Pretoria – Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga says there have been major developments in the education sector, particularly in the transformation of the curriculum.
Speaking at the Unisa Curriculum Transformation Conference underway in Pretoria, Motshekga said the National Curriculum Statement has been strengthened through the development of the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS), which specify content and establish a sequence and pace per grade.
Additional support, the minister said, has also been provided through the CAPS orientation process for subject advisors.
Motshekga said provinces have trained teachers in CAPS and the incremental implementation schedule was on target. This included implementation in the foundation phase and Grade 10 in 2012; the intermediate phase and Grade 11 in 2013, and in the senior phase and Grade 12 in 2014.
“This was a major achievement for education. What should be noted though is that the revised CAPS did not replace the National Curriculum Statement. They were developed specifically to strengthen the National Curriculum Statement.”
Although challenges remain, Motshekga said they were systematically addressing them.
Another priority area that the ministry has undertaken was to train and provide teachers to all districts and schools.
“Our department has initiated programmes to address this matter that is key to ensuring that there is a quality teacher in every classroom, teaching at least seven hours every school day,” said Motshekga.
She said her ministry was also working closely with the Department of Higher Education and Training on teacher development by providing bursaries, among other measures.
The Funza Lushaka bursary programme is now in its seventh year since its inception and currently supports approximately 14 000 student teachers in identified priority areas.
Focus on ECD
Another area of development, according to Motshekga, is the new curriculum for Early Childhood Development (ECD), which is in line with the objectives of the National Development Plan (NDP).
Progress has also been made through Kha Ri Gude Adult Education and Training (AET) and matric rewrite programmes, which target the adult population.
Looking ahead, Motshekga said government aimed to improve the standard of the English language, which is the language used by the majority of learners at both school and tertiary levels. The department has partnered with the British Council in the development of a teacher training programme — the Certificate in Primary English Language Teaching (CiPELT).
Another programme that will be introduced incrementally is African languages, which will be piloted in schools in 2014.
“We’ve planned for this, consulted broadly and, as agreed with education MECs, we will start with a pilot in 2014 in Grade R & 1 with 10 schools in each of the 86 education districts,” said the minister. – SAnews.gov.za
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