The National Curriculum Statement (NCS) Grade 12 examination begins on 26 October, leaving us roughly 19 days and about 456 hours to ensure that all learners succeed.
President Jacob Zuma, at the Principals' Conference in Durban on 7 July, urged all education officials, teachers, learners and stakeholders to "do things differently", committing all education stakeholders to the partnership for quality learning and teaching, so that we promote quality and excellence in education.
He was reinforcing what former President Thabo Mbeki called for when he appealed for "all hands on deck", seeking to create a broad front of stakeholders to ensure that education becomes a vehicle for the development of skills and the economy of South Africa which must empower the nation to move forward to prosperity.
President Zuma's statements amplified mobilisation and a commitment for all to improve the results of every child in the country, a commitment that will see our schools underpinned by a culture of achievement and professionalism and where positive results are the norm, a culture in which education is emphasised as a weapon of liberating the minds of our children for the common good of our country.
These very motivational statements from our President point all of us to a direction which says that failure is not an option. It is in this spirit that the Eastern Cape Department of Education has doubled its efforts in responding to the words of the President. Despite the 50,6 pass performance for the class of 2008 which placed the province last in the country's NCS Grade 12 performance list, we believe that if we all work hard, if we all motivate and support our learners, success is possible even at this hour.
It was in this spirit that the provincial department called the Education Summit earlier this year that adopted a 10- point plan emphasising the back-to- basics set of truths that requires:
* Teachers to teach in a manner that demonstrates punctuality, enthusiasm, and preparedness for lessons, and be of sober mind and body.
* Learners to learn in ways that include attending class, doing their homework and respecting their teachers.
* Parents to involve themselves actively in governance structures that affect the education of their children; create a home environment conducive to study; and assist in the protection of educational resources such as textbooks, chairs, tables, and etcetera.
* The community to ensure that every school-going child is at school in a safe and crime-free environment, and to protect the school and its assets from vandalism.
This is what Eastern Cape education officials and all stakeholders have committed themselves to doing; accepting that "it takes a village to teach a child" and that all learners have the potential to succeed.
To this end the Department of Education in 2009, as in past years, undertook periodic focused visits to schools to offer support through on-site visits and other school functionality support programmes. This was part of the Learner Attainment Improvement Strategy programme.
Since the beginning of 2009 the department has done the following:
* Undertaken 'school readiness' visits in January which was later followed by concentrated quarterly visits in March, July and another round in September. These sought to identify, monitor, support and immediately respond to fixable short term problems and to create a system of education that allows teachers to teach and learners to learn and pass.
* These visits were undertaken by officials from both head and district office to all districts so they could get first- hand understanding of the situation on the ground and train and strengthen principals and teachers in curriculum delivery, and to help learners to learn.
* Organised winter and spring vocational schools, which allowed learners in each district to congregate in centres where subject specialists taught all learners from all schools.
* Strengthened the leadership and management of schools by training school management teams and school governing bodies.
These visits revealed numerous challenges faced by teachers and learners such as crime, poverty and a host of other odds that militate against conducive learning and teaching.
While some problems were identified and resolved on the spot, some will still take longer to solve. To ensure an all-out exercise to support, monitor and evaluate school-based programmes, all workshops, meetings and conferences that remove teachers from their workstations have been banned so that teachers have been able to concentrate on the revision of work and assist all learners to master their subjects.
Yes, there are still immense challenges in our schools for example, mud schools, long distances and over-crowding but these are not excuses for failure. Huge strides have also been achieved through programmes that facilitate scholar transport, no-fee schools and the school nutrition programme.
These programmes have opened access to education for all learners in line with the objectives of the Freedom Charter that stipulates "Education shall be open to all".
We take pride in schools which have achieved high standards of performance and adopted a will to succeed despite what others see as insurmountable obstacles. We salute the officials, teachers, learners and stakeholders who have taken up the cudgels and continue to work in the belief that "failure is not an option".
As we approach the 2009 examinations, it is time that our learners remind themselves that there is no substitute for hard work and that when nothing is ventured, nothing is gained. They also need to realise that this is just one of many examinations they will encounter in their lives some are not written, they are just steps of life to prepare them to do better and prepare for a future that will reveal South Africa as a land of opportunities and skills, the land envisioned by Alan Paton in his book "Ah but your land is beautiful".
Issued by: Department of Education, Eastern Cape Provincial Government
5 October 2009
Source: Department of Education, Eastern Cape Provincial Government
(http://www.ecdoe.gov.za)
