Programme director
Honorable MECs present here this evening
Our newly appointed Director-General of the province Mme Rockman
Head of Department Mr Malope
Senior Management of the department
Most importantly our 2010 district winners and 2009 National
Teaching Awards winners
Representatives from labour
Educators
Ladies and gentlemen, good evening
We are very pleased to gather here tonight to celebrate and honor the outstanding and good performance of our educators. The National Teaching Awards ceremony is an important event in the calendar of the Department of Education.
On this occasion we shower accolades to often unsung heroes and heroines who not only impart the much-needed knowledge and skills but act as vital role-models that transmit good moral values and attitudes to our children.
In the words of Basic Education Minister Ms Angie Motshekga, on this occasion “we appreciate these teachers for their boundless and selfless contribution to education and for inspiring all the children and young adults to take opportunity that open up, and not be afraid of making mistakes.”
Programme director, this year we recognise the exceptional achievements of dedicated educators just few days after the World Teachers’ Day on 5 October. On the World Teachers’ Day we issued a media statement urging all stakeholders to acknowledge and embrace our teachers.
Crucially, we also called for the restoration of teaching to the noble profession it had once been. In return for this commitment by the society, we urged teachers to reciprocate by being in class, on time and teaching. We cogently argued in a statement that education must go beyond being a concern of the department to become the concern of the society as a whole.
Together with all stakeholders we must work hard to reclaim the good image of our educators and the teaching profession – an image epitomised by the late Ms Mafihlwase Mangwegape – the 2009 Excellence in Secondary School Leadership category winner at national level. Ms Mangwegape’s untimely and tragic death early this year was a severe blow to the teaching profession and the community. We take this opportunity to pay tribute to this cadre and other 2009 Free State National Teaching Awards winners.
May be at this stage we should pause and observe a moment of silence in honor of Ms Mangwegape. May her soul rest in peace. Mme Mangwegape spirit lives. Long live the spirit of Mangwegape, Long live! To Ms Jeanette O’ Neill of Aurora Primary School, Ms Fulatha Motloung of Letotolo Primary School and Ms Malefu Mphatane of Meloding Secondary School all 2009 national winners - we also take this opportunity to once more salute you. You are indeed the source of inspiration to this noble profession. What is interesting programme director, is that these winners are all women. Malibongwe igama lamakhosikazi! Wathinta abafazi wathinta imbokodo!
In preparation for this presentation we spoke to Mme O’Neill who told us that after 35 years in the classroom she still wakes up each day with the same passion and gusto she had the first day she started. “I am motivated by my love for the kids,” she said, adding that teachers have great responsibility to lay foundation for the future of our country. “I could be teaching the next president, so what we do in the classroom today will shape the future,” she commented.
To all our previous winners and 2010 finalists we urge you to continue to inspire confidence and keep the doors of learning and culture open for our young and adult learners who are entrusted to you.
Today we honor individuals who have been nominated by their peers, SMGDs, learning facilitators and principals. With a strong sense of mission, these teachers who are the 2010 National Teaching Awards finalists have gone beyond the call of duty, expending time and energy in order to help their learner realise their potential. They shared the wisdom gained from their experiences selflessly, in order to help learner overcome personal adversities and challenges. They lead by example, serving as beacons of inspiration not only to many learners whose lives they have touched, but also to their fellow educators.
During our visit to Kenya on a fact-finding mission early this year we were impressed by high-level of commitment and dedication by the educators in that country. Of particular interest to us was the emphasis put on the creativity in the presentation of lessons.
Because of limited resources teachers are encouraged to develop their own teaching aids. This innovation together with positive attitudes and values has yielded positive results, especially in Maths and science.
This is despite limited resources and other socio-economic challenges besetting that country. Our observation also revealed that there is a direct correlation between learners’ performance and educators’ output. In Kenya there is a peer review mechanism where underperforming teachers are held accountable for their learners’ poor performance. Every primary school has a team of educators who look after the welfare of learners whose performance is fluctuating. Such learners are exposed to effective counseling and academic support through what they called academic committee.
Ladies and gentlemen, since 2009 election government has put much attention on improving the quality of schooling, particularly performance in mathematics, science, and technology and language development. This marked a shift from conventional wisdom that these subjects are reserves for the few. I think we should move towards the Kenyan model where Maths and English are compulsory subjects across all grades. Mathematics is a catalyst for technological innovation. It is the life blood of all forms of commercial activities. It is the foundation upon which all sciences and all areas of engineering depend.
We therefore remain committed to ensuring that our country produces university graduates in science, engineering and technology. That our education system produces quality outcomes with regard to the rate of high schools passes in English, Maths, Science, Technology and Accounting.
Accordingly, we have crafted an English, Mathematics, Science, Technology and Accounting Strategy (EMSTA) – a provincial master-plan that seeks to increase participation and performance of especially historically disadvantaged learners in these subjects. The strategy also aims to enhance capacity of educators to deliver quality instruction in these subjects.
Last week we launched HeyMaths Programme which is one of the projects within EMSTA strategy. Together with Sankyaa learning Ltd we are implementing this project to 105 schools for the improvement of mathematics education. This will go a long way in providing innovative platforms for curriculum delivery in mathematics and improve teaching and learning in the classroom.
