School principals, school governing bodies (SGB) and representative councils of learners (RCL) have signed ‘contracts” with the provincial department of education, undertaking to improve the achievement of grade 10, 11 and 12 learners.
Persistent failure to meet these contractual obligations could, in severe cases, lead to the redeployment or even dismissal of principals, according to the Western Cape department of education (WCDE)
The department’s learner attainment strategy entails the use of a standard template by all schools to set targets for grade 12 matriculation endorsement, the number of passes in matric, and for the number of learners passing mathematics and science on higher and standard grade from grade 10 upwards.
The target-setting template must be signed by the principal, the chairs of the SGB and the RCL as well as the circuit manager.
As part of the strategy, the department expects their officials to support schools. As a result, the performance agreements of departmental managers are being reviewed to ensure they provide adequate support to schools.
Gert Witbooi, spokesperson of the department, said that education MEC Cameron Dugmore believed officials must be held accountable for the achievement of the targets. Officials must therefore provide evidence of adequate support provided to a school in the pursuit of their targets. Witbooi said the strategy was not meant to punish schools, but to improve the overall system.
‘However, where adequate support over a particular period of time has proven to be unsuccessful, and a particular school still achieves below expectation — even with enough support, training and mentoring — clearly, action will be taken. This can range from the redeployment of principals or, in cases of incompetence or gross negligence (if proven through formal hearings), it could also lead to dismissals in severe cases,” he said.
Witbooi’s response answers questions that the Western Cape branch of the South African Principals’ Association (Sapa) raised regarding the consequences for schools which fail to meet targets.
David de Korte, spokesperson for Sapa in the Western Cape, said the target-setting was useful to get schools to discuss their goals, but it took time to complete the template and this was easier for schools to do if they had the resources and time available.
The department said that school communities will be asked later in the year to set targets to reduce the numbers of drop-outs. Primary schools, for instance, will set targets for numeracy and literacy.
Each set of targets have to be accompanied by an action plan, which must indicate appropriate steps to meet the targets — such as exta lessons.
Dugmore said ‘careful target-setting requires a detailed contextual analysis of the results of the school over the past few years. As they look at their track record, schools have to try to understand their own variable performance and identify reasons for this accurately.”
‘I believe firmly that if schools make bold and public declarations of intent around academic performance and have the support of the community, then our learners in need will be made strong,” Dugmore said.