By Kouthar Sambo

With the final school term in full swing and matriculants preparing for their final examination, the Western Cape minister of Education (WCED), David Maynier, said the 2023 academic year came with several challenges, but the WCED, its staff and learners overcame these challenges effortlessly.

“This has been another tough year, intense to some degree as we faced a taxi stay away a few months back, the devasting floods in which some of our learners lost their lives as well as the ongoing rolling shutdowns,” he said.

Speaking on VOC’s Breakfast show on Thursday, Maynier reported on current operations unfolding at the WCED.

“We have been working hard to set a new direction in education, focusing on learning recovery, rapid school build, supporting learners with special needs, starting to look at how we can cooperate with the private sector to deliver education outcomes, as well as working on longer-term policy developments,” said Maynier.

Maynier went on to commend the #BackOnTrack learning programme, which he referred to as the “biggest learning recovery program” in the country. According to Maynier, the learning recovery program accommodates the teacher and the learner.

“This stems from the pandemic, where schools were interrupted, and learning outcomes have been negatively affected. We are hoping to spend about R1.2 billion over the next three years. In the last term on Saturday, we had on average 15 500 learners doing additional classes,” reiterated Maynier.

We also have about 5,500 teachers, explained Maynier, who are doing a 1+9 teacher program where teachers come out of their classroom every 10th day to receive additional teacher development and instructions from their senior peers.

“The program will make a huge difference in improving learner outcomes and ensuring we recover from the consequences of the pandemic in the Western Cape,” added Maynier.

Source: Supplied