that 2006 and 2007 saw the final fulltime examinations for the Senior Certificate (SC) and candidates did not want to have to transfer to the new NSC course.

As a result more candidates, especially part-time candidates enrolled for the examinations.

The increasing enrolment rate since the first NSC examination in 2008 indicated that the DBE is addressing the practice of “culling” in which only those learners who are likely to succeed are promoted to Grade 12. Only candidates with potential are presented for the examination with the intention of ensuring a good performance for the school, if not a hundred percent pass rate. There is no evidence to show that this practice has been completely eradicated.

The DBE will continue to fight the proper implementation of the Promotion Requirements for Grade R – Grade 11 until the practice of culling is completely eradicated from the schooling system.

THE MAGNITUDE AND SIZE OF THE NATIONAL SENIOR CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION

ANALYSIS OF THE 2010 NATIONAL SENIOR CERTIFICATE RESULTS

The number of learners offering the NSC has increased over the last three years. This is evident in the enrolment figure which has

The 2010 NSC examination results confirm the maturity and stability of the education system from the apartheid era to where

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1 000 000 900 000 NUMBER OF STUDENTS

MATRIC RESULTS 2010 – COMPARISON TO PREVIOUS YEARS AND EFFECTS ON HIGHER EDUCATIO N

increased by more than 50 000 candidates since 2008. This includes both full- and part-time candidates.

800 000 700 000 600 000 500 000 400 000 300 000 200 000 100 000 0 2007

2006

2008

2009

2010

FIGURE 5: The number of candidates enrolled (full-time and part-time) for Grade 12 examinations from 2006 to 2010.

400 000 NUMBER OF STUDENTS

STUD E NT AC C E S S , EQUI TY AND FUND I NG

STUDENT ACCESS, EQUITY AND FUNDING

350 000 300 000 250 000 200 000 150 000 100 000 50 000 0 Total Passed

Achieved Bachelors

Achieved Diplomas

Achieved HC

2008

33 744

107 174

124 258

102 032

2009

334 718

109 697

131 035

93 356

2010

364 513

126 371

146 224

91 241

FIGURE 6: Comparison of performance 2008 - 2010.

STUDENT ACCESS, EQUITY AND FUNDING

70.00% 68.00% 67.80% 66.00% 64.00% 62.00%

62.60%

60.00%

60.60%

58.00% 56.00% 2008

2009

2010

FIGURE 7: NSC Performance 2008 - 2010.

we are now. The 2010 Matric results have improved by 7.2% compared to 2009. The 364 513 candidates passing in one examination sitting is a milestone achievement and a first in the history of the NSC qualification. 146 224 learners have fulfilled the requirements for admission into diploma courses and 126 371 candidates (23.5% of those who wrote) have complied with the admission requirements of a bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree.

There was also an increase of 1.4% and 11% in the pass rates in Mathematics and Physical Science, respectively. The number of learners who passed Accounting has also increase by 1.3% compared to the past two years. These results have shown that through dedication, hard work and commitment, the basic education system will improve the levels of learner attainment and achieve the objectives of Schooling 2025.

The overall national achievement rate for 2010 is 67.8%. Gauteng has the highest

achievement rate in the country, with an achievement of 78.6% that is 72538 candidates passing. The Western Cape and North West were second and third with achievement rates of 76.8% and 75.7% respectively.

It is noteworthy that six out of the nine provinces achieved above the national average of 67.8%. This augurs well the system as it is a confirmation that the system has moved to another level in terms of overall performance. However, there is still concern about Mpumalanga, Limpopo and the Eastern Cape, the three provinces that achieved below the 60% level. The focus of the DBE educational interventions in 2011 will focus thus on these three provinces.

The increase in the pass rate from 60.6% in 2009 to 67.8% in 2010, is significant and the DBE will strive to maintain this upward trend in future years.2

2 Department of Education, (2010) Report on the National Senior Certificate Examination Results, Foreword by the Minister of Education, Angie Motshekga.

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T: 051 401 9111 info@ufs.ac.za www.ufs.ac.za

Making wise choices

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For more information, contact 021 509 4861 | om28064@oldmutual.com 021 504 7285 | sncube@oldmutual.com www.oldmutual.co.za/careers

OLD MUTUAL LEARNERS’ P SCHOLARSHI E PROGRAMM

OLD MUTUAL CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT TRAINING PROGRAMME

Old Mutual Learners' Scholarship Programme I,$( @28( A:-:*2( ]$*&0$&)H( 9+,"2*&),1.( \&"3&*66$( "55$&)( 10).1&$8'( 315-$8( 2$*&0$&)( 10( ^&*8$( O( *08(_'(#,"(8"(0"-(,*%$(*++$))(-"(,13,(W:*21-7(6*-,)($8:+*-1"0(8:$(-"(/0*0+1*2(+"0)-&*10-)'(-,$( opportunity to apply for a scholarship from Grade 10 through to Grade 12 at top South African

OMMS 03.2011 T2357/ACTUARIAL

high schools.

