Decline in quality teaching under the spotlight
The decline in the quality of the province's education standards came under the spotlight during the Education Indaba hosted by the Provincial Government last Thursday (March 10).
POLOKWANE – In his opening address, Premier Chupu Mathabatha highlighted that since education is a societal matter, everyone has an important role to play. Insufficient service delivery is a common problem that often leads to protests, he said.
This was caused by key factors such as inadequate educational resources as well as shortages of learning equipment including electronic laboratories, smart boards, and tablets.
It is often for these reasons that parents relocate their children to other schools, he said.
“The compromised quality of education, a lack of parental participation, political activities, taverns situated near schools, low teacher moral support and a lack of support from district level are some of the other factors that have in recent years impacted on academic results.”
He reiterated that one of government’s key mandates is to review the state of education in the province and the focus is therefore on early childhood development, and primary and secondary school levels.
“We know that most people only care much about the matric results, but we need to take a holistic and coherent approach to teaching in the younger grades.”
To effectively find solutions, stakeholders in education should play their roles effectively, he said.
“Key evaluations proposed for education excellence are focused on implementing quality learning, enhancing the work of circuit managers, to provide structural leadership support, adequate support systems and resources at district, circuit and school levels, the provision of learner support services, and the implementation of necessary policies and practices.”
A cash injection of R200m was allocated to repair school infrastructure damaged by storms, as well as R600m to implement E-learning from foundation to FET phase.
“It is therefore significant and fundamental that, perhaps this lekgotla must reflect as to whether we have the necessary school infrastructure and attitude, to attain all-round and multi-disciplinarian human beings,” the premier said.
