Master of Ceremonies
Unisa Vice-Chancellor, Prof Mandla Makhanya
Unisa College of Education Executive Dean, Prof Dzvimbo
Director: School of Teacher Education, Dr Mabunda
Chair of Depart of Curriculum Studies, Dr Van den Berg
Delegates and distinguished guests,
Good morning
First I must thank the leadership and community of the University of South Africa (Unisa) for convening and inviting us to the timely and important Curriculum Reform and Transformation Conference.
It is timely as it unfolds on the eve of South Africa’s celebrations of twenty years of democracy, in 2014. It is the right time to reflect on our experiences of developments in South Africa regarding curriculum reform and transformation, since the advent of democracy.
This is an important conversation as it allows us to share and compare notes with major stakeholders and partners in education transformation. It was indeed thoughtful of Unisa to have invited researchers, scholars, practitioners, education leaders, policymakers, learners, students, parents and other key stakeholders.
It’s an honour for me to open this conference officially. Given its theme, “Curriculum Reform and Transformation,” it is relevant to our core mandate as educators and education authorities.
I’m certain we’ve honoured Unisa’s invitation precisely because we all take education to be among key levers for improving the quality of life of the people. We can agree education has a fundamental role to play in driving personal, social, cultural and economic development in various societies.
It should therefore be prioritised as Unisa has done if we’re to build a prosperous, inclusive, caring and responsive society that’s alive to the challenges of the 21st century.
As we’ve said before, education is a societal issue.
We will achieve our transformation and development goals to the extent that we mobilise all role-players and broader society to play their rightful role in education, including academia, research institutions, community organisations, organised labour, business and ourselves in government.
We think over the last 19 years the schooling system has come to appreciate and handle better the challenges facing us as a nation. It has seen tremendous changes, and for the better. Prior to 1994, South Africa had an extremely divided education system with different curricula for different communities.
With the advent of democracy, the people’s government had a task to restructure and rebuild the system so to redress inequalities of the past in keeping with the new Constitution of 1996 and the White Paper on Transformation in Education.
We had a task then to transform and democratise education in accordance with the values of human dignity, equality, human rights and freedom, non-racism and non-sexism. This we had to do to protect and promote the constitutional rights to education for all.
As you know, the reorganisation of the education system in the mid to late 90s also led to major changes in the curriculum including the replacement of Report 550 with the National Curriculum Statement.
You’d know there were challenges encountered including during the first phase of implementation in the General Education and Training Band. This led to the revision and subsequent implementation of the Revised National Curriculum Statement Grades R-9 in 2002. The National Curriculum Statement 10-12 was implemented for the first time in Grade 10 in 2006 in the Further Education and Training phase.
Given concerns raised regarding the new curriculum, in 2009, the then Minister of Education, Mrs Naledi Pandor, appointed a task-team to investigate curriculum implementation in schools.
That task-team, among other things, was to look at challenges and pressure points in the implementation of the curriculum in Grades R-12 and how to address them.
After an elaborate investigation that covered all the nine provinces, the task-team then articulated far-reaching recommendations that really advanced our work in the sector.
This task-team called, inter alia, for the:
- Development of a single national curriculum
- Rationalisation of the National Curriculum Statement policy documents into a single National Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement
- Development of special guidelines for learners with special education needs aligned to the CAPS, and
- Rationalisation of the three levels of planning (three-year phase planning, year planning or work schedule and lesson planning.)
To build on this work, in 2010 I set up a Ministerial Project Committee to lead the streamlining and strengthening of the National Curriculum Statement from Grades R-12. The Committee appointed teams of writers in all the subjects and by September 2010, CAPS for all the subjects and grades had been published for public comment. We duly incorporated the comments into the current CAPS of the different subjects.
In September 2011, we gazetted the single National Curriculum Statement Grades R-12, replacing the Revised National Curriculum Statement Grades R-9 and National Curriculum Statement Grades 10-12.
Let’s refresh our minds. The National Curriculum Statement Grades R-12 consists of the following policy documents:
- Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) for each subject in each phase
- The National Policy Pertaining to Programme and Promotion Requirements of the National Curriculum Statement Grades R-12, and
- The National Protocol for Assessment.
This was a major achievement for education. What should be noted though is that the revised CAPS did not replace the National Curriculum Statement. They were developed specifically to strengthen the National Curriculum Statement.