I,1)(101-1*-1%$(1)().$+1/+*227(8$)130$8(-"(18$0-157(*08(0:&-:&$(315-$8(2$*&0$&)(*+&"))(9":-,(;5&1+*( #,"(,*%$(-,$(."-$0-1*2(*08($*&27(10-$&$)-(10(.:&):103(*0(*+-:*&1*2("&(*++":0-103(+*&$$&'(4:-(8"( 0"-(,*%$(-,$(/0*0+1*2(6$*0)(-"(8"()"=(

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USEFUL SOURCES OF INFORMATION

IT’S TIME FOR ACTION …

Join

the

action

leaders

in

education, and let’s focus on action, by tracking the top 100 projects on www.ed.org.za

2011 EDUCATION CONFERENCES IN SOUTH AFRICA

204

CONTACT LIST: TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS

207

CONTACT LIST: FET COLLEGES

208

USEFUL LINKS

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GENERAL CONTACT DETAILS

212

BIBLIOGRAPHY

215

to inspire belief in the power of education.

www.ed.org.za

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2011 EDUCATION CONFERENCES IN SOUTH AFRICA

2011 EDUCATION CONFERENCES IN SOUTH AFRICA

2 0 11 EDUCATION CONFE RE NC E S I N SO U T H AF RI C A T H E G RE AT E S CA PE 111 K DA E D U C A T I O N C ON F E R E N C E

03 – 0 5 J U N E 2 0 1 1 Kids Development Academy (KDA) is hosting its annual teaching conference in Stellenbosch. All schools know that reinventing a school and to stay relevant is a continuous process – one we tend to neglect when the going is good or our focus is elsewhere. Yet, sustainability hinges on our ability to benchmark ourselves to find our blind spots and to ask for objective advice.

There are pivotal times in the life of an enterprise when an infusion of critical thinking from multiple points of view can guide you along the road to success. Because schools reach these junctions more often, we have introduced The Great Escape KDA Education Conference puts you face-to-face with a panel of exiting educationalists, business leaders, motivational speakers, etc. www.kidsda.com

AFRICA’S FUTURE EDUCATION CONFERENCE

PEOPLE’S SUMMIT F O R QUALITY EDUCATI O N

EDUCATION WEEK

EDUCATION INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS

ISASA/SAHISA NATIONAL ECD CONFERENCE

1 3 – 1 5 JUNE 2011

25 – 27 JUNE 2011

06 – 08 JU LY 2011

22 JU LY 2011

29 – 30 J ULY 2 0 1 1

Jacob Zuma highlighted education as a key priority for the South African government, saying success in education would determine the scope and extent of the country’s future growth and development. Our schools do not provide the skills to enter the job market, leaving the incubation of business too late down the road. Should we not be looking at filtering this kind of care into secondary education?

The People’s Summit for Quality Education will be a landmark event in building a truly national movement for quality and equal education. The summit will develop delegates as education activists and empower them with practical plans to improve their own schools, sharing powerful analysis and inspiring successes. The summit is open to all. So join us! Apply to be one of the 360 delegates we can accommodate. Equal Education invites you to a new, national meeting of citizens, education NGOs and unions in democratic South Africa.

African Education Week Convention & Learning Expo, now running for the 5th consecutive year, is the largest annual education conference and expo in Africa, boasting over 1400 delegates from across the continent. It looks at critical issues affecting schools, FET colleges and universities and provides a forum for representatives from all these institutions, as well as government, publishers, e-learning providers and corporate organisations, to bring new ideas, tested strategies and real solutions to improve institutional global competitiveness through quality in education for all.

The Congress provides an opportunity for representatives of all EI affiliates to meet and strengthen the bonds 0f solidarity between teachers and education workers throughout the world. Delegates consider the major contemporary issues affecting their organisations, the international teacher trade union movement, and the ongoing struggle to achieve quality public education for all.

The National Early Childhood Development (ECD) Conference takes place on 29 and 30 July 2011 at St David’s Marist Inanda. The conference theme is Let Your Light Shine. Both SAHISA and ISASA members are welcome to join us for two days filled with inspirational, informative and valuable information pertinent to Early Childhood Development. We have worked hard to ensure that costs are kept to a minimum.

www.ei-ie.org

The Conference committee have invited a wide range of presenters and keynote speakers to facilitate discussions around topics relevant to ECD. We are sure you will go back to your schools inspired and ready to let your light shine.

Education in Africa is poor and far behind the rest od the world. Too many of our schools have not been reached with the correct curriculum and those who have, do not have the money for books or the technology to access the work. Much is said by government but implementation and action is falling behind. The Africa’s Future Education conference will seek to deal with these very important issues. www.businesszone.co.za

Across South Africa, there are countless ordinary learners, parents and teachers who do extraordinary work in poor conditions every single day. We, the people of South Africa, must join together and work for quality education for all. We are gathering at the summit to take responsibility for our attitudes and actions at schools in communities around the country – and to work together for quality and equal education. www.educationsummit.org.za

The challenges facing the education sector cannot be addressed in isolation, and Education Week brings together individuals with diverse areas of interest, knowledge and skills to share their ideas and work in unison to ensure that educational institutions adequately prepare our youth to become productive members of society, and eventually take their place as our future leaders, hence the theme for 2011: Bridging the skills gap through quality education for all.

www.isasa.org

www.educationweek.co.za

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205

2011 EDUCATION CONFERENCES IN SOUTH AFRICA

CONTACT LIST: TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS

15T H ANNUAL IEASA CONFE RENC E

29 – 3 0 A U G U S T 20 1 1

3 1 A U G U ST – 03 SEP T EMBER 2011

7 – 8 SEP T EMBER 2011

The National Association of Distance Education and Open Learning in South Africa (NADEOSA) takes pleasure in providing academics and education practitioners from different academic institutions involved in open learning and distance education an opportunity to meet and exchange ideas on various aspects regarding distance learning.

The 2011 conference is geared towards incorporating international trends, establishing strategic partnerships, skills development and improving academic and research components. Deputy Vice Chancellor: Academic, Professor Nomthandazo Gwele said: “Participating in this conference will allow universities to respond to international trends and provide student opportunities.

It will also be a time to promote, establish and enhance relationships among HEIs.”

