Gauteng MEC for Education, Barbara Creecy reiterated that her department was ready to welcome more than two million learners expected to enter the educational system this year.
MEC Creecy was speaking at the media briefing of School Readiness and Clean up campaign at Bokamoso Secondary in Tembisa, north of Johannesburg. She further said that the department has committed itself to a number of measures to ensure improved learner preparedness to write matric examinations in 2010.
While addressing members of the community who had come to lend a hand during the cleaning campaign, MEC Creecy urged them to actively take part in the education of their children. She said they should make sure that things that did not benefit learners should remain outside the school yard.
“As parents we should be able to help teachers and stop those people who bring alcohol and drugs to our learners. We should help the authorities to identify those in our community who sell these things to our learners and those who come in our schools to destroy our property,” said MEC Creecy.
Addressing the media on school readiness, MEC Creecy said their analysis showed that poor performance by matriculants was as a result of inadequate curriculum coverage, learner and educator absenteeism and general lack of discipline.
“Problems with in service teacher training and lack of accountability across the system for poor learner performance also had a hand in the poor performance of the grade 12’s. This has prompted the Gauteng provincial executive council under the leadership of Premier Nomvula Mokonyane to actively take part in the back to school programme. This would ensure that these problems are corrected,” MEC Creecy explained.
MEC Creecy further explained that last year officials from her department visited every public school in the province to determine its state of readiness for the 2010 academic year. Schools were assessed in five critical areas which included delivery of learner teacher support material, staffing, learner registration, academic preparation such as timetables and class lists and the state of physical infrastructure such as desks, cleanliness and maintenance.
“Schools were categorised red, orange and green on each of these areas and interventions were embarked on to deal with the problem areas. We are pleased to report that these interventions have been successful and majority of schools in Gauteng will be ready to commence learning and teaching on the first day of school re–opening,” said MEC Creecy.
Schools in Gauteng province have been characterised by late registration of learners and this has become a challenge to the Department of Education. Despite the efforts made to register learners in September of the preceding year, there are parents and learners who arrive on the first day of school looking for placement. MEC Creecy said challenges faced regarding admissions have been categorised into three areas.
“The first part deals with learners from outside the province who come to Gauteng or those migrating within the province. The second part deals with learners who have applied for registration but were rejected and were then placed by districts. They presently want to appeal against the district placement. The third category is for learners whose parents did not heed call to register during the advocacy campaign, they did not register and now they’ll be arriving on the first day of school looking for space,” MEC Creecy further commented.
Furthermore, MEC Creecy said operational centres at all districts and head office have been established to deal with admission matters. She said that the operational centres at district level will be mainly dealing with the third category where parents bring learners on the first day of school without having registered them. This phenomenon normally occurs in township schools and parents have been advised to go to district offices to address admission enquiries.
Issued by: Department of Education, Gauteng Provincial Government
18 January 2010
Source: Department of Education, Gauteng Provincial Government (http://www.education.gpg.gov.za/)
