Pretoria - Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga says stakeholders will use the 2017 Basic Education Sector Lekgotla to address issues that include the learner dropout rate and grade repetition.
The three-day lekgotla got underway in Pretoria on Monday.
Despite the school year generally getting off to a good start, Minister Motshekga said all role players must sustain the momentum to the end of the academic programme.
“We urge all provinces to pay particular attention on the appointment of teachers for all grades and subjects, timely procurement and delivery of Learning and Teaching Support Materials (LTSMs), infrastructure maintenance and refurbishment, water and dignified sanitation, learner transport, and dealing decisively with the nitty-gritties of admission and registration.
“It is clear that if we have to further improve the outputs of the schooling system, we will have to continue to improve the fundamental quality of learning and teaching well before Grade 12.
“Research shows that the major root cause of dropping out of school towards the end of secondary school are weak learning foundations,” the Minister said.
The top priority is to improve the quality of learning and teaching in the early grades to ensure that learners are equipped with the skills needed to cope with the curriculum requirements of the higher grades.
“We are therefore increasingly prioritising interventions and policies that target improved quality of learning and teaching, and implementing accountability systems to ensure that outcomes are achieved.
“We must accelerate progress in the implementation of the National Strategy for Learner Attainment (NSLA),” said the Minister.
The NSLA aims to address all issues that contribute to underperformance in the system and includes a reporting tool that informs provincial and district activities and programmes to improve overall learner performance in line with Action Plan to 2019: Toward Schooling 2030.
Improving key subjects
Minister Motshekga said more must be done to address low participation rates and poor learner outcomes in Mathematics, Physical Science and Languages.
“We must redouble our efforts to ensure that our learners have age-appropriate reading and numeracy skills… That said, we must not fall into the trap of making Mathematics the be-all and end-all of our education system.” - SAnews.gov.za
