determined to do even better in 2007 at all levels of education
15 January 2007
The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) is confident that its 1 500
schools are ready to welcome back about 930 000 learners into classrooms on
Wednesday, and that learning and teaching will begin immediately.
Schools have already started today for the thousands of teachers at our
schools. The school management teams and principal are finalising plans to
ensure a smooth start to the new year.
We do not anticipate a crisis with the accommodation of learners. In this
regard we have set in place plans to deal with some of the hot spots. We are
satisfied that everything is on track.
This includes the provision of learner transport where required, the
provisioning of mobile classrooms. During the course of 2007/08 fourteen new
schools will be opened and occupied.
At the beginning of 2006, the opening and occupation of fifteen new schools
also assisted with the accommodation of learners.
Two hot spot areas may arise; one in South Education Management and
Development Centres (EMDC) where the new school building for Heinz Park Primary
(between Mitchell's Plain and Phillippi) is not yet completed. The mobile units
will not be available this week. The expected influx in Phillippi may require
special intervention but at this stage totals are unknown. The EMDC has
contingency plans in place.
The second area could be in Paarl (West Coast/Winelands EMDC) where a growth
in numbers is expected at Desmond Tutu High. The expected number of learners is
unknown at this stage, but the EMDC will monitor the situation closely.
If necessary, learner transport for the Khayamandi High School will be
considered. Any unforeseen influx of new learners will be monitored and managed
at district level where learners will be re-directed to schools where spaces
exist and if necessary learner transport will be considered.
Isolated cases of learners being unplaced will be dealt with at the district
offices. Due to the successes of our Early Enrolment Campaigns in the last few
years, we do not expect that big numbers of unplaced learners will emerge.
I am also pleased to note that almost all schools have already received
their learner/teaching support materials - both main and additional orders. A
few textbook titles are not available, it is either out of print or not yet in
print. Outstanding textbooks and stationery deliveries will be made in this
week in terms of the requirements of the National Education Department.
All Section 21 schools have by now received their transfer payments. In
terms of treasury instructions, no further transfer payments can be made unless
a report has been received that the previous transfer payments were utilised
for the intended purposes. Only two percent of schools still need to submit
their reports after which outstanding payments will be effected.
With regards to the filling of vacancies, at December 2006, 2 130 posts were
advertised, to date 840 are completed and 479 posts are outstanding - meaning
not received from School Governing Bodies (SGBs).
Although the Western Cape had an overall percentage pass of 83,7% last year,
my view is that our schools can and must do better. We are increasingly
focusing on maths and science, as well as endorsements for access to higher
education, especially for our historically disadvantaged learners. I am pleased
that the pass rates in ex-Department of Education and Training (DET) schools
have increased steadily in the last three years (by 3,8 % in 2006). However, we
must do even better. I am not happy with the fact that some schools continue to
struggle to break through the 60% barrier.
So, whilst we are proud of what the class of 2006 achieved, I believe that
the class of 2007 can and must do better. In this regard, I want to repeat the
six interventions we will be making, to ensure that all our children get the
best they deserve. The interventions are:
1. Embark on the quality improvement, development, support and upliftment
programme (Quids-Up) programme
This initiative, led by Minister Pandor, aims to allocate new learning
resources to schools, especially in poor and disadvantaged communities.
2. Set Targets
By the end of February 2007 each high school in the province is to set an
overall pass target, a matric endorsement target and Maths/Science targets for
2007. These targets must be formally signed off by the School Governing Body,
including the Representative Council of Learners (RCL) representatives.
Additional targets for the retention of learners in the Further Education and
Training (FET) band and numeracy and literacy targets for the foundation and
intermediate phase will be set by each school during the course of the year.
These targets will be linked to the annual performance plans.
3. Broaden our base: work on literacy and numeracy across the board
What is also very clear to me is that we cannot just look for weaknesses in
our high schools. We need to work in our primary schools as well. Our numeracy
and literacy strategy is well on track and our language in education plan to
focus on mother tongue based bilingual education will be launched early this
year.
4. Make our schools a safe learning home for all
The levels of violence in and around our schools and the aggressive
behaviour of learners continue to impact negatively on our schools. Crystal and
Oscar Mpetha clearly were adversely affected by safety and other issues in
2006. This year will see an unprecedented inter-sectoral campaign to build a
safe learning home. The campaign will include a review of the codes of conduct
of each school; involving the leaders of Representative Councils of Learners
(RCLs) as well as members of School Governing Bodies (SGBs).
Thanks to the contributions of community organisations like the Proudly
Manenberg Campaign, the Manenberg High School achieved a matric result of
85,29% last year, up from 45,35% the previous year. Although we are concerned
at the retention rate at this school, we are proud of the work done. It is our
aim to replicate these types of success stories by continuing to build
partnerships with other communities, like the Hanover Park Education Forum, the
Lentegeur Education Foundation, and many others.
5. Monitor and evaluate
I believe the redesign process of the department must lead to greater
research capacity, monitoring, evaluation and accountability. As a learning
organisation one of our key challenges is to understand our context, challenges
and possibilities and respond to them.
6. Tackle the situation in the schools still performing below 60%
On the 2006 results 8% of our high schools lie below the mark of 60% but
there are many more that are under-performing and not securing endorsements.
The time has come to say that continued under-performance will simply not be
tolerated. We will conduct a full contextual analysis of each under-performing
school by the end of January 2007.
I want to thank the many partners, business, non-governmental organisations
(NGOs) and other organisations who continue to support our learners and our
schools. I also want to thank the many committed teachers who are working with
our children. In this respect I want to mention the Hector Petersen and Langa
Secondary Schools, whose matrics have last year already decided to start
learning and teaching even a week earlier.
For further information, please contact:
Gert Witbooi
Media Liaison Officer
Office of the MEC for Education
Western Cape
Tel: (021) 467 2523
Fax: (021) 425 5689
Cell: 082 550 3938
E-mail: gwitbooi@pgwc.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Education, Western Cape Provincial Government
15 January 2007
Source: Western Cape Education Department (http://wced.wcape.gov.za)
