MEC meets with Principals

 

The MEC for Education, Ms Martha Bartlett as part of her roadshow to meet with all staff of the Department of Education, the Principals, Educators and learners across the Province,she convened a meeting recently with the High School Principals of the Frances Baard District to ensure that all schools provide quality education and excel in being centres of excellence.

 

This engagement took place at the Diamantveld High School in Kimberley as she path the way forward for all principals being responsible for the management of their respective schools.

 

In her address  she indicated that the Department of Education has committed itself to the provision of quality learning and teaching at all our schools across the Province. This ideal that we strive for on a daily basis, are sometimes jeopardised by the way schools are managed.

 

As the primary custodians and accountable officers for our schools, we depend on you as the principals to give leadership, guidance and support to your educators as well as learners as we are working towards the ideal of quality education in all our schools.

 

Education is fundamental to the future of every learner, and therefore we must ensure that children are in class on time and do their homework. Educators must be well prepared for their lessons and provide continuous support to learners in order to improve learner performance.

 

Teaching is a valued profession and it is expected of all teachers to deliver and contribute to the quality of education in their respective classrooms. Principals and Educators is our machinery at school level and in every community to ensure a better future for all learners through Education.

 

Education is a societal matter that requires our collective responsibility as educators, communities and learners. The involvement of parents and the communities are therefore critical and have proven positive in terms of school performance. The optimal function of SGB’s cannot be emphasised in the realisation that every school and every child is a national asset.

 

All our schools in the Province should be a place of safety and a second home for educators and learners. This simply means that it is your job as principals to ensure that you create a conducive environment for quality learning and teaching in your school. You should instil a culture at your school, off wanting to attend school. This will address absenteeism and early school drop outs.

 

I also want to take this opportunity to condemn all forms of vandalism, bullying and incidents related to gangsterism on our schools premises. All schools should have the necessary plans and programmes in place to prevent these isolated incidents. I want you to convey a stern warning to learners whom are guilty of these inappropriate behaviours on our school premises. Every child has the right to basic education, and we cannot allow another learner to deprive them of this right.

 

The Department, together with all our stakeholders will be embarking on a number of campaigns aimed at addressing the social challenges at our schools. If we sought to address these challenges at our school, we need to have an integrated approach with all educators, learners as the community at large. It has proven in the past that these challenges have a detrimental effect on learner and school performance.

 

We have the opportunity to start from today to implement the corrective action required to instil discipline in our schools. This year, all schools and principals will be closely monitored in terms of learner performance to ensure that there is no repetition of last year’s performance. I want to emphasize that Principles will be held accountable in cases where school performance is unacceptably low.

 

We have mammoth task ahead of us in ensuring that we improve on last year’s performance and unlocking the future of many learners in the Province. Learners are depending on us to provide them with the necessary support and guidance towards the realisation of their dreams. We dare not fail the people of our Province, especially our learners as we seek to improve their lives through education.

 

Let us commit ourselves here today towards the quality of learning and teaching in every school and:

 

End.