Deputy Minister
Director-General
Deputy Director-Generals
District Directors
Officials and staff,
Welcome and thank you for coming. You would appreciate this critical time we’re in, mindful of the fact that we ended our third meeting with a promise of a ‘bang’ for 2012. We’re in the second quarter, and will have half-year exams in less than two months.
The question we must ask ourselves is whether or not we have achieved the required and generally desired levels of school readiness confidently to say ‘YES of course’ we’re ready to deliver even better results, quantitatively and qualitatively.
Moving from the imperative to improve school and learner performance, and of course consistent with district and school improvement plans, can we all boldly say we’re sufficiently ready to deliver on quality teaching and learning and all schools are up to the task at hand?
If we can say YES to these questions, and affirm un-hesitantly that all are ready to deliver quality in the system, I would say verily our business here is done. I would say the rest of the school year has been rendered much lighter with that ease of an early Sunday morning.
If we can say ‘YES’ we’re ready to put our necks on the block, that we’re more than ready to hold ourselves and all the schools under our care accountable for the desired outcomes, indeed we would be on course to deliver on the realistic, measurable and achievable outputs set out in the Action Plan.
Saying ‘yes’ to these pertinent questions would mean necessarily that in all districts and all provinces we can swear in the name of meticulous planning for 2012, like a soldier foreseeing his imminent death.
‘Yes’ would mean we can say with certainty that we have planned for and delivered in time all the requisite resources. It would mean that there is in each school a textbook for each child, a table and chair for each child and a teacher for every class and every subject.
These things would mean that there are ‘guarantees’ for efficiency, effectiveness, time-on-task and curriculum coverage. Most importantly, they would mean that we have mobilised sufficiently all stakeholders in support of the call and commitment to make education a societal issue.
From the look in your eyes, and some faces expressionless across the room, it does appear to me that some of these things have not been duly done to the best of our ability. We know what is to be done. It’s just that much more needs to be done.
A positive development from reports of January school readiness visits is that many schools are better prepared this year than previously.
Challenges include:
- Registration and allocation of learners to classes;
- Non-delivery of LTSM;
- CAPS training had not been done in some schools;
- CAPS materials were unavailable in some schools visited;
- Annual National Assessments (ANA) analysis was not done in many schools. Where it was it proved to be superficial, with no evidence of guidance from district officials; and
- The absence of Quality Learning and Teaching Campaign (QLTC) structures was deafening.
A worrying matter that remains a challenge is the slow pace, in the various districts, of analysing their performance and understanding why they are performing in such a manner. And many schools still have no School Improvement Plans.
My expectation, and I believe it to be a legitimate expectation, is that this meeting must help us renew the resolve clearly to work differently, to plan better, to prepare ourselves fully, better to run our districts and schools as centres of excellence.
We’re right in the second quarter. If we do not do these things I’ve alluded to, we run the risk of derailing the transformation express bent on ending the historical injustice and inequalities that the majority of children of the working class and the poorest of poor have had to contend with over decades, with no respite.
Of vital importance is to strengthen district planning, that should be discharged timeously to impact positively on learner performance. I was disappointed to learn that some districts could not produce their District Improvement Plans.
Among others, the focal point of planning has got to be on improved learner outcomes, effective LTSM to schools and effective filling of vacancies and utilisation of available teachers.
Support for schools must be evident in the district-wide work plans and in individual plans of each district official, with clear focus on: regular quality monitoring; clear feedback processes for schools and respective provinces; and monitoring and support for school management and governance, including school functionality and support for curriculum implementation.
You would have enriched your support for curriculum implementation were you to draw from a deep understanding of those critical areas where schools are falling short. Constant reflection on teacher availability to implement the curriculum and curriculum coverage and pacing has got to be a fundamental activity.
As districts, you are at the cold-face of delivery, closer to the centre of our operation – the classroom. If you were to play your central role in the delivery of quality support to schools and teachers, we were to demystify the lie that we’re paying lip-service to development and growth of our country’s economy.
I am pleased to announce formerly that last month, on 5 March, after consultation with the Council of Education Ministers, we published for comment, the Policy on the Organisation, Roles and Responsibilities of Education Districts (Gazette No. 35107 – Notice 180). Comments are to reach us by 18 May 2012.
We know what is supposed to happen over and above this policy process. The policy asks for “better districts, better quality,” nothing more, nothing less. This is something we ought to and can deliver on – “better districts, for better quality.”
What is formalised is the location and position of districts in the system, as “the link between provincial education departments, their education institutions and the public.”
As the document affirms, it follows logically that the role of education districts is to ensure “that all learners have access to education of progressively high quality.”
Necessarily, nobody would buy our story we were to say children received shabby treatment because we were waiting for policy on how to get into schools and how to identify and assist teachers in dire straits.
It is against this background that I had to pose, for your reflection, those questions I had raised around planning, readiness, capacity, willingness and passion to accelerate delivery of better quality in every school, in every district.
As policy on districts show, we can, through education, contribute to the elimination of deep-seated socio-economic inequalities among communities.
“Well functioning schools have the historic mission of providing opportunities for learners to rise above their circumstances” (Gazette No. 35107 – Notice 180).
I would like to take this opportunity briefly to share with you some outcomes related therewith of the last meeting of the Council of Education Ministers, held last month.
