care and support
21 August 2007
"We cannot simply assume that our learners have both their parents, enough
food and a room with a table and chair where they can do their homework. Very
often these essential systems that we regard as normal are not existing," said
KwaZulu-Natal Education MEC Ina Cronje at the launch of Muntuza Primary School
as Inclusive Centre of Learning, Care and Support.
Listing some learning barriers that impact on the performance of learners,
she said that it becomes very difficult for the Education Department if
children have no birth certificates or parents have no identity documents.
"Without these basic documents grannies, who need grants for themselves and the
children they look after, cannot access them. We need the Department of Social
Welfare."
"Another barrier is poor health. A child's vision may not be very good,
resulting in him or her not achieving. This is where the Department of Health
comes in."
The Department of Education cannot care and support learners and school
communities alone. To minimise learning barriers it has adopted a
multi-sectoral strategy. The focus of the strategy is to build caring and
supportive environments by creating full service schools at nodal points. These
Inclusive Centres of Learning, Care and Support will in turn service clusters
of schools and communities around them.
The following departments and organisations will participate in the
programme: the Departments of Health, Correctional Services, Social
Development, Home Affairs, the South African Police Service, Home Affairs, Love
Life, Media in Education Trust, Victim Support, ward councillors and
municipalities.
Muntuza Primary School is the first of 48 schools that will be converted
into Inclusive Centres of Learning, Care and Support.
The facilities at Muntuza will also be used by the following cluster of
schools around it:
* Wembezi Secondary School
* Zola Primary School
* Drakensberg Combined High School
* Emahhashini Primary School
* Ezamukuthula Primary School
* Nkanyiso Primary School
* Sizameleni Primary School
* Khandimfundo Primary School.
The need to transform Muntuza Primary school emanates from the fact that the
school is situated in the poverty stricken Wembezi Township (Estcourt) where a
number of factors hinder the learning and development of our children. These
factors include a high unemployment rate among parents, the lack of birth
certificates prevent most learners to access the social grants for which they
qualify, parents themselves don't have identity documents and a high mortality
rate among parents, resulting in most learners being orphans living with
elderly and relatives and thus vulnerable to different forms of abuse.
The project, which is spearheaded by the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of
Education, will implement the following at Muntuza Primary:
* the conversion of a classroom into a health and wellness centre, where
psycho-social support (counselling, accessing of social grants, issuing of
birth certificates, support for the abused) will be facilitated
* provision of HIV and AIDS counselling and health activities
* registration as Muntuza as a health promoting school
* establishment of sustainable food gardens at the school
* intensifying the life skills education programme
* community mobilisation for the involvement in and support for Muntuza
* financial support and provision of relevant resources
* provision of on site training on specific skills, e.g. gardening and
handwork.
The health and wellness centre has been equipped and funded by the Royal
Netherlands Embassy. The Office of the Premier will oversee all the
multi-sectoral care and support intervention strategies at Muntuza Inclusive
Centre of Care and Support. This would entail:
* development of instruments for reporting and monitoring of performance of
each sector basing this on agreed performance indicators with regards to:
Access, output, adequacy effectiveness and quality
* tracking the progress of the programmes in achieving their objectives
* reviewing the strategies from time to time with a view of improving
performance so as to meet the needs of the clients.
Issued by: Department of Education, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial
Government
21 August 2007
