Involve teachers in Schooling 2025 Plan, say Members of Parliament (MPs)

6 May 2010

The direct involvement of teachers in the 2025 Schooling Plan is crucial. That’s what members of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education told the department’s new Director-General, Mr Bobby Soobryan, in Parliament this week.

The Chairperson of the Committee, Ms Fatima Chohan, said the department should “get teacher commitment, train them and do all the necessary work to ensure that the policy makes the basic education sector productive.” She warned the department to avoid the mistakes of the past, when it failed to involve and train teachers before trying to implement policies. “Take teachers along to guarantee the success of the policy,” she said.

According to Mr Soobryan, the Schooling 2025 Plan is a strategy of the Department of Basic Education to improve the schooling system in the next fifteen years. Although the process of consultation was still going on much ground had been covered, including talks with the council of education.

Mr Soobryan told members of the committee that Schooling 2025 would offer incentives that would attract teachers to rural schools. Building decent houses in the rural communities was a part of this.

Members of the committee also raised concerns about the admission age for grade ones which is seven years. Some Members appealed to the department to lower the age to five years. Mr Soobryan said research had confirmed that seven years was the minimum age at which a child was emotionally ready for grade one, here and in other countries.

Issued by: Parliament of South Africa
6 May 2010
Source: Parliament of South Africa (http://www.parliament.gov.za/)