In an effort to overcome the learning disruption brought on by Covid-19, the Department of Basic Education has introduced a three-year recovery annual teaching plan.
Responding to a written parliamentary question by the IFP’s Siphosethu Ngcobo, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said the plan, which was aimed at each subject in each grade, would help guide teachers focus on key concepts, content and skills to be taught per subject over the next three year period.
“The curriculum statement for each grade and subject was evaluated by a panel of curriculum content experts and the content was reduced so as to ensure that only the core concepts, knowledge and skills are taught for each subject and grade.
“It is anticipated that over the next three years, learners would have covered the core content in the subject and the curriculum statement, post the three year period, would be reviewed to take learners forward in their learning process,” Motshekga said.
On the lessons government has learnt from the Covid-19 situation that could help to reduce the impact of future disruptions on basic education teaching and learning, Motshekga said plans that are put in place to reduce the impact of future disruptions must be agile and must take into consideration the various school contexts.
“In accommodating the various school contexts, much is left to the teacher's professional judgment and expertise. Hence, teacher development, training and support is now more crucial in capacitating the teacher to manage his/her classroom context.”
Motshekga also said that the continuous monitoring of teaching and learning in the classroom is important as the data gathered from such monitoring will help adjust the intervention strategy and the long-term plan to recover the teaching losses.
Political Bureau