The Department of Basic Education’s plans to introduce at least 35 new subjects, some of which include hairdressing and admin work, has been met with mixed reactions.
The subjects, which are aimed at ensuring pupils leave schools with skills that can help them get employed outside the formal sectors, are set to be introduced in a public schools by 2025.
The department’s spokesperson Elijah Mahlangu said the National Treasury had already given the go-ahead for the implementation with the first tranche of R19 million released last year.
In 2021, the department submitted the coding and robotics curriculum for Grades R-3 and 7, and the curriculum assessment policy statement (CAPS) for occupational subjects for Grade 8 and Grade 9 to Umalusi for appraisal and quality assurance.
“We are continually expanding the establishment of focus schools to cater to learners with special talents and aptitudes across a wide range of scholastic endeavours.”
Mahlangu said some schools already offer a specialised set of subjects that include agriculture, maritime and nautical science, maths, science and technology, and electrical, civil and mechanical technologies.
Currently, five Western Cape schools offer a marine science-related subject and its first set of matric pupils were due to write their final exams.
He said 35 occupational and vocationally oriented subjects have been gazetted for public comment, including office administration, food production, motor mechanics, welding, needlework, panel beating, and upholstery.
Some further education and training-level subjects such as mechanical technology, ancillary healthcare, hairdressing beauty, and electrical technology are also on the table for grades 10-12.
Mahlangu said training manuals have been developed, in preparation for the training of subject advisers and teachers in occupational and vocationally oriented subjects.
Professor of Philosophy of Education at Stellenbosch University Nuraan Davids said while the proposals were welcome, pupils need to be prepared to live in a digitised world.
“The proposal to introduce a series of occupational and vocational subjects is a positive move in this direction. However, there are major concerns that need to be borne in mind,” she said.
“There is a so-called Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector within the education system, but it is wholly inadequate and dismally mismanaged and it has been a travesty as far as operating at a level that will produce the critical skills we need. So there is no point in offering the subjects if we are not able to offer professionals who can teach these subjects.
“A shift onto vocational and occupational subjects can never come at the cost of academic subjects. There remains concerns about maths and science and literacy and numeracy. Regardless of which vocation or occupation you are going to be in, one needs to be literate and numerate.
“It’s deeply concerning that we are continuing to introduce new subjects without taking stock of and making sure the foundations are in place.
“There has to be real caution exercised in ensuring that the kinds of subjects we are providing are in line with the world in which we find ourselves in. The world has changed since the global pandemic, we have to look at how we prepare our young people for an increasingly digitised world.”
Western Cape ANC education spokesperson Khalid Sayed welcomed the move, saying it is long overdue.
“We undertook a study tour to Brazil earlier this year (and) were impressed by the perfect blending of academic and vocational streams in their education system, and we made repeated calls for South Africa to follow suit.
“It is a step in the right direction to shape our youth for skills and jobs for the future. Up to now, our education system focused only on the academic aspects and ignored the other streams.”
Sayed said the education system should train pupils with skills needed by the labour markets currently and jobs for the future.
Education activist Vanessa le Roux also had mixed emotions about the change, explaining that many factors should be considered.
“We should consider the reality of the inequalities that we still face. We should consider the socio-economic challenges when we introduce a new curriculum. Our children can’t even master the current curriculum.
“The challenges that our children face with the current curriculum are not even addressed. The solution they have with challenges is to get rid of it. That is what we see now with maths, so my question is whether it is another batch of subjects to benefit the wealthy minority.”