Smooth start to school year is predicted
The Department of Education recently announced that it had already made plans to ensure that the school year started seamlessly, but requested parents to do the same in order to prevent challenges.
MBOMBELA – It seems as if children, parents and teachers in Mpumalanga can look forward to a smooth start and no overcrowded classes when schools reopen in 2015.
The Department of Education recently announced that it had already made plans to ensure that the school year started seamlessly, but requested parents to do the same in order to prevent challenges.
According to Mr Jasper Zwane, spokesman for education, the department maintained the same pool of teaching posts than 2014, totalling 32 637 for distribution to public schools. He said 394 were distributed to special needs schools to service the 3 757 pupils from grades one to 12, at an average teacher to learner ratio of 1:9,59.
He said the remaining 32 243 posts were distributed to public schools to service the 978 247 learners from grade ones to 12 at an average teacher to learner ratio of 1:30,35. The 32 637 posts thus distributed for the 2015 academic year to service a total learner enrolment of 982 206 from grades one to 12, would result in an overall teacher to learner ratio for public schools of 1:30.
According to Zwane, these ratios were very favourable in terms of teaching and learning processes. Although the admission of pupils for 2015 has already been completed, the department is currently addressing instances where parents were unable to obtain admission. It furthermore completed the delivery process of learning and teaching support material across the whole province and also dispatched the paper budgets for 2015 to all institutions. Zwane said the last monetary transfers to institutions were concluded in October which was expected to be used by schools to procure basic material for the enhancement of the teaching and learning process.
