Public forum:“Reforming the Education System – What is the Way Forward?”

RSVP: No later than 30 July 2010 to Ms. Nondumiso Makhathini via fax at (031) 306 2261 or e-mail: nondumisom@ddpdurban.org.za

NB: Refreshments will be served on arrival. Doors will be closed at 06:00 pm

Background

The recent announcement of several changes to the South African schooling system has been widely welcomed, especially because of the simplification that it is expected to imply for teachers and students alike. The ambitious Outcomes-Based-Education (OBE) approach has been blamed for many of the problems of South African schools as it was not adequate to many teachers’ abilities and the circumstances of most learners. It is to be reformed further in the upcoming years and commentators have called this the “death” of OBE. The ability of South Africa to improve its public educational system, decrease the rate of dropouts and increases the performance of learners will be critical for the country’s future.

We are pleased to welcome Wayne Hugo (School of Education and Development, UKZN) to speak at the forum. The DDP has called upon the KZN Department of Education to address the forum.  Respondents will include representatives from SADTU - Mr MS Mathonsi  and NAPTOSA – Mr A Pierce

The forum will serve two interrelated purposes: Firstly, we would like to discuss the viability of the changes to the schooling system that have been announced by the National Minister for Basic Education, Angie Motshekga. Secondly the forum also aims at addressing the question how the future of schooling in South Africa should look like and what might be added to the changes that have been announced. The minister has explicitly called for feedback from teachers and the public so DDP also hopes that the forum will serve as a platform to generate some input for the government. In order to achieve this, DDP aims at having present as many stakeholders as possible; including learners, teachers and government officials.

Central questions to be addressed in the forum:

·         What are the changes that have been announced so far?

·         Do these changes adequately address the problems in schools?

·         What other reforms might be necessary?

·         Do we need a long-term vision for education? If so, what are the crucial elements of such a vision?

We are looking forward to your positive response!