Using information communication technology (ICT) medium learners can explore mathematical concepts and practice assessment tasks individually or in groups. We urge all stakeholders to work together with the department in ensuring that quality learning and teaching of Maths and Science become a reality.
Programme director, ladies and gentlemen I am aware that many educators are still subjected to difficult working conditions at schools with insufficient infrastructure, lack of facilities and resources. Educators sacrifice their own time and families to attend to learners, parents and communities after hours and over weekends. They often use their own initiatives and money to provide resources that are not provided by the department and continuously produce excellent results despite these challenges.
Educators in rural areas are mostly exposed to multi-grade teaching and have diverse groups of learners in their classes. Often we are surprised by the good results provided by hardworking teachers in these schools especially where the learners are from the poor and downtrodden families.
Since May 2009, the department has advertised and filled 1 708 teaching post. A total of 1 742 temporary educators have been converted to permanent status, thus creating quality and decent work condition in the sector. To render much-needed support to schools, 88 posts for office-based educators have been advertised and we have already started to fill these vacancies this month.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to announce that we can at last implement the teacher laptop initiative, although at first on a limited scale due budgetary constraints. With an initial R7.5 million we humbly invite 4 807 educators selected on seniority per individual letters to participate in the initiative with subsidy of R130 per month in the current financial year. We will do our utmost best to increase the budget amount over the next financial years in order to spread the allocation to as many educators as possible.
The educators’ laptop initiative is intended to assist school-based educators to obtain access to and own laptops by contributing towards costs of their laptops connectivity and insurance. The initiative will assist the educators in their learning and teaching experience. We hope that many educators will take advantage of this opportunity in the interest of career advancement and for the benefit of learners. We have already posted detailed information about the laptop initiative in our website.
Working together with stakeholders, including our partners in business to make education the priority for all is indeed a reality. The department and Kagiso Trust’s Beyers Naude School Development will on November 26 sign a R180 million 5 year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The partnership will benefit about 167 schools in Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality.
The main object of the programme will be to improve learner performance in Maths, Science and English in both primary and secondary schools. The programme will provide leadership and management skills to educators, learners and SGBs to assist schools to be more efficient and effective. At the end of the five years we hope to have turned participating school in this project into the centers of quality learning and teaching.
Programme director, our position as the department is that for quality learning and teaching to happen in our schools, safety is paramount. Schools, ladies and gentlemen, should be the centres of developmental community activities. Not a war-zone, not a haven for drugs lords and child molesters. We condemn in a strongest possible term the killing of Thapelo Phokgole of Rearabetswe Secondary School in Odendaalrus by the fellow learner early this week. We also wish to convey our sincere condolences to Phokgole family for the loss of their son.
But we want to put on record that the department has put in place measures to stem the spread of violence and other criminal activities in our schools. These include the establishment of the Provincial Safety Forum consisting of various stakeholders such South African Police Service, Social Development Department, Department of Health and Department of Correctional Services. We have a comprehensive Provincial Safety Plan which proposes the linkage of about 1 000 schools to local police stations.
In March 2010 we trained about 334 intermediate, combined and secondary schools on drug testing, search and seizure procedures. The cost of the training was about R498 000. During the training each school was supplied with testing kits. In addition about 525 school safety committes were trained on school safety in 2008. The training included inter alia the development of school safety policy, code of conduct for learners, disciplinary procedures and diagnostic tool to determine scenario that can pose threat and menace to school safety.
We encourage all the schools in the province to keep the gates closed during school hours and not to let the learners leave the school premises during breaks. Members of the public entering the school premises must report to the reception.
Commendably, there have been success stories where schools have implemented safety measures. One example is Thotagauta Secondary School in Welkom, where drug abuse has been eliminated. This has yielded positive results in that the pass rate at that school has improved from 36 percent in 2008 to 80.7 percent in 2009. The 2010 grade 12 examination started on Monday, October 25. More than 28000 Free State grade 12 learners will be writing their examinations.
All districts have indicated that no serious irregularities have been reported since the commencement of examinations. We wish to express our appreciation to all department’s officials, educators, and learners for their sterling work in ensuring the smooth start of the 2010 Grade 12 examinations. We wish the Class of 2010 a good luck in the final exams and call on all stakeholders to offer their support to these learners in their quest for a better life.
Programme director with your indulgence allow me to conclude this presentation by expressing our gratitude to the organisers of this function in the province. They have done a laudable job in putting together the project of this magnitude. Tonight, ladies and gentlemen lets join hands together with renewed energy and conviction to recognise and celebrate the best of the best: our excellent and inspiring teachers.
To all the nominees - you are all victors tonight. I urge you to continue doing the commendable work in our schools and contribute towards building a better country and a prosperous South Africa.
Working together we will do more to ensure quality education for our children. On behalf of the Free State government I wish to express our special gratitude to the 2010 provincial National Teaching Awards finalists and to all educators across the province, who played the critical role in shaping the hearts and mind of our children.
I thank you.
Source: Free State Education