The Sixth International Design Education Forum conference is hosted by the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture & Visual Identities in Art and Design Research Centre at the University of Johannesburg and will take place on 7 & 8 September 2011. The conference will comprise plenary sessions and presentations around the conference theme and sub-themes.

In 2011, the Design Education Forum of Southern Africa is celebrating its 20th anniversary and in so doing, marks an important milestone in its reflection on design education from the past, present as well as visions for the future. The conference theme - 20/20 Design Vision - offers participants the opportunity to focus on many interesting and engaging debates that range from an overview of the state of Design Education in the last 20 years to more importantly to offer visions beyond the present.

DEFSA encourages cross- and multidisciplinary or peripheral design education debates presented by academics, researchers and practitioners that incorporate a wide spectrum of research methods and approaches associated with design teaching, learning and research.

Central University of Technology Free State (CUT) Tel no: (051) 507 3911 Mail address: Private Bag X20539, BLOEMFONTEIN, 9300

www.defsa.org.za

North-West University (NWU) Tel no: (018) 299 1111 / 2222 Mail address: Private Bag X6001, POTCHEFSTROOM, 2520

It is the objective of this conference to serve as a forum for practitioners to discuss their experiences and identify future research directions in relation to the facts outlined in the call for papers derived from the HEMIS. The conference will take place on 29th and 30th August 2011 at St John’s College, Houghton, Johannesburg. www.nadeosa.org.za

IEASA President, Merle Hodges said the conference will focus on how quality in Higher Education can be improved. The international conference will provide a platform for academics to network and will include training workshops and plenary sessions where academics will present research papers in different fields. http://www.ieasa.studysa.org/

6TH INTERNATION A L DEFSA CONFERENC E

CO N T A C T L I S T: TE R T I A R Y I N S T I T U T I O N S

NATIONAL A S S O C I A T I O N OF D I S T A N C E L E ARNING A N D O P E N L EARNING IN S O U T H A F R I CA CONFERENCE

Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) Tel no: (021) 460 3911 / 959 6911 Mail address: PO Box 652, CAPE TOWN, 8000

Damelin College Tel no: (011) 796 2000 Mail address: PO Box 3705, RANDBURG, 2125 Durban University of Technology (DUT) Tel no: (031) 373 2000 Mail address: PO Box 1334, DURBAN, 4000 Mangosuthu Technikon (MANTEC) Tel no: (031) 907 7111 Mail address: PO Box 12363, JACOBS, 4026 Midrand Graduates Institute (MGI) Tel no: (011) 690 1700 Mail address: PO Box 2986, HALFWAY HOUSE, 1685 Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) Tel no: (041) 504 1111 Mail address: PO Box 77000, PORT ELIZABETH, 6031

Rhodes University Tel no: (046) 603 8111 Mail address: PO Box 94, GRAHAMSTOWN, 6140

University of South Africa (UNISA) Tel no: (012) 429 3111 Mail address: PO Box 392, UNISA, 0003

Technical College of South Africa (TECHNISA) Tel no: (011) 293 1200 / 1201 Mail address: Private Bag X7, PINEGOWRIE, 2123

University of Stellenbosch (US) Tel no: (021) 808 9111 Mail address: Private Bag X1, MATIELAND, 7602

Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) Tel no: (012) 382 5911 / 086 110 2421 Mail address: Private Bag X680, PRETORIA, 0001

University of Venda Tel no: (015) 962 8000 Mail address: Private Bag X5050, THOHOYANDOU, 0950

University of Cape Town (UCT) Tel no: (021) 650 3732 / 3733 Mail address: Private Bag X3, RONDEBOSCH, 7701

University of Zululand Tel no: (035) 902 6030 / 6040 Mail address: Private Bag X1001, KWADLANGEZWA, 3886

University of Fort Hare Tel no: (040) 602 2011 Mail address: Private Bag X1314, ALICE, 5700

University of the Free State (UOFS) Tel no: (051) 401 9111 Mail address: PO Box 339, BLOEMFONTEIN, 9300

University of Johannesburg (UJ) Tel no: (011) 559 2911 Mail address: P.O Box 524, AUCKLAND PARK, 2006

University of the Western Cape (UWC) Tel no: (021) 959 2911 / 2101 Mail address: Private Bag X17, BELLVILLE, 7535

University of Kwazulu-Natal Tel no: (031) 260 7111 / 2212 Mail address: Private Bag X54001, DURBAN, 4000

University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) Tel no: (011) 717 1000 Mail address: Private Bag X3, WITS, 2050

University of Limpopo Tel no: (015) 268 2140 / 2141 Mail address: Private Bag X1106, SOVENGA, 0727

Vaal University of Technology (VUT) Tel no: (016) 950 9000 Mail address: Private Bag X021, VANDERBIJLPARK, 1900

University of Pretoria (UP) Tel no: (012) 420 4111 Mail address: Private Bag X20, HATFIELD, 0028

Walter Sisulu University (WSU) Tel no: (047) 401 6000 Mail address: Private Bag X3182, BUTTERWORTH, 4960

If you know of any other exciting education conferences that you would like to see in the Education Handbook, kindly send them through to info@argo.org.za and we will include them in Education Handbook3

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USEFUL SOURCES OF INFORMATION

www.ed.org.za

www.ed.org.za

USEFUL SOURCES OF INFORMATION

207

CONTACT LIST: FET COLLEGES

CONTACT LIST: FET COLLEGES

C ONTA CT L IS T: FET COL L E GE S College Name

Tel, Fax no. & Website / Email

Eastern Cape Buffalo City FET College

East Cape Midlands FET College Ikhala FET College

Ingwe FET College

King Hintsa FET College

043 722 5453 (t) 043 743 4254 (f) Website: www.bccollege.co.za 041 995 2000 (t) 041 995 2008 (f) Website: www.emcol.co.za 047 873 8843 (t) 047 873 8844 (f) Email: queenstown@ikhalacollege.org.za 039 255 0346 (t) 039 255 0532 (f) Email: sipamla@ingwecollege.org.za 047 401 6400 (t) 047 491 3730 (f) Email: teki@kinghintsafetcollege.org.za

