MEC admits poor education quality
Principals told solutions could include hi-tech interactive teaching methods
AT LEAST 60% of all high schools in the Eastern Cape are under-performing, according to Education MEC Mandla Makupula, who addressed about 500 principals from such schools yesterday.
Makupula said at Coega’s Vulindlela Village that to address problems in high schools one had to tackle the problems in primary schools.
“Of the 924 high schools in the Eastern Cape, 560 carry the majority of our learners, with most of them living in rural and urban areas, as well as farming communities,” he said.
“Our pupils need proper education if they are to succeed in life and the lack of this in some of these areas has led to performance figures in these schools being rather low.”
The meeting with principals was held just days after a report issued by the University of Stellenbosch and commissioned by the government found that 60% of Grade 4 pupils had not learnt to read in any language by the time they completed the grade.
The report also found that at least 53% of pupils did not do the bare minimum of work prescribed for the curriculum.
In the Eastern Cape, only 27% of pupils completed the work.
Makupula said while the ultimate objective was to improve the pass rate of Grade 12, that could not happen unless the quality of education and the level of pupils coming from the intermediate phase improved.
The problems began in the foundation phase as children were taught in their mother tongue, meaning they started to experience difficulties in the next phase because the language medium was English and they could not cope.
On getting more teachers into classrooms, Makupula said 1 587 of 1 665 posts had been made available to the province.
But he veered away from saying what was being done in Port Elizabeth’s northern areas.
One difficulty, however, was language as it was rare to find teachers who could teach mathematics and science in Afrikaans.
“But many of the ‘coloured schools’ are changing, because children from the township and rural schools are now going to these schools in search of better education,” Makupula said.
He also spoke of a telematic system to bring technology into classrooms.
This would enable pupils to watch lessons conducted by tutors at Stellenbosch University.
Pupils would then be able to send an SMS to the tutor with questions.
Makupula also spoke of a new admissions method which would ensure that pupils at non-fee schools would be admitted to only one school and funds provided there as there were too many cases of pupils being enrolled at two or three different schools.
Stutterheim’s Jongile Nompondo High principal Siziba Fezile said the engagement had been fruitful and he hoped the promises made were fulfilled.
Mount Frere’s Old White Senior Secondary principal Mtatheko Vellem said if issues of staff shortages and pupil motivation were addressed, he was sure the quality of pupils’ performances could improve.
