Basic Education Lekgotla to focus on improving school system
Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga says the 2017 Basic Education Sector Lekgotla should focus on ways to improve the quality of learning and teaching in the schooling system as a whole, and cannot only focus on Grade 12.
The three day lekgotla convened in Centurion will see MECs, Heads of Education Departments and the education fraternity tackle various issues in the sector.
Motshekga says she hopes the lekgotla will lead to an improvement of the schooling system.
"The biggest thing we want to look at is your access and that is where the migration patterns for Gauteng and the Western Cape are an issue. It is your equity and reporting to see how we are doing in terms of rural and poor learners. That will be one of the things we will be monitoring closely to see if we are closing the gap," says Motshekga.
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Motshekga says they will also look at the quality of schooling in lower grades.
"We have poorly qualified and unsupported teachers in the intermediate phase, which is your Grade 4 to Grade 6. This is an important phase in terms of laying the foundation for highshool. We are looking at ways of focussing more on the intermediate phase and Grade 7, Grade 8 and Grade 9," says Motshekga.