The provincial Democratic Alliance is unhappy about the proposed changes to the Outcomes Based Education (OBE) curriculum.
The provincial Democratic Alliance is unhappy about the proposed changes to the Outcomes Based Education (OBE) curriculum.
“The siren is sounding loud and clear. We need to bring back competent school inspectors and subject advisors back into the classrooms,” said the DA shortly after the proposed changes were announcement.
The party pointed out that the main reason that Grades 3, 6 and 9 pupils in the Eastern Cape failed certain subjects in their midyear exams was due to the ineffectiveness of the Provincial Education Department.
Poor teaching and lack of assistance from departmental officials in terms of management, inadequate supply of learner teacher support material and the overcrowding of classes all play a major role in the high failure rate.
Currently there is only one subject advisor for every 140 schools in the Eastern Cape and the DA argues that therefore a majority of schools in the province are not being assisted.
The party argues that even the current subject advisors are not wellequipped to provide effective
guidance to teachers due to the neglect of advisory services in the province.
The provincial Educational Spokesperson for DA, Edmund van Vuuren says the OBE changes, which include doing away with the continuous task assessments (CTAs) for Grade 9s, are a good thing but believes that educators are not ready for it.
Van Vuuren had been the principal at Hillside Secondary School in Port Elizabeth for a period of 19 years before he was appointed to the DA provincial legislature last year.
“It comes back to the in service training of the teachers. Educators need to be prepared for the changes, at least a three-year course is required, rather than what would take only three weeks,” said Van Vuuren.
He also said that the government needs to work towards bridging the gap between former Model C and public schools, 80% of which are seriously lacking enough teachers, resources and classrooms.
The national education department is expected to initiate a project that will provide resource support for over six million learners and approximately 180 000 teachers in nearly 20 000 schools.
But Van Vuuren disapproves, saying: “For the last 10 to 12 years, four or more students have been sharing a single textbook and if a learner does not have textbooks then how are they supposed to learn?
The government should ensure that the textbooks reach all learners in the province.” The DA would like to see the national government prioritising education by ensuring that every school is equipped with material and manpower and that competent officials are appointed to ensure that education takes its rightful place in society.
