By Hendrick Makaneta
I call on the Department of Basic Education to come up with interventions that will cover lost ground in the curriculum next year.
Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga should introduce a plan of action which would look at addressing lost teaching time. There is no doubt that the Class of 2021 will have to double their efforts to cover the work of 2020 and 2021 at the same time.
Given the fact that schools will reopen late in January, it is going to be necessary to look at other ways of covering the curriculum, such as introducing compulsory Saturday classes, particularly in the senior phase.
The other available option is for the minister to collaborate with NGOs to reinforce the teaching and learning of gateway subjects such as maths and physical science. Doing so will probably avert the repeat of leakages of matric exam papers as more and more learners will gain confidence in their own abilities to improve performance.
The education of an African child belongs to all of us, since it takes a village to raise a child.
Education is ongoing. Learners should never be shy to learn on their own, even during the festive season. After all, Covid-19 restrictions have forced many of us to be indoors most of the time. It will do no harm for a learner to study four or five chapters of a subject on their own before schools reopen. We have a duty to take advantage of the new normal and use the time to improve our education.
Gone are the days of waiting for a teacher before learning can start. Learners should study on their own first, so by the time they get to class, they are ready to excel and perform beyond expectations. The minister should inculcate the spirit of hard work among learners by calling on every learner to make use of the holidays to try to catch up on lost time.
Hendrick Makaneta is an education activist.
The Star