In the confusion of the process of transforming the school curriculum, we are inclined to overlook what we have achieved since 1994. It is worth remembering where we have come from and where we are headed as we await the draft National Curriculum Statement at the end of this month.
The timeline that on the right highlights the major milestones of curriculum transformation in the 1990s, as well as those we can anticipate in the future.
These timeframes suggest that it will effectively take 10 years – 1998 to 2008 – to transform the school curriculum in the General Education and Training (GET) band – grades R to 9. In the life of a country, this is a very short time, especially if the final product is indeed the progressive, high knowledge and high skills curriculum that the National Curriculum Statement promises to be.
For those teachers who have lived through this process and are feeling slightly battered by all the changes and uncertainties, this may be cold comfort. But I believe that it does help to know what you can anticipate. The National Curriculum Statement will definitely make C2005 more implementable. It will ease the burden that is currently placed on you by C2005 in its existing form.
While curriculum policy and implementation for the GET band are in the process of being clarified and strengthened, there appears to be a distinct lack of clarity regarding the Further Education and Training (FET) band – grades 10 to 12.
Many people are asking what impact the streamlining of C2005 and the development of the National Curriculum Statement is likely to have on the FET band. Is there still going to be an exit examination at the end of GET that will provide learners with a GET Certificate? If so, in what year will this examination be administered for the first time?
How will extending the timeframe for the implementation of GET until 2008 impact on FET? Will implementation of FET still begin, as originally envisaged, in 2003? Or will FET build on the revised, streamlined C2005 and only begin to be implemented formally in 2009?
To forge ahead with FET in 2003 is likely to result in repeating some of the mistakes we made in trying to implement C2005 too quickly. On the other hand, waiting until 2009 is also problematic. Perhaps the answer would be to steer a middle course: why not begin implementing the FET band in a pilot form in 2004 or 2005, iron out the inevitable teething problems and commence formal implementation in 2009?
Educational Reform Timeline (1953 – 1994) Bantu Education 1953 and Christian National Education 1967)
1995 – National Education and Training Forum (NETF) prepared the way for the development of a core interim syllabus and removed content of an offensive and inaccurate nature from the school curriculum
1996 -Constitution of the Republic of South Africa
South African Schools’ Act established one national education system and outlined the powers of the national department and the provinces; it also established SGBs and gave them power to determine aspects of the curriculum at school level
1996/1997 The process of designing C2005
1997 -C2005 became national policy for all schools
Piloting of C2005 in grade 1
1998 – Implementation of C2005 in grade 1
1999 -Implementation of C2005 in grade 2
Piloting of C2005 in grade 7
2000 – Implementation of C2005 in grade 3 and grade 7
The Review of C2005
Piloting of C2005 in grades 4 and 8
2001 – Implementation of C2005 in its existing form in grades 4 and 8
Development of the National Curriculum Statement, i.e. a revised, streamlined version of C2005 specifying learning outcomes and assessment standards on a grade-by-grade basis
2002 – Implementation of C2005 in its existing form in grade 5 and 9
Training of teachers in the National Curriculum Statement
Development of textbooks and other learning support materials based on the National Curriculum Statement
2003 – Implementation of C2005 in its existing form in grade 6
Training of teachers in the National Curriculum Statement
Development of textbooks and other learning support materials based on the National Curriculum Statement
2004 – Proposed implementation of the National Curriculum Statement in the Foundation Phase (grades R – 3)
Ongoing training of teachers and development of learning support materials based on the National Curriculum Statement
2005 – Proposed implementation of the National Curriculum Statement in the Intermediate Phase (grades 4 – 6)
Ongoing training of teachers and development of learning support materials based on the National Curriculum Statement
2006 – Proposed implementation of the National Curriculum Statement in grade 7
Ongoing training of teachers and development of learning support materials based on the National Curriculum Statement
2007 – Proposed implementation of the National Curriculum Statement in grade 8
Ongoing training of teachers and development of learning support materials based on the National Curriculum Statement
2008 – Proposed implementation of the National Curriculum Statement in grade 9
Ongoing training of teachers and development of learning support materials based on the National Curriculum Statement
2009 – Possible review of the National Curriculum Statement?
– The Teacher/M&G Media, Johannesburg, July 2001.