No problems were reported on the first day of the school year on Wednesday, education authorities said.
National education department officials visited various schools on Wednesday morning, as pupils began their new school year.
Education Minister Angie Motshekga’s spokesperson, Hope Mokgatlhe, said no problems had been reported but the minister was still waiting for a full report.
Next week, Motshekga would start visiting coastal schools. Mpumalanga was also on the list for January.
Deputy Minister Enver Surty visited schools in Tembisa on Wednesday.
He said that the school visits were “excellent”. He said the Sedibeng Primary School was well organised with pupils and teachers arriving on time.
“The school is very competent and there has been a significant improvement within the school.”
The deputy minister helped the school to distribute workbooks to the new grade ones and said they were “very excited” when they received them.
Surty also visited Inqayizivele Secondary School in Tembisa where he said the discipline was very good and he had seen significant improvement in the school.
This was because of the support the school was getting from the district, he said.
No hiccups
No immediate hiccups were reported on the first day of school for thousands of Free State pupils, provincial education spokesperson Howard Ndaba said on Wednesday.
“I have visited schools in Qwaqwa and for now we received no negative report and everything seems to have run smoothly at schools.”
Ndaba said Free State ministers, members of the provincial legislature, local government mayors and senior departmental officials visited schools across the province to monitor the readiness for teaching and learning for 2011.
The same process would be repeated on Thursday.
Ndaba said all the school districts must report back on the “readiness of schools” by Friday and a report would be ready on Monday. In the meantime, officials deployed to the various schools had to help and try resolve “red flag” issues immediately.
The North West government said it had been a good start to the new school year in the province. Minister Edna Molewa visited Phatisma Secondary School and Lillian Lehtla special school in Rustenburg to “assess their needs”, her spokesperson, Mandla Mathebula, said.
Molewa said both schools had a good first day.
Largely positive reports
In a message to grade one pupils starting their first day of school, the Democratic Alliance said educators and politicians had to do their “best to ensure that you [grade one pupils] enjoy a first-class academic experience”. The DA would make sure that the “Zuma administration” provided this and that there was support from teachers and parents, DA MP Donald Smiles said.
Smiles said the DA heard largely positive reports concerning the start of the school year with only a few problems that needed to be addressed.
DA spokesperson for Gauteng education Khume Ramulifho visited schools in Soweto and Alexandra to assess their progress on the first day of school on Wednesday. Alexandra High School had failed to start with lessons on day one with the principal only arriving after 10am and the situation in Soweto was no better with pupils roaming the streets in their uniforms, Ramulifho said.
The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union on Wednesday said its members were “fully prepared” to do their work.
The union said it intended to monitor the implementation of school policies, in particular the policy on inclusive education.
The ANC Women’s League in a statement wished all pupils “good luck” as they began the new school year.
It urged pupils to work hard from the beginning of the year. — Sapa