Volume II - The Northern Cape Provincial Spatial Development ...

Northern Cape PSDF
Volume 2
Office of the Premier &
Department of Rural Development & Land Reform
December 2011
The PGDS states a number of strategies to better education in the Northern Cape, such as:
(i) Access to Quality Life Long learning: The key focus areas for access to quality lifelong
learning should be Early Childhood Development (ECD), General and Further Education,
Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) and the promotion of Mathematics, Science and
Technology in the education curriculum. A large Percentage of children growing up in
abject conditions of extreme poverty remain at the risk of poor adjustment to school,
increased class repetition and school drop‐out, highlights the critical nature of early
childhood development provisioning in the province.
(ii) Improve Early Childhood Development: Early Childhood Development (ECD) is one of the
key priorities of the government for the next five years (MTSF). Central to this program is
the provision of a good foundation for children entering the schooling system, which has
proven to be important for school readiness and future success in their scholastic career.
The challenge is to help break the cycle of poverty by increasing access to ECD programs,
particularly for poor children in the urban and rural areas. During 2009, the Northern Cape
Department of Education had 355 public primary schools, of which 278 offered Grade R.
Though schools are generally eager to introduce Grade R classes, the greatest challenge
faced in this regard is the unavailability of adequate infrastructure for the expansion of
Grade R to meet the 2014 target.
(iii) Improve the quality of Basic Education: Teachers should be present at school for at least
seven hours, and should spent at least 6.5 hours teaching daily. The Northern Cape basic
education department should ensure regular monitoring of the curriculum coverage by
visiting school at least once a year. The Northern Cape Department of Education must
deliver easy to read books (grade 1‐7), and text books (grade 10‐12) in key subjects to
schools.
(iv) Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET): The ABET program is a vehicle for broadening
the provincial skills base and for allowing more people the opportunity to participate and
contribute meaningfully to economic growth and development. A review of literacy rates in
the province clearly indicates huge challenges despite the significant progress made in the
past fifteen years. It further emphasizes the need to expand ABET provisioning from
providing mere literacy and basic education programs to increasingly provide relevant and
responsive skills programs in this sector. The beneficiaries of the program are the out of
school youth and adults, specifically the historically disadvantaged.
(v) Maths, Science and Technology: The Provincial Maths, Science and Technology strategy
seeks to develop a numerically and mathematically literate, scientifically literate and
technologically fluent society. This would inform the key focus areas for general and
further education development in the Northern Cape, with the aim of empowering
individuals to participate in the emerging knowledge and skills based economy. This would
allow us to ultimately participate more competitively at national and international market
levels. The Northern Cape strategy on Maths, Science and Technology seeks to further
encourage partnership with the private sector and the department of education continues
to support educators to attain qualifications towards Bachelors of Science Degree in
Mathematics and Science Education. Further, it seeks to assist learners in obtaining
bursaries to study for Bachelor of Science and Engineering Degrees as well as the National
Diploma in electronic engineering.
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Dennis Moss Partnership