Gauteng Department of Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi said the department is ready for the 2018 academic year.
Briefing the media in Johannesburg, Lesufi said as the education department in the province, they will ensure that the first day of school, on 17 January, commences without disruption.
According to the MEC, stationery orders have been delivered to the schools, furniture has been delivered to 436 schools since April 2016 and they will continue with their transport and feeding programmes.
Lesufi said all teachers would be available to ensure adequate schooling on the first day.
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“The department will continue to provide school furniture where there is a need,” said Lesufi.
“We plan to provide daily meals to 1.4 million learners and transport 104 000 learners per day. All schools will have adequate educators.”
The MEC said the department is proposing a Single National Examination Body.
This proposal, if successful, will see both the independent and public schools writing the same examinations.
Lesufi, however, said the proposal has been met with mixed reactions from various stakeholders in the education society.
The rationale for this proposal is to ensure that all schoolchildren write similar exams monitored by a Single National Examination Body.
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He said his department raised this proposal as there was a need for a Single National Examination Body to oversee the National Senior Certificate Examination.
“Initial responses from some members of the public indicates that this proposal has not been understood. In fact, some people see this as an attempt to lower standards – nothing could be further from the truth.”
Currently, according to the MEC, there is virtually little difference between the curriculum offered by public and independent schools.
He said both systems use similar criteria to assess a pass or a fail in the National Senior Certificate.
