Education ministry wants to get foundation right

The government will be furnished with the first comprehensive presentation on the state of teaching in the lower grades by the end of January. According to the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture permanent secretary, Sanet Steenkamp, the presentation will give the ministry insight into the junior primary pass rate. This presentation will be compiled from a number of reports submitted by regional school principals to the head office by today. According to Steenkamp some reports have already been compiled and submitted, as officials were not allowed to go on leave if it was not done. The information is expected to be analysed and reviewed by the Programmes and Quality Assurance directorate in the education ministry. Steenkamp says this will allow the government an opportunity to get the “foundation right”. “Experience has taught us that repetition is very costly. This report will enable us to calculate the survival rate of learners. In other words, to see how many children enrol in grade one reach grade 8 or even grade 12,” said Steenkamp. The report will also serve as planning tool and give the government a sense of where resources are most needed. According to Steenkamp the biggest chunk of the education budget goes into primary education, which is where the most learners are. However she emphasised that to make sure the money is well spent the government needs to investigate the challenges that hamper quality teaching. Last month Minister Katrina Hanse-Himarwa laid bare the state of the education sector, which included a dire shortage of qualified teachers in the rural areas. According to Hanse-Himarwa the government would need more money to advertise teaching positions, which in desperation is also done outside the country. JEMIMA BEUKES