King Sabatha Dalindyebo FET College

047 5360 923 (t) 047 531 3297 (f) Email: jola@ksdfetcollege.org.za

Lovedale FET College

043 642 1331 (t) 043 642 1388 (f) Email: snstofile@lovedale.org.za

Port Elizabeth FET College

041 585 7771 (t) 041 582 2281 (f) Email: pec@rrc.ac.za

Free State

College Name

Tel, Fax no. & Website / Email

Ekurhuleni East FET College

011 736 4400 (t) 011 736 1489 (f) Website: www.eec.edu.za

Ekurhuleni West FET College

011 323 1600 (t) 086 323 1601 (f) Email: hellenn@ewc.edu.za

033 341 2100 (t) 033 345 9893 (f) Email: khuzwayo.s@ufetcollege.co.za

Limpopo Capricorn FET College

015 297 8389 (t) 015 297 5448 (f) Email: kmadzhie@capricorncollege.co.za

Letaba FET College

Tshwane North FET College

012 401 1950 (t) 012 323 8683 (f) Email: Info@tnc4fet.co.za

015 307 5440 (t) 015 307 4493 (f) Website: www.letabafet.co.za

Mopani South East FET College

Tshwane South FET College

012 660 8501 (t) 012 660 8547 (f) Email: cindy.snyman@tsc.edu.za

015 781 5725 (t) 015 781 5346 (f) Email: administration@mopanisefet.co.za

Sekhukhune FET College

Western College for FET

011 693 3608 (t) 011 412 3047 (f) Email: louis@westcol.co.za

013 269 0278 (t) 013 269 0450 (f) Website: www.sekfetcol.org

Vhembe FET College

015 516 4773 (t) 015 516 4773 (f) Website: www.vhembefet.co.za

Kwazulu-Natal Coastal FET College

031 905 7000 (t) 031 905 3246 (f) Website: www.coastalkzn.co.za

Elangeni FET College

031 716 6700 (t) 031 716 6777 (f) Website: www.efet.co.za

Maluti FET College

058 713 3048 (t) 058 713 6492 (f) Email: centraloffice@malutifet.co.za

USEFUL SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Umgungundlovu FET College

