Findings of school monitoring survey to be released

Sunday, April 7, 2019

The Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga is expected to release the findings of the 2017 School Monitoring Survey which reflects on progress made in terms of service delivery in the country’s public schools.

The national survey was commissioned in 2017 by the Department of Basic Education to measure the progress of public ordinary schools towards achieving the key goals and indicators set out in the Action Plan 2019, as well as the Medium Term Strategic Framework 2014-2019.

“The 2017 School Monitoring Survey therefore allows the department to both reflect on the progress made in terms of service delivery, as well as focus on the areas which will require further support.

“Where possible the survey went beyond measuring the basic provisioning of education resources but attempted to measure if these were accessed by schools, in working condition and being put to effective use,” said the department.

The survey focused on 13 Indicators, such as the average number of hours per year that teachers spend on professional development activities; the percentage of teachers absent from school on an average day; the percentage of learners, per grade and subject, with access to the required textbooks and workbooks for the entire school year and the percentage of schools where the School Governing Body (SGB) meets the minimum criteria of effectiveness, among others.

“In assessing how far these goals and indicators are being met, the School Monitoring Survey (SMS) 2017 builds on the SMS 2011, allowing the department to track delivery progress over this period, with the key objective of fulfilling the department’s vision for schooling in 2030,” said the department.

The findings of the survey will be released in Pretoria on Monday. – SAnews.gov.za