N Cape schools perfecting the business of art

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Pretoria – The Department of Arts and Culture says it will place 38 arts practitioners in more than 40 arts schools in the Northern Cape in the 2016/17 financial year as part of the Artists in Schools programme.

“The programme’s main objective is to respond to capacity constraints that are prevalent with regard to the implementation of the Creative Arts subject within the framework of the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) in public schools,” Arts and Culture Deputy Minister Rejoice Mabudafhasi said on Tuesday in Springbok.

The Deputy Minister was speaking at the launch of the Heritage in Schools and Capacity Building Programme, which is spearheaded by one of the Northern Cape province’s dynamic youth organisations, Pride of Ubuntu.

Deputy Minister Mabudafhasi said through the programme, arts practitioners across all cultural and creative spectrums are recruited and provided with the necessary training to be able to assist subject teachers to impart knowledge to the learners, particularly at General Education and Training phase.

The department has supported the implementation of the Artists in Schools programme in the province since 2014/15.

“[Pride of Ubuntu], together with its partners, seeks to collaborate with government… in promoting the culture of reading and writing, as well teaching South Africa’s national and provincial symbols, mainly the National Anthem, National Flag and the African Union Anthem in all the primary schools in all the five districts of the province,” Deputy Minister Rejoice Mabudafhasi said.

She said the programme will tackle the many challenges that affect South Africa’s youth in the education system, including a lack of interest in reading, a lack of knowledge of the country’s heritage, national identity and the rising lack of interest in education. 

“Our youth, who are the future custodians of our country with its heritage, must be taught about our symbols and Constitution at an early age to become better citizens in future,” Deputy Minister Rejoice Mabudafhasi.

She said this initiative will further solidify government’s current interventions that are being implemented in the province, through the Departmental Schools Based Arts Education programme.

The programme includes the ‘National Identity - Flag in Every School’ campaign and the Artists in Schools programme.

“To date, a total number of 25 720 schools in all the nine provinces have benefitted from the intervention since inception,” Deputy Minister Rejoice Mabudafhasi said. – SAnews.gov.za