The department of basic education recently released the draft policy framework for universal access to gr. R, which aims to increase the percentage of children who have access to formal gr. R programmes to 80% by 2014 and 100% by 2019. The minister for basic education, Angie Motshekga maintains that gr. R education should lay a solid foundation to ensure children benefit educationally later on. Review asks gr. 1 teachers what they think about the policy.
The teachers all agree that both the learners and teachers would benefit from gr. R being made compulsory. They say it is now up to parents to realise the true importance of ensuring their children complete gr. R, empowering their children to perform to the best of their abilities.
Lukie Sekowe says it is a good idea because it will help with the early learning development of all children. “In today’s busy life, parents do not have time to teach their children everything they need to know before they go to school, and without going to gr. R, they will not have the advantage of being as prepared as other children who have completed gr. R.”
Maria Tema says: “I think that the department has finally heeded the plight of gr. 1 teachers. It will definitely help with basic skills such as writing your name and being able to hold a pen”.
“In gr. 1, it takes nearly four months to teach a child basic reading and writing skills. With schools and classes as full as they are, there is often no time to give extra attention to children who have fallen behind because they do not know the basics. Having a compulsory gr. R phase will greatly assist with this,” says Soekie Joubert.
Diane Smith says children who have not completed gr. R have a huge setback that will never be eliminated completely, causing them to not reach their full potential.”Parents must realise that times have changed. It is not the same as when we went to school. In today’s fast-paced life, children need to be better educated.”
Erica Scott says fine motor skills are learnt during gr. R and teachers will have the benefit of having all learners on the same level if gr. R is made compulsory.