011 984 1260 (t) 011 984 1262 (f) Email: nkosidl@swgc.co.za

Majuba FET College

208

Northern Cape

South West Gauteng FET College

057 392 1310 (t) 057 392 1082 (f) Email: lmfourie@goldfields-college.edu.za

011 484 1388 (t) 011 642 7358 (f) Website: www.cjc.co.za

035 902 9503 (t) 035 789 1811 (f) Website: www.umfolozicollege.co.za

014 763 1014 (t) 014 763 2253 (f) Website: www.lephalalefetcollege.co.za

Goldfields FET College

Central JHB FET College

Umfolozi FET College

Lephalale FET, College

Esayidi FET College

Gauteng

College Name

016 422 6645 (t) 016 422 6930 (f) Email: abe@sedcol.co.za

016 976 0815 (t) 016 976 34 (f) Website: www.flaviusmareka.net

051 406 9300 (t) 051 406 9340 (f) Email: maboya@motheofet.co.za

Tel, Fax no. & Website / Email

Sedibeng FET College

Flavius Mareka FET College

Motheo FET College

College Name

Waterberg FET College

015 491 8581 (t) 015 4918579 (f) Website: www.waterbergcollege.co.za

Tel, Fax no. & Website / Email

Northern Cape Rural FET College

054 331 3836 (t) 054 331 1183 (f) Website: www.ncrfet.edu.za

Northern Cape Urban FET College

013 690 1430 (t) 013 690 1450 (f) Website: www.ncufetcollege-edu-za. ncc.co.za

North West Orbit FET College

014 592 7014 (t) 014 592 7013 (f) Website: www.orbitcollege.co.za

Taletso FET College

018 384 2346 (t) 018 381 7410 (f) Website: sybilgelderbloem@telkomsa.net

Vuselela FET College

018 462 5821 (t) 018 406 7810 (f) Website: www.vuselelacollege.co.za

Western Cape Boland FET College

021 886 7111 (t) 021 886 8182 (f) Website: www.bolandcollege.com

College of Cape Town

021 404 6700 (t) 021 404 6709 (f) Website: www.cct.edu.za

False Bay FET College

021 701 1919 (t) 021 701 2693 (f) Website: www.falsebaycollege.co.za

Mpumalanga Ehlanzeni FET College

Northlink FET College

039 684 0110 (t) 039 318 1514 (f) Website: www.esayidifet.co.za

013 752 7105 (t) 013 752 4902 (f) Website: www.ehlanzenifet.co.za

021 970 9064 (t) 021 930 5729 (f) Website: www.northlink.co.za

Gert Sibande FET College

South Cape FET College

034 326 4888 (t) 034 326 4855 (f) Website: www.majuba.edu.za

017 712 9040 (t) 017 712 9058 (f) www.gscollege.co.za

044 884 0359 (t) 044 884 0361 (f) Website: www.sccollege.co.za

Nkangala FET College

013 690 1430 (t) 013 690 1450 (f) Email: qwabe.p@lantic.net

West Coast FET College Office

022 482 1143 (t) 022 487 3983 (f) Website: www.westcoastcollege.co.za

Mnambithi FET College

036 638 3800 (t) 036 631 4146 (f) Email: Chettyd.mnacao@feta.gov.za

Mthashana FET College

034 980 1010 (t) 034 980 1012 (f) Email: mthashana@telkomsa.net

Thekwini FET College

031 250 8400 (t) 031 208 3653 (f) Website: www.thekwinicollege.co.za

www.ed.org.za

www.ed.org.za

USEFUL SOURCES OF INFORMATION

209

USEFUL LINKS

USEFUL LINKS

U SEF UL LINKS CA P E TEACH ER S’ PR O FE S S I ON AL A S S OC I AT I ON | w w w .cpta.o rg.za The Cape Teachers’ Professional Association was established in 1967 and the official launch took place in Athlone, South Africa from 29 - 30 June 1967. Mr DR Ulster was the first duly elected president of the CTPA. The CTPA is the oldest progressive teachers’ union in South Africa. The CTPA was also instrumental in assisting the process of transformation in a Democratic South Africa.

CEN T R E F OR EDUCA T I O N PO L I C Y D E V E L OPM E N T ( C E P D ) | w w w.cepd.org.za CEPD is a professionally autonomous Centre established in 1993 on the initiative of the mass democratic movement in order to start developing education policy for a democratic South Africa.

COM MUNIT Y LEAR N I N G NE T WOR K | w w w .c ln .or g A site designed to help K-12 teachers integrate technology into the classroom. Here you’ll find over 5,800 annotated links to educational sites with free resources, all organized by theme pages and keyword search. Find technology resources under Teachers & Tech. You’ll also find links to online teacher development (Pro-D) and online K-12 courses

MU L TI SENS O RY MATHEMATIC S | www.n u m ico n .co m Multi Sensory Mathematics is a mathematics programme from the UK to transform mathematics teaching.

workers. Our 401 member organisations operate in 172 countries and territories, from pre-school to university. As the world’s largest Global Union Federation, and the only one representing education workers in every corner of the globe. Education International is the voice for the education sector world-wide.

F E D E R A T I O N O F G O V E R N I N G BO D I E S O F S O U T H A F R I C A N S C H O O L S ( F E D S A S ) | w w w . f e d s a s . o r g . za FEDSAS is the national representative organisation for governing bodies, which informs, organises, mobilises and develops them to achieve and uphold the highest recognized international educational standards. The vision of FEDSAS is the maintenance and promotion of education quality in schools in South Africa. Subject to the reservation of the autonomy of its members, the mission of the Federation is to co-operate, negotiate and engage with the relevant authorities at all levels of education provision and decision-making, as well as with other partners and stakeholders in education.

COM PUT AT IONAL MAT H E M AT I C S M S C | w w w .brunl.ac.uk/Msc Ma t h e m a t ic s Thorough Theoretical Analysis with Cutting Edge Computer Resources

G L O BA L C A M P A I G N F O R ED U C A T I O N S O U T H A FRIC A | www.campaignforeducation.org/en/south-africa The Global Campaign for Education (GCE) is a civil society movement that aims to end the global education crisis. Together we hold governments to account for their promises repeatedly made to provide Education for All. The GCE’s mission is to make sure that governments act now to deliver the right of every girl, boy, woman and man to a free quality public education.

DEP AR T MENT OF E D U C AT I ON WE B S I T E | w w w .education.go v.za The Department of Education provides quality education for sustainable development by providing socially relevant and economically responsive programmes that address the human resource needs of the country; enhancing the skills base for transformation and manufacturing diversification in order to meet the needs of the economy; providing quality programmes to build the capacity of all employees; and encourage a participatory decision-making process which will empower the whole community at all levels.

HI P T O BE S Q U A R E | w w w . h i p 2 b 2 . c o m We want to inspire you – to make you dream big and to realise that you can do amazing things, using the vehicles of Mathematics, Science, Technology and Entrepreneurship. We want to spark your interest, and then provide you with the means to explore further. To show you how people from different countries and cultures have achieved the impossible through imagination, inspiration and determination. But it’s not only about us. It’s about you. So this site is very much your space – send us your stories, post comments, chat on the forum, share your thoughts.

ED .OR G.ZA | www.e d .or g.za Ed.org.za is an online platform where action leaders in the education arena can connect, collaborate and monitor the progress of the top 100 education projects in South Africa.

IN T U I T I O N TU T O R S | w w w . i n t u i t i o n t u t o r s . c o . z a Professional Mathematics tutors in Cape Town.

EDUCAT ION AF R ICA | w w w .e d u c a t ion a f ric a .c om Education Africa, an association not for gain, was established in 1992 with the objective of addressing two of the most critical educational issues facing South Africa’s marginalised communities: accessibility to quality education and relevance of education.

IXL | www.ixl.com/math This is a wonderful website for mathematics practice with more than 1000 math topics from Grade R through to the 5th grade.

EDUCAT ION DIR ECTOR Y | w w w .sabest.co.za/d ire c t ory_ e d u c a t ion .h t m l Covers the following headings: General, Universities, Technikons, Colleges, Other, Student Information, Encyclopaedias etc, e-Education, Team Building/Motivation, Short Courses.

JO Z I KI D S | w w w . j o z i k i d s . c o . z a Jozikids was created to help make all our lives easier, to showcase the myriad of family friendly, child-oriented services, products, event planning and activities in the biggest shopping centre imaginable, the internet, with its unlimited space and possibilities. It’s the solution for frustrated moms, dads, teachers, caregivers or visitors who never know where to look to find what they need. Use it to check out what’s new, what’s happening and what to do in the whole of Gauteng, from Johannesburg to Pretoria, the East Rand to the West Rand.

