Longer school days

There is a proposed policy by the department of basic education to lengthen the school day in order for children to learn an African language.

Review asked gr. 7 learners from Noordskool and Suidskool what they thought about this plan.

Remoneiloe Phasha said she thought it was a great idea to make the school day longer, but that time should rather be spent on difficult subjects such as mathematics and science.

Tjiebula Kgolane said a longer school day would definitely be in the best interest of learners, especially gr. 7 learners who take extra classes to achieve higher marks in the examinations. However, Tjiebula said adding another language would not benefit learners.

Ndzalama Lubisi said making the school day longer will have a negative effect on learners, because learners who take part in sport in the afternoons will have even less time to do their homework. “Adding another subject would make it a lot more difficult to get around to everything,” she said.

Khomotso Matemotsa said another language was not what would help learners get better marks. She said an extra period should rather be added for studies.

Tebogo Ntwampe said a longer school day would give learners more time to do revision and give learners and teachers more time to get through the syllabus.

Janett Olivier said she thought it good to learn another language, but not to have a longer day. “If the day is longer, schools must implement cafeterias like the schools overseas where children can have lunch while being at school,” she said.

Jean Snyman said learning another language would help learners become more cultured, but he said an African language is not the answer. He would like to learn a language from another country.

Marnus Pelser said all ethnic groups in South Africa spoke English, so it would be better to make a school day longer with an language like Dutch and add some history about the country whose language they were learning to broaden learners’ knowledge.

Stephan Visagie said he would like things to stay the way they are and not have to learn another language or have a longer school day.