Provincial Parliament Concern over Literacy, Numeracy and School Safety | Western Cape Government

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Provincial Parliament Concern over Literacy, Numeracy and School Safety

30 October 2006

The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) will soon announce a comprehensive media advocacy campaign as part of its Literacy and Numeracy strategy, to try and make parents understand and accept that mother-tongue education is best, but that a second language, mostly English, will be added.

So said Western Cape Education MEC Cameron Dugmore in a reply to a question in the Western Cape Provincial Legislature today. The MEC also had to field questions on safety in schools, as well as a question relating to distance education and the Dennegeur Primary School bus accident on Kloofnek in 2005.

See full questions and replies below.

Question:

Mr S Esau to ask Mr C M Dugmore, Minister of Education:
"What are the achievements to date of the "Each One Teach One" campaign?"

Answer:

Honourable Members will know that the challenges we face in seeking to transform education, range from the basics, such as providing enough classrooms, to the complex task of ensuring that our learners achieve the outcomes required by the National Curriculum Statement.

Possibly the most complex and difficult task we face as we seek to provide quality education for all, is to increase the levels of Literacy and Numeracy, especially in our poorest schools.

We have to start at the beginning with reading, writing and calculating in the Foundation and Intermediate Phases, from Grades R to 6. That is why we have made Literacy and Numeracy our number one priority.

In my Budget Speech in May this year, I have announced a Literacy and Numeracy Plan, and also introduced some members of Team Education, to give impetus to our strategy. The mantra on which this strategy is based, is "EACH ONE TEACH ONE: TOGETHER BUILDING A LEARNING HOME FOR ALL!"

Given the poor literacy and numeracy results in schools populated by children of illiterate parents, one of the key strands of our Literacy and Numeracy strategy, is advocacy for community and family literacy.

Whilst the classroom itself remains the key because of the skills of the teacher and the resources of the school, I believe a campaign, which goes far beyond the classroom walls and which gathers momentum in families, communities and workplaces, is necessary.

During the Community Schools Initiative focus week the department encouraged schools to take on issues of adult illiteracy, and there were some literacy expansion benefits. Clearly these initiatives will need to be researched and their impact measured.

To this end, some of the achievements of our campaign during the Community Schools Initiative week (from August 14 to 18), included:

  • a three-day newspaper study programme at a Tafelsig school;
  • the "Reading Mommies" project at Blue Mountain, EA Janari, Nerina, Mimosa and Boundary primary schools
  • learners of Seaview Primary visited old age homes and private homes to read to their elders;
  • in the streets around Wespoort Primary school learners dropped off flyers to promote the importance of reading;
  • ABET teams (eg Metropole East) campaigned to canvass and enrol new learners for basic literacy classes; and
  • Sedgefield Primary School had a focus on illiteracy.

A delegation that visited Cuba earlier this year, has started a number of small-scale local initiatives such as:

  • A project via a neighbouring school for an "Each One Teach One" programme towards making people literate (driven by an ECD specialist)
  • An "Each One Teach Ten" project in Villiersdorp, where local matriculants have been given a Unit Standard 1 training course and have just started teaching classes (ABET Centre Manager)
  • Work (one on one) via UNISA students in Worcester. (ABET Centre Manager
  • Local radio slots (30 minutes a day four days a week) linked with 3 houses in 3 streets around each ABET Centre in the Southern Cape Karoo (ABET advisor)

The department will also soon announce a comprehensive media advocacy campaign, as part of our Literacy and Numeracy strategy. The biggest challenges is for us to make parents understand and accept the concept that mother-tongue education is best, but that a second language, mostly English, will be added.

I am keen for the rallying call of "Each One Teach One" to be taken up in the media, in the homes and in the streets of our province. This is not a call for a once-off campaign, but should be part of life - from the cradle to the grave.

Question:

Mr G C R Haskin to ask Mr C M Dugmore, Minister of Education:

  1. (a) How many Western Cape schools have random searching programmes for drugs, alcohol, weapons, etc in place, (b) how many of these schools are considered to be high risk in terms of violence occurring or drugs and/or alcohol being found in the schools and on the school premises and (c) what assistance relating to the searching programmes of such schools is being provided to the schools by the Western Cape Education Department;
  2. whether any benefits or success has been reported by these schools in terms of arrests, confiscations, decreased prevalence in terms of violence, etc; if so, what are the relevant details;
  3. whether the WCED is encouraging all schools to embark on and sustain such programmes; if so, what are the relevant details?
Answer:

The Minister of Education

  1. (a) No recent surveys have been done regarding random seizures and searchers for illegal substances and weapons at schools.
    (b) No recent surveys have been done pertaining to violence occurring or drugs and or alcohol being found in the schools and on the school premises.
    (c) All WCED institutions/schools were provided with Procedural Manuals in which procedures for managing safety and security is clearly stipulated. In accordance with the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977, the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act 140 of 1992, the Firearms Control Act of 2000 and the South African Schools Act 84 of 1996: Regulations for Safety Measures at public Schools, Paragraph 4 (3), the manual states that if there is any reasonable suspicion that illegal drugs or a dangerous object may be present on the school premises or person, schools are required to,
    • Inform the Safe Schools co-ordinator in the EMDC and the Safe Schools Call Centre
    • Request a police officer to do the search. In the absence of a police officer, the principal or delegated educator may conduct a search
    • The principal (who is lawfully in charge of a school) upon reasonable suspicion (with sufficient information), can conduct a search of any learner in possession of illegal drugs and dangerous objects. During a search, human dignity shall be observed and persons of their own gender shall search learners in private. Body cavity searches and strip-searches may not be carried out on learners.
  2. In accordance with the searches and seizures procedure outlined above, some schools have reported confiscations of weapons from learners thus contributing to the prevention of further criminal acts being carried out with these weapons.
  3. Schools are encouraged by Safe Schools to follow procedures by referring them to and providing them with the necessary procedural information:
    In accordance with the following Acts of general application, the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977, the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act 140 of 1992 and the Firearms Control Act of 2000, a police official may, without a warrant, search any school premise or persons on the school premises if he or she has reasonable suspicion that illegal drugs or a dangerous object may be present on the school premises or person. In accordance with the South African Schools Act 84 of 1996: Regulations for Safety Measures at Public Schools, Paragraph 4 (3), a police official or, in his absence, the principal or delegate may, without warrant
    1. search any public school premises if he or she has a reasonable suspicion that a dangerous object or illegal drugs may be present in the public school premises in contravention of the regulations;
    2. search any person present on the public school premises; and
    3. seize any dangerous object or illegal drugs present on public school premises or on the person in contravention of these regulations.
    Searches and seizures should be included in the school's Code of Conduct and Safety Plan.
    School Governing Bodies and Safety Committees should be informed.
    Official letters should be sent to parents to inform them about the procedures for searches and seizures.
Question:

Mr S Esau to ask Mr C M Dugmore, Minister of Education:
"In the light of the fact that distance education has received a huge blow because of the massive dropout rate, the chronic extensive courses and the high number of students who have to repeat their courses at UNISA and Technikon SA, what does Western Cape Education Department intend doing when distance education or e-education is being considered as an alternative, particularly in rural areas?"

Answer:

The Minister of Education

Further Education and Training Colleges (which do not primarily operate at a higher education level such as Universities and Technikons), are very cautious in the implementation of e-learning strategies.

Our approach, which is based on leading international experiences, is one of a blended learning approach. This means that e-learning is only used as a supplementary approach in a variety of modes of learning options. In FET Colleges therefore, learners who apply e-learning as a component mode of learning, also benefit from a cocktail of conventional modes of learning. Very few FET College students have opted to follow distance education options, and very little e-learning as been employed in this context to date.

Question:

Mr G C R Haskin to ask Mr C M Dugmore, Minister of Education:

  1. What were or are the conditions attached to the donation of R500 000 by the then mayor Ms Mfeketo pursuant to the Dennegeur Primary School bus accident on Kloofnek in 2005;
  2. whether there are any reasons, apart from the existence of these conditions, why the whole amount of R500 000 has not been paid out; if so, what are the relevant details;
  3. (a) when was the R400 000 returned by the Western Cape Education Department and (b) who administers the "special account" in which the R400 000 is being kept;
  4. what is the process being followed and are the relevant timelines with regard to attending to the needs of the victims of this bus accident as it relates to the release and expenditure of this donation?
Answer:

The Minister of Education

  1. At the time of the disaster, the then-mayor announced the City of CT would avail R500 000 for trauma counselling and reconstructive surgery needs of those affected by the accident.
  2. The expenses related to trauma counselling and reconstructive surgery needs were serviced as received from the service providers involved. In the immediate aftermath of the accident (August/September 2005), parents indicated that there would be expenses for reconstructive surgery. By June 2006, no bills for reconstructive surgery were received, while a small number of parents and learners were still receiving counselling. Trauma counselling expenditure until now amounted to R27 350.00. R72 650.00 was retained to ensure the ongoing counselling needs could be serviced.
  3. (a) The R400 000 .00 was returned to the City of CT via an EFT payment on 8 August 2006.
    (b) Our understanding is the money is "housed" in the Mayoral Disaster Fund and administered in accordance with the City's self-defined processes for this Fund.
  4. Our understanding from our meeting with the Mayor and the Director of Finance of the City is that the parents requiring assistance must approach the City directly with the necessary motivation. The City indicated that they would continue to service bills related to the disaster subject to approaches from the parties affected. No cut-off date exists at present. These approaches were to be directed to the City's Mayoral Disaster Fund. The MEC of Education would further facilitate the establishment of protocols with the Mayor's office to ensure parents clearly knew how to access these funds.
Media Enquiries: 

For enquiries:
Gert Witbooi
Media Liaison Officer
Office of the MEC for Education
Western Cape
Tel: 021 467 2523
Fax: 021 425 5689
Email: gwitbooi@pgwc.gov.za
Visit our website: http://wced.wcape.gov.za