EDUCAT ION I NT ER N AT I ON AL | w w w .e i- ie .org Education International represents nearly 30 million teachers and education

M A T H KI D S O N L I N E | w w w . m a t h k i d s o n l i n e . c o m Be Smarter and Faster with Mathematics.

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www.ed.org.za

NATIO NAL PRO F ES S IO NAL T EAC HERS O RG ANIS ATIO N O F SO U TH A F RIC A ( NAPTO S A) | www.n ap to sa.o r g.za NAPTOSA was registered by the Registrar of Labour Relations as a Trade Union on 1 November 2006. Furthermore, with in excess of 43,000 State employed members and a further 6,000 School Governing Body, College Council and Independent School members, making a total of almost 50,000 members, we are by far the second largest union in the education sector.

We enjoy all the rights of a trade union in this sector and operate in the ELRC under the name of the combined trade unions (CTU), called CTU “SAOU”. Please note that this name does not afford the SAOU or any of the other unions in the Alliance (which includes NAPTOSA, NATU, SAOU and PEU) any proprietary or pre-eminent rights or position. This was a name chosen last year to comply with the constitution of the ELRC since at that time it was not possible to use the name of the federation NAPTOSA. NATIO NAL S TU DENT F INANC IAL AID SC HEME O F SO U TH AF RIC A ( NS F AS ) | www.n sfas.o r g.za The National Student Financial Aid Scheme of South Africa (NSFAS) seeks to impact on South Africa`s historically skewed student, diplomat and graduate populations by providing a sustainable financial aid system that enables academically deserving and financially needy students to meet their own and South Africa`s development needs.

NNA PU BL IS HERS | www.n n a.co .za Buy “Maths is fun” Online. It is available for Grades 3-7 with free Delivery in South Africa.

PENG U IN T U TO RING CO ( S A) | www.p en gu in tu to r in g.co .za Penguin Tutoring provides one-on-one extra lessons at home. All school subjects available.

RES O U RC ES O N S O U TH AF RIC AN HIG HER EDU C ATIO N | www.afr ica.m su .ed u /SAH E/ This website is designed to support higher education in South Africa and people working to transform it. There are links here to most South African universities, Technikons, and higher education consortia, as well as numerous research and policy documents.

S AS TU DY .C O .ZA | www.sastu d y.co .za SAstudy.co.za is South Africa’s most comprehensive database of all undergraduate qualifications. In addition to a dynamic Courses Search Tool, it also offers prospective students an overview of institutions and provides them with vital information on how to make the right choices to get the most out of their student years.

S A HIS TO RY O NL INE | www.sah isto r y.o r g.za Rewriting history, critically examining our past and strengthening the teaching of history SO U TH A F RIC AN AG ENC Y F O R SC IENC E AND TEC HNO L O G Y ADVANC EMENT ( S AAS TA) | www.saasta.ca SAASTA is an agency of the National Research Foundation (NRF). The mandate is to advance public awareness, appreciation and engagement of science, engineering and technology in South Africa.

www.ed.org.za

SO U TH AF RIC AN CO U NC IL FOR EDUCATORS (SACE) | www.sace.o r g.za The South African Council for Educators aims to enhance the status of the teaching profession, and to promote the development of educators and their professional conduct.

SO U TH AF RIC AN D EMO C RATIC T EACHERS UNION ( S ADTU ) | www.sad tu .o r g.za SADTU was founded in 1990 following successful teacher unity talks to establish a national unitary non-racial and non-sexist union of educators.

Today the union’s membership stands at 230,000 representing nearly twothirds of South Africa’s educators. SADTU is the largest union in the public service and the second largest union in the country.

SO U TH AF RIC AN I NS TITU TE FOR DISTANCE E DUCATION ( S AIDE) | www.said e.o r g.za/frontend The South African Institute for Distance Education was formed as an educational trust in July 1992. Its explicit brief is to assist in the reconstruction of education and training in South Africa. It promotes open learning principles, the use of quality distance education methods and the appropriate use of technology. SAIDE works closely with policy makers and providers of educational programmes to translate these approaches into practice.

SO U TH AF RIC AN REF L EC T N E TWORK | www.sar eflect.o r g South Africa Reflect Network (SARN) is represented by participants, practitioners, organisations, and adult education and development activists across South Africa who is either using REFLECT or advocate for it as an accepted and preferred means to contribute to the realisation of rights of the poor.

SO U TH AF RIC AN Q U AL IF IC ATIONS A SSOCIATION (SAQA) | www.saq a.o r g.za The South African Qualifications Authority is a body of 29 members appointed by the Ministers of Education and Labour. The functions of the Authority are essentially twofold: 1) To oversee the development of the NQF, by formulating and publishing policies and criteria for the registration of bodies responsible for establishing education and training standards or qualifications; 2) To oversee the implementation of the NQF by ensuring the registration, accreditation and assignment of functions to the bodies, as well as the registration of national standards and qualifications on the framework. It must also take steps to ensure that provisions for accreditation are complied with and where appropriate, that registered standards and qualifications are internationally comparable.

UMAL U S I | www.u m alasi.o r g. z a Umalusi is a statutory organization which sets and monitors standards for general and fur ther education and training in South Africa with the purpose of continually enhancing the quality of education and training. They have five key functions: 1) Evaluating qualifications and curricula to ensure that they are of the expected standard, 2) Moderating assessment to ensure that it is fair, valid and reliable, 3) Conducting research to ensure educational quality, 4) Accrediting educational and assessment providers, 5) Certifying learner attainments.

