24 April 2007
Gauteng MEC for Education Angie Motshekga dealt firmly with educational
underperformance in Sedibeng over the weekend.
Motshekga said it was unacceptable for under-performing educators in the
region to receive salaries whilst they were the worst performing district in
Gauteng.
"If a teacher was found not to be performing and the principal of the school
had been made aware, the principal should take responsibility. If a teacher is
found not to be improving after they have received the required support, they
must resign or they will be released from their duties," said Motshekga.
Speaking at the first of three regional Education Summits in Sedibeng on
Saturday, 21 April 2007, as part of the resolutions taken at the Provincial
Education Summit held last month, the MEC had words of warning for learners as
well.
"It is disturbing to find learners loitering the streets, not caring about
their future. At the end of the year such learners are obviously going to fail.
The department has to let go of such learners if, after their parents have been
informed of their behaviour, they fail to improve their academic performance,"
said Motshekga.
"Parents are a critical link in the educational triangle and are supposed to
ensure that their children do their schoolwork. If your child has behavioural
problems at home, we do not expect parents to pass such problems to educators
without their own involvement."
Motshekga highlighted the following areas as the most challenging in the
Sedibeng area:
* Sedibeng West was the worst performing district in the 2006 academic
year.
* While government allocated a lot of resources the outcome did not match the
input.
* Many private or independent schools were not performing well.
Motshekga acknowledged that certain schools are still experiencing
difficulties in accessing scholar transport and that some schools have not
received learner support material on time, but said that poverty and
overcrowding should not be used as excuses.
She further identified some of the following problems that are experienced
by schools, making them inefficient and dysfunctional:
* absenteeism among learners and educators
* conflict among educators which paralyses the functionality of the
school
* conflict between educators, principals and School Governing Body members
which result in the learner being a victim of circumstance.
As part of the provincial turnaround strategy for underperforming schools,
commissions were held at the summit and focused on the following issues:
* the role of School Governing Bodies
* the effectiveness of Senior Management Teams as it relates to the management
of schools
* the ability of District Education Training Councils in ensuring that schools
deliver on the curriculum expectations
* the oversight and monitoring role of community-based organisations.
The purpose of these commissions was to allow different sectors to offer
solutions to the current underperformance of schools in the Sedibeng
district.
The Sedibeng district will then implement all the inputs made by the
different commissions. These inputs will then form part of their overall
turnaround strategy that builds on the provincial education turnaround
strategy.
In conclusion, Motshekga said it is incumbent upon parents, teachers and
learners to ensure that the education of an African child is not compromised,
and that it will be criminal if that were to happen.
The summit was attended by district officials, educators, learners, teacher
organisations, parliamentary constituency officers, education standing
committee members, community-based organisations and veteran teachers.
Enquiries:
Kate Bapela
Tel: 011 355 0524
Cell: 083 447 6505
Issued by: Department of Education, Gauteng Provincial Government
24 April 2007
Source: SAPA
