The plight of grade 11 pupils who failed last year is the biggest challenge facing education in South Africa in 2007, the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) said on Wednesday.
Sadtu president Willie Madisha told a media conference in Johannesburg the Department of Education will have to give clear directions on how to deal with grade 11s who failed.
These pupils present a unique problem because a new curriculum is being introduced for grade 11 this year.
”With the introduction of the new curriculum for the new grade 11s, the repeaters cannot simply rewrite on the old curriculum, since this will no longer prepare them for grade 12,” Madisha said.
This year is the last that matric will be written using the old curriculum.
”What do we do? Does the school run two parallel grade 11 groups — for new grade 11s and for repeaters who will need a lot of support to convert to the new curriculum?” Madisha asked.
He said the union last year asked the department for clarity on the status of grade 11s who failed, but was ignored.
”This is a major challenge for learners and educators. We will need clear direction and a lot of support and training from the Department of Education,” he said.
Teachers have also not been properly trained to deal with the new curriculum.
Sadtu vice-president Tseli Dipholo said union officials will visit schools across the country to do research on the training of teachers for the new curriculum, as well as to see how schools deal with grade 11s who failed.
Another challenge facing education in the country, Sadtu said, is access to education.
”We need to ensure that no child is excluded from school.”
Madisha said overcrowding, late registration and illegal exclusions are problems that keep children from their rightful education.
In Gauteng, the provision of transport for pupils is also bound to be a problem in view of bus companies refusing to ferry children last year, claiming they had not been paid by the department.
The non-delivery of learner-support materials, especially for the new curriculum, will also be a problem, Madisha said.
”As Sadtu we have instructed our structures to monitor this matter very closely.
”The poor resourcing of township and rural schools is having secondary effects, as parents take their children to the suburban schools to access the resources of the more privileged schools.”
The union expressed concern over violence and anti-social behaviour at schools, which emerged as a major problem last year.
Madisha said he is not convinced that the national department has developed strategies to combat the problem. Schools need to be provided with, as a minimum, fences, gates, locks and security guards.
Teachers, departments, parents, school managers, the community and pupils have to be involved in a campaign to combat antisocial behaviour. The underlying problems leading to violence and anti-social behaviour have to be researched.
Sadtu welcomed the fact that a threat to close underperforming schools has been retracted.
”Closing schools, or dismissing and redeploying principals, is not practical given the shortage of teachers and classrooms.
”It is also no substitute for the sustained support and development work required to improve the quality of education in our schools.”
Madisha said poor performing schools presented a dual challenge: firstly, how to support poorly performing schools and secondly, how to hold departments of education accountable for providing support and resources to the schools. — Sapa