XTRAL ES S O NS | www.xtr alessons. co. z a Xtralessons provide one-on-One tuition in your home for all school grades and subjects.

USEFUL SOURCES OF INFORMATION

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GENERAL CONTACT DETAILS

G ENERA L CONTACT DETAI LS A DUL T LEAR NING NE T WO R K (AL N ) Tel: 021 447 4828/ 4898 Email: aln-national@africa.com Website: www.aldsa.org A FRIC AN L EADER SHI P AC AD E M Y Tel: 084 241 1196 Email: Fswaniker@ala.org Website: www.thear therapy.co.za A RGO Tel: 021 865 2813 Fax: 021 865 2166 Email: info@argo.org.za Website: www.argo.org.za CA TH OLIC INST IT UTE OF EDUCAT ION (CIE) Tel: 011 433 1888 Email: info@cie.org.za Website: www.cie.org.za CEN T R E F OR APPLIED L E G AL ST U D I E S (CA LS) Tel: 011 717 8600 Email: timolt@law.wits.ac.za Website: www.law.wits.ac.za C EN T R E F OR AUGME N T AT I V E AN D A LTERNAT IV E C OMMU N I C AT I ON (CA AC) Tel: 012 420 2001 Email: liza@up.ac.za Website: www.childlawsa.com C EN T R E F OR CH ILD LAW – U N IV ER SIT Y OF P R ETOR I A Tel: 012 420 4502 Email: childlaw@postino.up.ac.za Website: www.childlawsa.com C EN T R E F OR EAR LY C H I L D H OO D DEVELOPMENT (CEC D ) Tel: 021 683 2420/1 Email: cecd@iafrica.co Website: www.cecd.org.za DEP AR T MENT OF E D U C AT I O N Tel: 0800 202 933 Website: www.education.gov.za DEP AR T MENT OF S C I E N C E AN D T ECHNOLOGY E-mail: nhlanhla.nyide@dst.gov.za Website: www.dst.gov.za

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USEFUL SOURCES OF INFORMATION

EAS T E R N C A P E E D U C A T I O N DE PAR T ME N T Tel: 040 608 4200/4797 Email: loyisop@yahoo.com Website: www.ecprov.gov.za/ education

H E A R T A N D S T R O K E F O U N D ATIO N O F SO U T H AF R I C A Tel: 0860 22 32 22 Email: hear t@hear tfoundation.co.za Website: www.heartfoundation.co.za

EAR T H L I F E S O U T H AF R I C A (G AU T E N G) Tel: 011 720 3773 Email: zini@house.org.za Website: www.earthlife.org.za

H O M E L A N G U A G E PR O J E C T Tel: 011 646 3070 Website: www.hlp.org.za

ED U C AT IO N I N T E R N A T I O N A L ( E I ) Email: info@ei.org.za Website: www.ei-ie.org ED U C AT IO N LA BO U R R E L A T I O N S CO U N C I L ( E L R C ) Tel: 012 663 0432 Email: gen.sec@elrc.co.za Website: www.elrc.co.za ED U C AT IO N RI G H T S P R O J E C T ( E R P ) Tel: 011 717 3076 Email: salim.vally@wits.ac.za Website: www.erp.org.za E -S C H O O L N E T W O R K ( E S N ) Tel: 021 683 8719/ 9140 Email: jenny@esn.org.za Website: www.esn.org.za FR E E S T AT E E D U C A T I O N DE PAR T ME N T Tel: 051 404 8104/5/80000 62 66 Email: magalefasr@edu.fs.gov.za Website: www.fsdoe.fs.gov.za FU N ZA L U S H A K A Tel: 012 312 5222 Email: tyobekap@doe.gov.za Website: www.education.gov.za G AU T E N G E D U C A T I O N D E P A R T M E N T Tel: 011 355 0000/0600 Website: www.education.gpg.gov.za G O V E R N M E N T E M P L O Y E E ME D I C A L SC H E M E ( G E M S ) Tel: 08600 4367/083 450 4367 Email: enguiries@gems.gov.za Website: www.gems.gov.za

H U M A N R I G H T S CO M M I S S I O N ( HRC ) Tel: 011 484 8300 Email: mmoletsane@sahrc.org.za Website: www.sahrc.org.za IN T E L E S I C O N S U L T I N G ( M U L T I G R A D E TE A C H I N G) Tel: 011 483 6201 Email: Arlene@intelesi.co.za

MU S IC IS A G REAT INVES TMENT ( MIAG I) Tel: 012 320 5154 Email: info@miagi.co.za Website: www.miagi.co.za NATIO NAL PRO F ES S IO NAL T EAC HERS’ O RG ANIS ATIO N O F SA ( NAPTO S A) Tel: 012 324 1365 Email: daveb@maptosa.org.za Website: www.naptosa.org.za NATIO NAL C HIL DREN ’S T HEATRE Tel: 011 484 1584/5 Email: admin@jyt.co.za Website: www.jyt.co.za NATIO NAL S TU DENT F INANC IAL AID SC HEME ( NS F AS ) Tel: 0800 202 933/012 Email: Ngqengelele.L@doe.gov.za Website: www.education.gov.za NATIO NAL TEAC HERS ’ TRADE UNIO N ( NATU ) Tel: 035 772 1608 Website: www.natu.co.za

IZ I K O M U S E U M H E R I T A G E Tel: 021 481 3813 Email: info@iziko.org.za Website: www.iziko.org.za JO I N T E D U C A T I O N TR U S T ( JET) Tel: 011 403 6401 Email: info@jet.org.za Website: www.jet.org.za K W AZ U L U - NA T A L ED U C A T I O N DE P A R T M E N T Tel: 033 355 2453/0800 204 3535 Email: Christi.naude@kzndoe.gov.za Website: www.kzneducation.gov.za

