You are in : Education > Schools

First Term

Good start expected when coastal schools re-open

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 15:47

Schools in the coastal provinces will join the rest of the country on Wednesday when thousands of learners are expected to start the 2011 academic year.

Provinces, including Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Northern Cape and some Western Cape schools, which chose not to open on Monday, will be re-opening on Wednesday.

Government officials, including MECs and premiers, are expected to visit various schools in the districts to check the schools’ readiness and challenges experienced.

In KwaZulu-Natal, Education MEC Senzo Mchunu will be visiting schools in the uThungulu District to ensure that learning and teaching kicks off without any hiccups.

Spokesperson for the department, Muntu Lukhosi, said the MEC and MPs will visit the schools on the first three days of re-opening, with each MEC visiting three schools per day.

“We don’t want to waste any time but ensure that learners are at school on the first day. On Friday, all officials will meet on the district offices they’ve visited during the three days to discuss challenges they’ve identified in each school, how can they be attended to and formulate a plan of action,” Lukhozi said.

In the Eastern Cape, Education MEC Mandla Makhuphula and other government officials will conduct random visits to schools from 23 districts, including rural schools, to check on the challenges experienced.

During last year’s matric exams, the Eastern Cape achieved a 58.3 percent pass rate, an increase of 7.3 percent from 2009.

Except for late registrations in some of the Western Cape schools -- about 80 percent of the schools opened on Monday -- the province has had a smooth start to the 2011 school year.

“The department found that the overwhelming majority of schools were well prepared, however, there have been isolated reports of late enrollments and registrations at some of our schools,” said provincial MEC for Education, Donald Grant, during his visits to some of the schools.

- BuaNews