Pretoria - Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga says she is processing the jobs-for-cash report and will release it on 6 May.
The Minister said this when she addressed the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education on a wide range of issues raised by parliamentarians.
Once the report is released publicly, the Portfolio Committee will get a detailed briefing and will discuss the report in the Education Portfolio Committee.
“The Members of Parliament welcomed the Minister's commitment to bringing the report to Parliament and that she has agreed to table the report in its original format,” the Department of Basic Education said in a statement.
The Minister reported to the committee on school evaluations, the licensing of teachers and the criteria for the appointment of National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination markers, among others.
Criteria for markers
The department said it is committed to ensuring that the most competent educators are appointed for the marking process.
“The competency test is only but one measure to improve the quality of marking,” said the department. Each province has stringent criteria on the appointment of markers and it was noted that the quality of markers has improved to such a degree that Umalusi commended the department for the improvements in the quality of markers.”
School evaluations
The department uses the National Education Evaluation and Development Unit (NEEDU) to assist in the creation of a quality basic education system. The unit focuses on the state of teaching and learning in classrooms and on the monitoring, administration and support functions at school, provincial and national levels.
NEEDU is being established as an independent government component, and will be known as the Office of Standards and Compliance for Basic Education (OSCBE). This means that the unit will monitor and inspect how the system as a whole complies with certain standards.
“…[The] OSCBE has more space to be objective in its judgements concerning the quality of teaching and learning and adherence to regulatory norms on the part of educators and institutions. Reports of such an independent OSCBE will be more credible, both to the general public and to management structures within the system,” said the department.
Licensing of teachers
The department said the committee welcomed its report on the process towards the professionalisation of teaching through the licensing of teachers.
The department said it is working with the South African Council for Educators (SACE) to professionalise teaching through standard setting and the strengthening of the induction of new teachers.
“The proposal is to provide newly qualified teachers with provisional registration and to require them to meet teacher professional standards upon completion of an introductory three-year programme in order to obtain full registration,” said the department. – SAnews.gov.za