We noted, as we should do today, that in the 2012 State of the Nation Address, President Jacob Zuma reiterated once more our strategic priorities. He impressed upon us the need to consolidate our work.
Sustained focus on Texts, Teachers and Time should continue to seize our minds, as central to all efforts aimed at turning around the quality of education.
As part of our review, we said at the last Council meeting that approaching the last academic year from the viewpoint of the 2011 Annual National Assessments (ANA), performance in the General Education and Training (GET) band was unsatisfactory.
Conversely, from the standpoint of Grade 12 results, 2011 was a great year. We surpassed 70%, with the number of underperforming districts falling, from 18 to 15. We thank you.
The target for 2012 is 75% for Further Education and Training (FET) and 55% for GET. We must reduce underperforming districts. The target for districts is 70%. The Planning and Delivery Oversight Unit will work closely with underperforming districts and schools.
We’re ready for the 2012 ANA, scheduled for 18 to 21 September. Worrying though is the lack of uniformity on how schools and districts treat and respond to ANA. A mammoth task is to go out to schools ensuring they all command a better understanding of ANA. We should market the essence of common examinations.
As I impressed upon MECs and their respective HoDs, I want to appeal also to all District Directors to ascertain that ANA drives all improvement plans.
For better results, and “better quality”, we want district officials to use ANA not only for support programmes, but also as a benchmark for accountability.
In all this, let’s not lose sight of the paramount role of parents. District offices are strategically positioned effectively to mobilise and enrich parental and community participation.
With active district offices we can best deliver on the promise we have made, in the Action Plan, to have by 2025:
“Parents who are well informed about what happens at school and receive regular reports about how well their children perform against clear standards that are shared by all schools.”
Coordination and synergy are quite crucial. We even raised this, in a much broader context, at the recent African National Congress (ANC) Education Summit, on 12-13 April (2012).
As a matter of urgency, we have asked Heads of Education Departments Committee (HEDCOM) to prepare work towards a Mathematics and Science Indaba, just so we can strengthen our plan on Math, Science & Technology.
You know the challenges. For instance you know it is unacceptable that in spite of the fact that we have said teacher ratio has got to be at 40 in primary schools and 35 in high schools, there are classes with almost 80 children.
At one school, with a 3% pass, we found that literally there was not a single book for learners. Only teachers had books that they read from. It this that informs the call we have made for a national catalogue for central procurement of books.
Teachers are a valuable asset we have in the system. The inefficient management of this resource is a matter of great concern.
Not only does it bleed the system of its financial resources, and, in some provinces, to a level of collapse. It also robs our children of better chances in life.
We started this academic year with emphasis on the implementation of the National Strategy for Learner Attainment (NSLA) – a comprehensive strategy covering Grade R-12.
Included in the strategy is: (a) a curriculum coverage monitoring tool, (b) an integrated framework for GET and FET bands, and (c) a school-based Learner Attainment Improvement Strategy.
The strategy includes a mentorship programme, particularly for underperforming schools and districts.
It provides for the implementation of specific sector plans for areas like Early Childhood Development, Literacy and Numeracy and Mathematics, Science and Technology.
We expect schools and districts to report on the NSLA to Provincial Education Departments (PEDs)on a monthly basis. PEDs will report to DBE on a quarterly basis. HEDCOM and CEM will consider such reports.
As you know, one of key tasks for 2012 is smooth implementation of Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements for Foundation Phase and Grade 10.
We’re grateful for the smooth running of School Governing Body (SGB) elections. The role of districts in support of members of these newly-elected SGBs is quite crucial. Training is key, particularly if it is to be focused predominantly on the improvement of learning outcomes and the role of SGBs in entrenching core tenets of the QLTC.
To round up, the main task for 2012 is to consolidate our work towards achieving quality education.
As we say in the Policy on the Organisation, Roles and Responsibilities of Education Districts, your “districts exist to serve schools.”
“The true test of success will be a progressive improvement in the support given by PEDs to district offices; in the support given by district offices to education institutions; and progressive improvement of teaching and learning in all institutions for which district education offices are responsible” (Gazette No. 35107 – Notice 180).
Our country will remain firmly on the path towards economic growth and development necessary for ending poverty, inequality and unemployment to the extent that we succeed in turning around quality of education in all grades, from 1 to 12.
From the strategic position you occupy in the system, help us make education a societal responsibility. Social mobilisation demands setting up vibrant QLTC structures in support of the ‘Three Ts’ of Teachers, Text and Time.
The potential of these structures to make a difference is really immense particularly with the support of signatories to the NEDLAC Accord on Basic Education – business, labour, civil society and national government.
Using the relevant protocol, please support the Adopt-a-School Campaign, ensuring it is managed soundly such that it does not cause confusion in schools, but, rather, offers real support, especially for underperforming schools.
Cabinet has also reinforced these efforts when it took a decision to have Ministers adopting districts. The objective is to deepen community interest and involvement in education.
We have launched the 94 Schools’ Infrastructure Project. Its primary objective is to celebrate former president Nelson Mandela’s 94th birthday in a manner that gives hope and dignity to children in 94 schools across the country through school infrastructure improvements.
The idea is to renovate buildings, provide school furniture, fix roads and bridges, provide kitchen units, libraries and laboratories. It fits neatly in the national focus on infrastructure development.
Your participation in this fourth meeting is critical.
