Brian Isaacs
South African education officials are either very ignorant or arrogant. I believe they have become both. Only ignorant educationists could have conceived so many unsound educational policies since 1994.
The litany goes on ad nauseum: Outcomes Based Education; verification tests; Common Task Assessment tests; Annual National Assessment tests; Western Cape Education Department (WCED) diagnostic tests; pass one, pass all from grades 1 to 8 from 1998 to 2013; no pupil can spend more than two years in a phase since 1998 from Grade 1 to 9 and since 2013, no pupil can spend more than two years in grades 10 and 12. And now, the latest postponement of ANAs to 2016.
According to reports, the writing of the ANAs cost R200 million. What a waste of paper and money. Arrogant in the sense that the National Department of Basic Education (NDBE) refuses to take into account critical voices in education.
It only abolished the CTAs in 2011 because the Concerned Teachers Group in the Western Cape was calling upon schools not to write the laughable CTAs.
Fortunately, the NDBE decided to abolish the CTAs without consultation with ordinary teachers, but in consultation with the sweetheart unions – South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu), National Association of Professional Teachers Organisation of South Africa-(Naptosa) and the Suid Afrikaanse Onderwysers’ Unie (SAOU). The NDBE introduced the ANAs from grades 1 to 9.
The National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers’ (Nupsaw) Western Cape Education Sector (formerly known as the Teachers’ League of SA) has denounced these ANAs and the diagnostic tests as educationally unsound, and has called for their demise for the following reasons:
l The ordinary teacher has not been consulted on these tests.
l No proof has been submitted that these tests are of good quality.
l How can these tests be valid if results are not used to promote students?
l Teachers spend an enormous amount of time preparing for the ANAs.
l Pupils are being used as guinea pigs by the NDBE and WCED.
l Who protects pupils against these educationally unsound tests?
l More time could be spent on teaching instead of teachers marking these tests in the middle of their September examinations.
There are simple solutions to the problem of academic achievement in schools. Keep things simple. Allow teachers to teach. Appoint more teachers in the schools of the oppressed.
Build the necessary infrastructure. Stop bullying teachers. Consult teachers. We call not for the postponement of the ANAs as Sadtu, Naptosa and SAOU are calling for, but for their immediate abolishment. These unions agree with the postponement because they believe in the validity of these tests. They are using the non-administration of the tests to leverage other service conditions from NDBE.
Nupsaw WCES lives for its children and believes these tests are a waste of time and have no validity. We call on the NDBE to abolish the ANAs and WCED diagnostic tests.
l Isaacs is the secretary of the Nupsaw WCES and writes in his personal capacity