The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, Ms Fatima Chohan, has praised the Department of Basic Education for its five-year plan to improve the school system.
"It is good news that things are coming together," Ms Chohan said to the department's delegation, which was led by Minister Angelina Motshekga.
The department appeared before the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education to brief the Members of the Portfolio Committee on the recommendations of the Ministerial Committee on implementing the National Curriculum Statement. The statement includes the five-year plan to improve teaching and learning across the system.
Members of the Committee sought clarity on the future of Outcomes Based Education (OBE). The Minister emphasised that OBE would remain, while the Department was putting in place the necessary reforms to the education system. "The principles will remain there, it's the methodology that is going to be changed," Minister Motshekga said.
Members of the Committee wanted an assurance from the department that the best performing schools would not be negatively affected by the implementation of the five-year plan. The Minister said the schools that usually performed well were also experiencing challenges. The five-year plan would help to improve and enhance their work.
Committee members raised concern over the dominance of English at schools, and called for more use of indigenous languages in education. The Acting Director-General of the Department of Basic Education, Mr Bobby Soobrayan, said the Department was experiencing a shortage of teachers who could teach in indigenous languages and a lack of teaching material in indigenous languages. This, he said, inevitably led to the dominance of English in schools.
Ms Chohan appealed to Minister Motshekga and the officials of the Department of Basic Education to ensure that there was constant and clear communication between the Department and all its stakeholders.
"Ensure that information reach provinces, districts and regions. We should not get information from the media," Ms Chohan said.
Issued by: Parliament of South Africa
18 November 2009
Source: Parliament of South Africa (http://www.parliament.gov.za)
