Provincial Education Summit
The Northern Cape Department of Education is ready to host the Provincial Education Summit from 13-15 June 2016 at the Mittah Seperere Convention Centre in Kimberley. We are expecting 420 high ranking delegates within Government and the Education sector to attend the Summit. The Summit will focus amongst other on the following:
Improved quality of teaching and learning through development, supply and effective utilisation of teachers
The quality of the South African education system depends on the expertise (understanding of the curriculum, content knowledge and teaching skills) and commitment of its teachers.
The NDP identifies a four-pronged strategy to ensure an adequate number of dedicated, skilled teachers:
Produce, through the university and other systems, more and better qualified teachers;
Develop in-service training strategies and support systems that will continually develop the skills of teachers;
Cooperate with professional bodies and teacher unions to enhance member expertise and commitment and;
Ensure an appropriate pay structure which also rewards good teachers.
Improved the quality of teaching and learning through provision of Infrastructure and learning materials
School infrastructure is important in supporting education and to create an atmosphere for learning. Both hard (e.g. school buildings, desks, sanitation) and soft (e.g. books, computers) infrastructure are important in providing enabling conditions for learning. Reading material is essential for increasing learning directly; especially quality reading material if used effectively can enhance the effectiveness of teachers in the classroom along with effective ICT infrastructure.
Regular annual national assessments (ANA) to track improvements in the quality of teaching and learning
A key problem in the past has been insufficient measurement of the quality of teaching and learning below Grade 12. In 2011 Annual National Assessments (ANA) were introduced in Grades 3 and 6 and in 2012 Grade 9 was included. The Universal ANA (conducted in all schools in the country) is primarily focused on providing information to teachers, parents and schools for use in improving learning and teaching practices. Verification ANA (conducted only in a sample of schools) has a more rigorous methodology (such as external marking of papers and supervision) in order to assess the quality of the Universal ANA and to allow for reliable comparisons between sub-systems and over time.
ANA is critical to ensure the necessary feedback to stakeholders on their inputs and how they can be improved. A key focus over the MTSF is to improve the quality and utilisation of ANA (through increased analysis and feedback about performance and incorporating findings in improvement and school development plans and also into teacher training strategies). ANA must be used to identify schools needing support and the type of support needed.
Improved Grade R and planning for extension of Early Childhood Development (ECD)
There is substantial evidence that expanding access to ECD and Grade R can improve life chances and school system performance through enhancing school readiness. South Africa has significantly expanded access to Grade R over the last decade. On the basis of survey data it is estimated that by 2013, 95% of grade 1 learners had attended formal grade R. Over the MTEF the challenge is to ensure that there are no pockets of inadequate access and to increase the quality of ECD, which is inadequate in many cases. In addition to increasing the quantity and quality of inputs it is also important that a mechanism be introduced to assess the impact of Grade R on school readiness and any change over time, and the underlying factors. Planning for the introduction of an extra year of ECD, led by the Department of Social Development, should also be completed over the MTEF.
Partnerships for a Strong Education System
The Quality Learning Teaching Campaign (QLTC) remains the backbone for the involvement of other stakeholders such as teacher unions; School Governing Bodies (SGBs); the Business Sector and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in ensuring that education remains a societal responsibility. This structure will be enhanced by the Institutional Management and Governance Development (IMDG) unit which is now fully staffed and has representatives at district level.
In no uncertain terms, we are confident about the outcome of this Summit in shaping and improving the education system in the Northern Cape. Education remains an apex priority for our Government and we are ensuring that we make a meaningful impact to the lives of our people through Education. Indeed every child matters and every child must succeed, and we will not stop until every learner, child, youth and adult has the opportunity to go to school, learn and contribute to society.
End.