"Education is the most powerful weapon, Which you can use to change the world." It was the saying of none other than former President Nelson Mandela this month its one-and-ninth birthday celebrated. Indeed prophetic words that every South African citizen accountable to account for how our education effort for the South African nation-building to succeed.
Education lays the foundation for this project because it involves the transfer of knowledge, skills and values. Education is failing tickets and this is already an extremely disturbing picture painted daily by researchers of an education system that fails to knowledgeable and skilled citizens to deliver.
From the Foundation for Empowerment through Afrikaans side is also very concerned about the situation in education. That is why we recently launched a three-day educational leadership and management course for about fifty teachers on behalf of the trust Enkwenkwezi, a Media24 initiative facilitated. What I noticed during training, was the dedication and enthusiasm of these teachers that their winter vacation from 9h00 to 16h00 the morning afternoon sacrificed to the modules to work. These people were properly hungry for the knowledge we shared with them.
Such an experience forced a man But critical questions about the nature and extent of support offered to teachers and the role of senior education officials should play specifically for that purpose is. For the majority of teachers at ground level are prepared for their daily task with dedication and enthusiasm to tackle, how is it possible that most of our schools clay staircase in the delivery of quality teaching?
My observation during our workshops with teachers is that many of them the new curriculum properly grasped it. There is a generation of teachers from the 'old' school to overnight a mental shift to from the 'old' to the 'new'. This shift in mindset needed within the space of a few weeks of training to be effected. For the older generation remains an uphill battle, because a few weeks of training in the new curriculum totally inadequate and their often more confused and discouraged late. In contrast, the generation that is now being trained for many a principal and senior management a bright spot because after four years of study a better understanding of the new curriculum.
To the mental shift from 'old' to the 'new' to make is not insurmountable and with the right guidance and judicious management of the changes associated with teachers or the hook knot. Unfortunately we are with a chronic shortage of expert teachers at senior level to step-by-step guidance to teachers and to give high quality support services. In some provinces, especially in urban areas, this expertise on hand. These schools also have access to the Internet and resource centers where teachers can go knock for help.
There are district offices in the former homelands, rural and even urban areas are located, lacking the experience at senior level has to offer guidance, nor did the schools for which they are responsible, Internet access and well-appointed resource centers.
Due to the lack of good support systems, perform most of our nation's schools an uphill struggle for quality education for our children to offer. This statement motivates me the following illustration:
On the input side, the governing body, principal and teachers have a crucial role in the implementation of the curriculum and the choice of language of instruction. It is contained in the South African Schools Act and places a great responsibility on them to ensure that quality education does take place. And if it does not go as far as the Schools Act to such schools under curatorship place.
It's all well and good, but in practice there are other challenges that the role of the governing body, principal and teachers undermined. These challenges include more parents on governing bodies serve with inadequate education and no knowledge of school management and curriculum delivery not defective curriculum led by the principal that full-time engaged in various administrative and socio-social issues and poor teaching by teachers because of a lack of mother tongue education, expertise, thorough lesson plans, learner discipline, parental cooperation, adequate resources and effective school administration.
These challenges are the Achilles heel of South African education and we must find solutions soon. In my opinion the solution lies partly in the comprehensive reconsideration of the responsibilities of each player assigned by the School Act and the provision of professional assistance to stakeholders to assist them to discharge their responsibilities properly carried out.
Such a comprehensive reconsideration is a prerequisite for the effective functioning of our schools and the successful implementation of the curriculum. As in the first leg of the illustration explained, it begins to establish a curriculum committee. It's a committee comprising the principal of the senior staff, department heads and other knowledgeable and experienced staff. Their task is to provide guidance and to ensure that every process of the curriculum in accordance with departmental guidelines carefully and correctly implemented.
This process includes the development of learning programs, work schedules and lesson plans. Furthermore, it also set out in the second leg of the illustration the purchasing and provision of resources for teaching, monitoring of teaching in the classroom itself, the observation of learners in the classroom situation and the composition of portfolios of students' best projects and updating the students' personal profiles.
The third leg of the illustration involves other processes such as gathering evidence of what students in the classroom itself accomplish the provision of support to learners who are academically under-performing, monitoring learners' progress, the management of the appeal process if parents are not satisfied the retention of their children and the placement of students into a new degree or discipline.
These three bones in the illustration must be continually subjected to the moderation of the curriculum content in the classroom is presented and the moderation of the assessment of projects, tests, examinations and other forms of scrutiny from the content flowing. If this does not occur, there is no way the curriculum committee, the quality of operations in the classroom can be determined either to compare. In this regard, the Department of Education and senior education specialists a very important role. Their expert input with the receptivity of the teachers and the cooperation of the broader school community can certainly underpins the whole curriculum delivery process further strengthened.
From the government side must therefore be given to the lack of knowledgeable and committed senior managers, their ability to mobilize teaching force and receptivity to achieve and their role in creating partnerships between the school and the community. There must first be given to existing senior officials who do their part in the relationships, because during our course teachers jokingly told how they came to some senior education specialists' offices arrived just a jacket on the chair ruglening hanging to find. The officer was gone.
Not only such conduct sabotage the vision of Nelson Mandela to education as a powerful weapon deployed to South Africa to change for the better, but it does dishonor to his legacy. Each of us, no matter who we are, therefore a shared responsibility to ensure that education in South Africa succeed. It is in the interest of ourselves and the larger nation-building.
The role of the curriculum committee
Implementation of the curriculum
Development of Learning Programmes
Development of work schedules
Composition of portfolio
Using the right resources
Teaching in the classroom
Observation of the learners
Collection of evidence
Provision of support
Monitor pupils' progress
Development of lesson plans
Updating profiles
Management of the appeal process
Placement of pupils
Moderation of Contents
Moderation of Assessment
Reporting to Stakeholders
The role of the governing body, principal and teachers in the curriculum and the choice of language of instruction
The provision of knowledgeable and skilled citizens
Supporting the education department and senior education specialists
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