Durban - The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education has presented its turnaround strategy after meeting roleplayers to discuss ways to improve matric results.
As part of the intervention programme, the department will introduce an alumni programme, hand over calculators and science dictionaries to pupils, conduct extensive teacher training and upgrade software to help schools with curriculum content.
The provincial academic plan, dubbed “Operation Bounce Back 2015” was revealed at a meeting in Durban on Saturday.
It aims to improve pupil performance after the KZN matric pass rate dropped by 7 percentage points last year.
Department head, Dr Nkosinathi Sishi, announced some of the measures to improve the results.
“At the beginning of the year we are going to upload to schools… software that is going to assist the schools with curriculum content,” he said.
The alumni programme involves getting former pupils, some of whom occupy senior leadership positions in companies or organisations, to mentor pupils.
Sishi said social media platforms such as SMS, WhatsApp, BBM, Facebook, Twitter and group e-mails would be used to implement the alumni programme.
The department announced that more than 200 000 calculators, and maths and science dictionaries would be given to schools to support pupils.
On those who failed matric, he said: “All schools in the province, are ready to admit all those learners who failed in the National Senior Certificate examinations… The department is going to give tuition support to all learners who are going to sit for the supplementary examination in February.”
The turnaround strategy followed a series of meetings held recently where all 12 school districts had to explain the decline in results and come up with solutions.
During presentations to top management, the districts were expected to provide:
* Analysis on performance for all schools.
* Programmes that they will put in place to support schools.
* Interventions to support pupils in gateway subjects (such as maths and English).
* An intervention programme to ensure all pupils succeed in their home language.
The department hopes to improve results through:
* Focusing on maths.
* Conducting extensive teacher training.
* Integrating information, communication and technology teaching.
* Providing detailed lesson plans and study guides.
* Providing previous examination question papers.
* Conducting orientation workshops on the use of multi-grade teaching.
* Training principals and school managers on leadership and curriculum management.
* Conducting extra tuition for pupils on weekends and holidays.
* Implement the alumni support programme in all schools and partner with the private sector.
“As part of the effort to assist schools in their challenges, the department has placed most surplus educators to schools. We will endeavour to ensure that all recently qualified Fundza Lushaka recipients are placed by January 21,” Sishi said.
Fundza Lushaka is a bursary programme that promotes teaching in public schools. It awards bursaries to students to complete a teaching qualification in an area of national priority. Recipients are required to teach at a public school for the same number of years for which they received the bursary.
The department has appointed school management officials and most will assume duty when schools open on Wednesday.
Circuit management positions will also be filled by the end of March.
Daily News