Bonile Khanyi
The Department of Basic Education is calling for public comment on the Draft Policy on Home Education.
Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has invited all home educators, parents, institutions and organisations to submit their comments on the Bill by 8 December 2017.
In a statement issued on Monday, the department said this comes after the gazetting of a draft policy on home education, which calls for interested parties to submit input as part of the public participation process.
“Home Education is a purposeful programme of education for a learner, alternative to school attendance, which is provided under the direction and supervision of the learner’s parent primarily in the environment of the learner’s home,” read the statement.
“The provision of Home Education is guided by the Policy for the Registration of Learners for Home Education which was promulgated on 23 November 1999 (effective from January 2000), which sets out national norms and standards which apply uniformly across all Provincial Education Departments (PEDs).”
The department said it took a decision to review the 1999 policy in order to address gaps that created inconsistencies in the implementation of the policy nationwide.
Here’s what you need to know about the bill.
- The draft bill provides more detail on the role of the parent when it comes to assessing a learner’s progress and determining whether the learning objectives have been met.
- Parents will be required to apply to the Head of Department (HOD) for the registration of a learner to receive education at the learner’s home.
- The bill also provides more clarity on the deregistration of learners and the role of the HOD.
- And according to the draft bill parents who want to continue to educate their child at home after the learner has completed Grade 9, is not required to register for home education.
The draft policy can be accessed here:
file:///C:/Users/Administrator/Documents/Draft%20Policy%20on%20Home%20Education.pdf