We’ve impacted also on the adult population. Through Kha Ri Gude, AET and matric rewrite programmes, more adult South Africans have become more educated over time.
We’ll continue improving access to quality early childhood development and are confident that we will achieve the Millennium Development Goals on primary education and full enrolment in Grade R, ahead of the 2015 review.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We have our challenges and are systematically addressing them. I have reiterated these over time including curriculum implementation and coverage. Another priority area is to train and provide teachers to all districts and schools.
Our department has initiated programmes to address this matter that is key to ensuring that there is a quality teacher in every class, teaching at least seven hours every school day.
This involves the training of new teachers and improving skills of teachers already in the system.
The Funza Lushaka bursary programme is now in its seventh year since its inception and currently supports approximately 14 000 student teachers in identified priority areas. We’re working closely with the Department of Higher Education and Training on this matter of teacher development.
You will agree with me that success depends on partnerships and commitment of all parties, more especially of faculties of education in this regard.
There is value in higher education institutions, especially faculties of education, playing a prominent role in ensuring that the teachers we produce have potential to drive our collective vision of a transformed and transforming education system.
Programme Director,
The recent curriculum revision in South Africa was also accompanied by a number of interventions aimed at improving learning outcomes. There is clear evidence of progress.
Much work has been done to bring stability in the system. Many schools are fairly functional and those that are struggling are receiving more support from national, provinces and districts. Moving from recent results in national exams, it is quite clear that as a system we are on an upward path. We have weathered the storm and have turned the titanic around.
The August Cabinet Lekgotla was satisfied with the extent to which we have stabilised the National Senior Certificate exams and progressively improved pass rates up to 73.9% in 2012.
South Africa has improved in the results of both the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2011 and Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS).
The National Department has released a National Reading Programme for Grades R to 12 further to strengthen reading and literacy outcomes at classroom and school level.
The public education system is making serious inroads to improve provision and utilisation of Learner Teacher Support Material with coverage estimated at 80% in 2012 from 45% in 2007.
We have provided 114 million workbooks to all learners in Grades R to 9. We will continue to promote utilisation of this valuable resource.
To strengthen further the curriculum and sustain achievements we’re making in education, we’re ready for the incremental introduction of African languages in schools.
We’ve planned for this, consulted broadly and, as agreed with education MECs, we will start with a pilot in 2014 in Grade R & 1 with 10 schools in each of the 86 education districts.
We’re strengthening also the teaching of English as a First Additional Language.
The importance of prioritising the teaching and development of home languages has been emphasised at the 10th International Language and Development Conference that began on Tuesday in Cape Town.
I’m glad this Unisa conference will also look at the matter of ICT and using technology as an enabler in the classroom.
The advancement in technology and the need to prepare school-children for the challenges of the 21st century have also played a primary role in influencing curriculum changes.
Evidence from around the world points to the ability of ICTs to enrich the entire curriculum through access to knowledge beyond what teachers and textbooks can provide, and through computer-based tools that make the learning process more exciting and enjoyable. Our work in this area includes setting up the Thutong Portal to facilitate access among other things to key curriculum documents.
While not all schools have access to the internet, virtually all district offices do. This means that, at the very least, all district officials responsible for training and supporting school staff can access Thutong.
Our schools have also benefitted from the partnerships we have entered into with private sector companies on ICT.
We trust that these efforts will be enriched also by the work of the National Education Collaboration Framework that we had launched in July 2013 to promote partnerships in improving schools and schooling in South Africa.
To round-off, changes since 1994 were informed chiefly by the need to implement a curriculum that would support social and economic transformation.
They were driven by the imperative to redress inequalities of the past as required by the South African Schools Act of 1996.
We needed an education system and a single national curriculum that would assist in building a united, democratic, non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous society.
Going-forward, we need to anticipate changes and challenges young people will face in the future and take account of advances being made in education through continuous curricula reviews and strengthening.
Prof Makhanya,
We are indebted as a nation to South African universities for the manner in which they have responded progressively and proactively to the national imperative to undo the legacy of apartheid and gutter education – bantu education.
We’ve noted the debate on the requirements for passing NSC exams and how these were handled in the public discourse. As you know we have a task-team in place to investigate this matter so that we can find finality on it.
Esteemed delegates,
In closing, I thank Unisa for the kind invitation and opportunity to engage with you today.
I declare this conference officially opened and wish you all the best.
I thank you!
