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THE Department of Basic Education is holding the annual lekgotla this week at Emperors Palace, Kempton Park. The focus of the Lekgotla is to discuss the recovery plan for basic education after two years of disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Theme for 2022 Lekgotla is: “Equipping Learners with Knowledge and Skills for a Changing World in the Context of Covid-19”.
The annual Basic Education Sector Lekgotla is set to end on Friday, January 28, 2022.
In her address, Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga said the sector lost at least 50% of curriculum time due to rotational timetabling and intermittent closures.
“As a government, we are mulling over options to mitigate against losing contact teaching time in 2022
and beyond,” Motshekga said.
The minister said that they have recommended to the National Coronavirus Command Council to reduce the social distancing measures in the classrooms.
“As a government, we are mulling over options to mitigate against losing contact teaching time in 2022
and beyond. We have recommended to the National Coronavirus Command Council to reduce the social
distancing measures in our classrooms. The ideal is to have all our learners receiving contact teaching
time at the same time to mitigate against dropouts, increase retention rates and prevent failures,”
Motshekga said.
Motshekga said that the basic education ecosystem must be strengthened to future proof against the
subsequent pandemics.
“In the end, we must strengthen the basic education ecosystem so that it is future proof against the
subsequent pandemics. We do so because Basic Education is so crucial that there’s evidence it strengthens democracies, improves the nation’s health outcomes and contributes significantly to economic growth.”
The minister said that there’s a need to build a coherent response on the measures to reboot and rebuild the basic education system battered by the two years of Covid-19.
Since the start of this year, many people have been calling for primary and high school learners to return to full-time attendance for the 2022 academic year.
“Thus, Basic education remains an apex priority of this government. As such, it is critical to continuously assess the performance of this crucial sector because we carry the hopes and dreams of our people on our broad shoulders,” said Motshekga.
Motshekga acknowledged that the matric class of 2021 endured two years of schooling under the COVID-19.
“We must understand the pass rate of 76.4% for the Matric Class of 2021 in the context that this cohort
endured two years of schooling under the COVID-19 disruptions, including intermittent closures,” she said.
The minister said the department must support vulnerable learners.
“As a department, we must do more to support vulnerable learners, increase retention and stem the
tide of dropouts; this programme is part of our last-ditch effort in this regard. Our responsibility as
Government is to offer the highest standard of basic education to our learners in a safe and secure
Environment,” she said.
The minister further added that “We must see teachers displaying compassion virtue as many of our learners come from diverse communities, child-headed households, high crime levels, unemployment, and various social ills.”
Inside Education