NO RTH WES T EDU C ATIO N DEPARTMENT Tel: 018 381 2016/7 Email: Craseala@nwpg.gov.za Website: www.nwpg.gov.za NO RTHERN CAPE EDU C ATIO N DEPARTMENT Tel: 053 839 6701 Email: Imotsage@per.ncape.gov.za Website: www.northerncape.gob.za/education O PENING L EARNING SYS TEMS EDU C ATIO N T RU S T ( O L S ET) Tel: 011 339 5491/7 E-mail: van@mail.ngo.za Website: www.olset.org.za

LE A R N I N G T H I N G S AF R I C A Tel: 011 719 4100 Email: susan@learnthings.co.za Website: www.learnthigs.co.za LI M P O P O ED U C A T I O N DE P ARTMENT Tel: 015 290 9301 Email: MangalaN@edu.rorprov.gov.za Website: www.limpopo.gov.za/education M P U M A L A N G A ED U C A T I O N DE P A R T M E N T Tel: 013 766 5315/0800 203 116 Email: H.ngwenya@edu.mpu.gov.za Website: www.mpumalanga.gov.za/ education

www.ed.org.za

P AN S O U TH A F RIC AN L ANG U AG E B O ARD ( PANS AL B) Tel: 012 341 9651 E-mail: communication@pansalb.org.za Website: www.pansalb.org.za P HAPHAMA INITIATIVES R ES O U RC ES CENTRE ( C O NF L IC T MANAG EMENT ) Tel: 011 487 1798 E-mail: info@phaphama.org.za Website: www.phaphama.org.za

www.ed.org.za

GENERAL CONTACT DETAILS

P LA NNED PAR ENT H O O D A SSO CIAT ION OF SO U T H A FR I C A Tel: 011 523 1400 E-mail: mar tham@ppasa.org.za Website: www.ppasa.org.za P LA Y 2 T H INK (L ITER ACY SKIPPING RO PE S ) Tel: 011 914 1559 E-mail: play2think@telkomsanet Website: www.play2think.org P ROJECT LIT ER ACY Tel: 012 323 3447 E-mail: info@projectliteracy.org.za Website: www.projectliteracy.org.za REA D E DUCAT IONA L T R U S T Tel: (011) 496 3322 E-mail: info@read.co.za Website: www.read.co.za RESO UR CES A IMED AT T H E P REVE NT ION OF CH I L D AB U S E AN D N EGLECT (R APCAN) Tel: 012 712 2330 E-mail: info@rapcan.org.za Website: www.rapcan.org.za ROB BEN ISLAND YO U N G L E AR N E R S A CA DEMY Tel: 021 409 5123/5104 E-mail: sandrad@robben-island.org.za Website: www.robben-island.org.za SCHOOLNET Tel: 011 403 5777 E-mail: info@schoolnet.org.za website: www.schoolnet.org.za SCI -BONO DISCOV E R Y C E N T R E Tel: 011 639 8400 E-mail: info@sci-bono.co.za Website: www.scibono.co.za

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S OU T H A F R I C A N A G E N C Y F O R S C I E N C E A N D TE C H N O L O G Y A D V AN C E M E N T ( S A A S T A ) Tel: 012 392 9300 E-mail: info@saasta.ac.za Website: www.saasta.ac.za S OU T H A F R I C A N C O N G R E S S O F EAR L Y C HI L D H O O D DE V E L O P M E N T (S AC E D ) Tel: 012 322 0601/2 E-mail: saced@satis.co.za Website: www.saced.co.za S OU T H A F R I C A N C O U N C I L F O R ED U C AT O R S ( S A C E ) Tel: 011 663 9517 E-mail: info@sace.org.za Website: www.sace.org.za S OU T H A F R I C A N DE M O C R A T I C T E AC H E RS ’ UN I O N ( S A D T U ) Tel: 011 334 4830/4836 E-mail: jlewis@sadtu.org.za Website: www.sadtu.org.za S OU T H A F R I C A N H I S T O R Y A R C H I V E (S AH A) Tel: 011 717 1964 E-mail: sahas@library.wits.ac.za Website: www.saha.org.za

SO U T H A F R I C A N P R I N C I P A L S’ AS S O C I A T I O N ( S A P A ) Tel: 012 240 2769 E-mail: sapa@up.ca.za Website: www.sapaonline.co.za SO U T H A F R I C A N W O M E N I N SC I E N C E A N D EN G I N E E R I N G (SAWISE) E-mail: sawise@botzoo.uct.ac.za Website: www.sawise.org.za SU I D - AF R I K A A N S E ON D E R W Y S E R S U N I E ( S A O U ) Tel: 012 348 9641 E-mail: saou@mweb.co.za Website: www.saou.co.za TH E P U BL I S H E R’ S A S S O C I A T IO N O F SO U T H A F R I C A ( P A S A ) Tel: 021 425 2721 E-mail: pasa@publishsa.co.za Website: www.publishsa.co.za TH U T O N G P O R T A L Tel: 012 312 5911/0800 202 9610 E-mail: info@thutong.org.za Website: www.education.gov.za

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23. Institute of Childhood Education (2011), University of Johannesburg.

10. Department of Education (2000) Norms and Standards for Educators.

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55. Visser, C. (2011) School Textbooks - Should we be concerned about their quality? The Textbook Development Institute. (www.tdevi.com) 56. Wilton, P. P. (2010) 5-computer classroom: Possible solution to effective ICT integration and closing achievement gap. Vanderbilt University.

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