Cape Town - For the remainder of the year, extra time will be allocated for maths and reading subjects for foundation phase grades to make up for “severe” learning losses caused by Covid-19.
The announcement was made after a visit by Education MEC David Maynier to Boundary Primary School in Bonteheuwel on Tuesday.
For the third and fourth term, the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) said grades 1 to 3 – the grades most severely impacted by the pandemic – would be allocated increased time for maths and reading each week.
Maynier said: “The intervention will see an extra two hours per week allocated to reading and one extra hour per week for maths, for all foundation phase students in the province – amounting to an increase of at least 60 learning hours per student in the subjects over the remainder of the year.
“These increases will be accommodated by adjusting the amount of time allocated to life skills, so the intervention will not increase the length of the school day.”
When comparing systemic test results from 2019 and 2021, Grade 3 pass rates in maths had fallen by 13.8 percentage points, and language by 8.0.
Education activist Hendrick Makaneta said the WCED was within its right to try to improve learner performance. However, it raised concerns about the extent to which the plan would affect learners.
“We should remember that the curriculum assessment and policy statement is clear on the allocation of teaching time for various subjects. So, by increasing hours of learning and teaching, the WCED is actually putting an additional burden on the shoulders of both parents and pupils as they will have to adjust their day-to-day schedule. An additional two hours in the teaching plan can be exhausting for teachers as well.”
Provincial Education and Allied Workers Union of SA head André de Bruyn said learners’ struggles were often a result of the system in which they operated, often-times in overcrowded classrooms.
“More time might be a good idea but a better idea is making the classroom less crowded so that the teachers can have more one-on-one time while teaching the subject,” De Bruyn said.