teachers will boost quality, literacy and numeracy
11 August 2006
The training of 900 pre-school teachers throughout the province will lead to
significant improvement in the quality of Early Childhood Development (ECD) and
boost the Western Cape Education Department's (WCED) literacy and numeracy
strategy.
Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool today, Friday, 11 August 2006, launched
the Provincial Government's Learnership Programme in Cape Town which is part of
the Siyabulela Deliverables Campaign initiated by the Premier.
The learnership programme will contribute significantly to the national
government's Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), by building capacity and
opportunities for employment in the ECD sector. The WCED and the provincial
Department of Social Development are managing the programme jointly.
Education MEC Cameron Dugmore said, "The WCED and social development
currently deliver ECD at public primary schools for children in grade R and at
day-care centres and crèches, commonly called community sites.
"We have embarked on an integrated strategy to support ECD with our sister
departments in social development, health and safety and security. As part of
this joint strategy to support ECD, a key component includes accredited
education and training for practitioners and caregivers involved in ECD.
"The national government's White Paper Five aims to ensure access to grade R
facilities for all five year old children in South Africa by 2010. The
provincial government's Human Capital Development Strategy (HCDS) pays
particular attention to ECD and incorporates the aims of the joint provincial
strategy for this sector.
"The HCDS seeks to ensure that all five year old children in the Western
Cape have full access to high quality learning programmes. In 2005, 50 000
children attended grade R. The WCED plans to cater for 80 000 grade R learners
by 2014.
"The ECD sector is constantly expanding in the Western Cape to meet these
deadlines. The WCED made funding available to subsidise an additional 6 000
learners in grade R classes during the current financial year.
"The Department provides a subsidy to pre-schools according to a sliding
scale which ensures that the poorest sites receive between R6 and R7 per grade
R learner per day, while better equipped sites receive R3 per child to a
maximum of 30 children per class.
"The Department of Social Development is in the process of selecting
candidates for training at day-care centres and crèches. The WCED is
identifying candidates who teach grade R learners at pre-primary schools.
"The candidates will commence their training in September 2006. Service
providers will provide the training, funded by the WCED. The in-service
training programme will extend over a period of 18 months and will include
theoretical and experiential components.
"The learnership programme will provide accredited training in terms at
levels determined by the National Qualifications Framework (NQF), as
follows:
* 200 people will be trained at Level one
* 500 people will be trained at Level four
* 200 people will be trained at Level five.
"Practitioners who complete the learnership successfully will acquire the
knowledge and skills they need to introduce young children effectively to
literacy and numeracy at an early stage. This is particularly important in
communities where parents are unable to read and write and where children do
not have access to educational toys and books or other texts.
"The National Curriculum Statement (NCS) outlines the outcomes that grade R
learners should achieve before they start formal schooling in grade one.
"The challenge facing the WCED is to ensure that pre-school teachers have
the knowledge and skills they need to ensure that learners achieve these
outcomes at ECD sites that offer grade R. The ECD site must be able to ensure
every child's cognitive, emotional, physical and social development.
"The learnership programme will contribute significantly to building the
foundation we need for every child especially in our poorest communities, to
grow our human capital and to provide a brighter future for all citizens of the
Western Cape."
Enquiries:
Gert Witbooi
Media Liaison Officer
Cell: 082 550 3938
E-mail: gwitbooi@pgwc.gov.za
Tel: (021) 467 2523
Fax: (021) 425 5689
Issued by: Department of Education, Western Cape Provincial Government
11 August 2006
