Following the release by the Department of Basic Education of last year’s Annual National Assessment reports that have revealed that the national average Grade 9 maths score was 10.8% and that writing was the greatest challenge for Grade 1 learners, the Inkatha Freedom Party calls for performance assessments for all District Directors, SEMs, Subject Advisers and school management teams.
“It is unacceptable and borders on criminality that our children are being neglected to the point that their futures are destroyed by the very people who are entrusted to ensure that the education of our children receives their undivided attention. The reports revealed that Grade 1 learners did not know basics such as starting a sentence with a capital letter or ending a sentence with a full stop, or that Grade 2 learners could not change past tense to present tense and Grade 3 learners found it difficult to write a paragraph of eight sentences, is cause for serious concern. This clearly reveals that our children are not being equipped with the basics necessary to advance their education and progress into higher grades without being pushed through the system. It is essential that learners receive good grounding in the foundation phase so as to equip them to successfully meet the challenges in the higher grades,” said IFP Spokesperson on Education, Mrs Thembeni Madlopha-Mthethwa, MPL.
“These reports clearly indicate that education officials and school management teams are not doing their jobs in monitoring what is happening in the classroom. We want these officials to be held accountable and therefore insist that their competence must be assessed. If they are found to be negligent, they must be charged for dereliction of duty. We are aware that many of these officials are SADTU appointees who do not possess the required skills or experience for the positions that they occupy,” continued Madlopha-Mthethwa.
“These incompetents are destroying our children’s lives and we cannot stand by watching without speaking out. MEC for Education in KwaZulu-Natal, Peggy Nkonyeni must display courageous leadership and investigate these officials if she is serious about improving the quality of education that our children receive” concluded Madlopha-Mthethwa.
Issued by:
IFP KZN Education Spokesperson,
Mrs Thembeni KaMadlopha-Mthethwa, MPL, 071 884 3844 or 079 114 3015
Media enquiries:
Mr Phendulani Biyase, IFP KZN Legislature Media Liaison Officer, 073 024 5675