Pillars of the schooling system such as teachers, Heads of Departments (HODs), principals and deputy principals will soon receive further access to professional development activities and programmes that are aimed at improving the quality of the teaching profession.
This bold step derives from the recently launched Continuing Professional Teacher Development (CPTD) Management System done jointly by the Department of Basic Education and the South African Council for Educators (SACE) in Centurion.
The CPTD Management System is aimed at recognising all useful teacher development activities that are geared towards improving the effective delivery of the curriculum at classroom level.
SACE Senior Manager for Professional Development, Ms Ella Mokgalane said teachers will participate in three types of activities.
“Type 1 activities entail personally initiated activities by an educator to address his/her identified professional development needs. For example, enrolling for an Advanced Certificate in Education (ACE) programme, writing an article for an education publication/journal, attending a workshop and developing materials that support teaching and learning, to name but a few.
“Type 2 involves school initiated activities which address a common need identified by a group of educators within a school. In these activities teachers will attend activities such as workshops/courses which address various needs that have been identified. The participants will also need to respond to some of the identified needs based on the School Improvement Plan.
“Type 3 is externally initiated activities by providers such as the Provincial Education Departments, Teacher Unions’ Professional Development Institutes, Higher Education Institutions, NGOs, and many other types of providers,” explained Ms Mokgalane.
Ms Mokgalane further highlighted that Educators will earn their Professional Development Points (PD Points) from each of the three types of the SACE endorsed Professional Development Activities.
SACE CEO, Mr Reij Brijraj indicated that the development of Education is a joint venture and encouraged more teachers to register in the various programmes that are provided.
He further told education experts that the implementation of the CPTD Management System is a critical component for building the community.
“I am also glad to announce that SACE managed to sign-up 26 501 principals and deputy principals for the CPTD system, as the first implementation cohort, with the support of the DBE and the nine Provincial Departments of Education. These principals and deputy principals started with their first three year CPTD cycle from January this year. I am calling upon all principals and deputy principals to grab hold of this opportunity and participate meaningfully in the educational management and leadership related professional development activities from the types of professional development I referred to earlier on,” said Brijraj.
The CEO also said that this year, HODs are signing-up for participation in the CPTD system and will start with their first three year CPTD cycle in the following year. SACE is also gearing itself up for signing-up all the Post Level 1 educators for participation in the CPTD system from January 2016 onwards.
“SACE does not provide the professional development activities but it monitors, evaluates and supports all teachers to do their work proficiently,” said Brijraj.
The majority of teacher unions also had an opportunity to share their views during the launch of the CPTD Management System.
National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa (NAPTOSA) Deputy President, Mrs Anthea Cereseto said the system complements what the union is doing. Approximately 10 000 teachers were trained through NAPTOSA. “We extend good wishes to all those who will be involved in the implementation of the system,” said Cereseto.
National Teachers’ Union representative, Mrs Gugu Mbele said that it is a good thing that SACE launched the system. The system should not be regarded as a tool to score points; instead it should help teachers to improve in their work. “The system has a special place in our field because it addresses issues around teacher development. We salute SACE for putting the CPTD Management System in place.”
The South African Democratic Teachers' Union (SADTU) representative, Ms Lindiwe Mbingeleli congratulated SACE for having achieved this milestone that will immensely contribute towards the professionalisation of teachers.
The Deputy Minister of Basic Education, Mr Enver Surty thanked SACE for being committed to strengthening the teaching profession in South Africa. Surty told education experts that they should use the system to improve teaching skills, particularly the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT).
The Deputy Minister said that Numeracy and Literacy remain the most critical areas that still need to be improved. Mr Surty believes that the launch of the system will now improve quality teaching and learning.
Surty proposed that the system should not only pay attention to teachers, HODs and principals but should extend to everyone involved in the schooling system, including parents, members of the School Governing Bodies, food handlers and various education stakeholders.
