Inside Education Reporter
During the recent three-day Lekgotla deliberations, Minister Angie Motshekga called the gathering the “village where robust discussions brainstorm the education sector factors impacting the holistic development, teaching and learning of the African child”.
The opening session, a Plenary, featured four presentations that set the scene for the proceedings.
Sophia Ndemutila Ashipala, Head of Education Division: African Union (AU), spoke about Building Resilient Education Systems for Increased Access to Inclusive, Lifelong, Quality, and Relevant Learning in Africa for the 21st Century, unpacking the African Union theme launched during the AU Summit.
The African Union has designated 2024 as The Year of Education in Africa under the theme Educate an African Fit for the 21st Century: Building Resilient Education Systems for increased access to inclusive, lifelong, quality, and relevant learning in Africa.
This theme was unpacked with the Lekgotla theme for a holistic continental and global approach to the Education Sector and South Africa’s unique challenges.
Prof Heila-Lotz Sisitka, Director: Environmental Learning Research Centre, Rhodes University, South Africa presented on the Mainstreaming Education for Sustainable Development into Education (towards ESD 2030).
She summarised the mainstreaming of ESD in ten points. These are: Empathy and Care; Visionary leadership, good policy and strategy; a Systems approach to mainstreaming all parts of the whole; Intersectoral and inter-agency collaboration and shared ownership; Working collaboratively; Maximising existing programmes, partnerships and resources; Training and co-learning support at all levels; Inclusivity; Sharing of knowledge; and Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting to Learn together (MERL).
Sizwe Nxasana, Chairperson: NECT Council, spoke about Education for Economic Reconstruction and Recovery: Approach, Process and Content. He highlighted Language, Mathematics and the role of technology in his presentation and reflected on education achievements during the past few years including the NSNP, the shift of ECD, the Three Stream Curriculum Model and Coding and Robotics, “but the journey is far from complete whilst inequality persists,” he said, adding that, Language plays a crucial role in developing crucial content and skills.
Prof Martin Gustafsson, Researcher at the DBE, spoke about Recent South African Trends and what they mean for the future. “Skills for the 21st Century are not only about Mathematics and Science, but this is inevitably an important part.
“The Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA) states that the relevance of secondary education remains a concern as it relates to employability, technical and vocational training and articulation with tertiary education.
“Mathematics and Science at this level are critical to developing a well-equipped human capital capable of competing in an increasingly Science and Technology-driven world, as well as the foundation for knowledge-based economies”.
Prof Gustafsson presented SA trends on participation in mathematics, science, practical subjects, urban versus rural data, and gender participation and performance. “We need this reliable data for planning purposes and redirect knowledge and skills for a changing world,” he said.
Day two started with a short presentation on Values in Education compiled by Professor John Volmink, Former Chair of the Umalusi Council. This was followed by four presentations on Digital Transformation in Education.
The second session for the day started with a discussion on Artificial Intelligence followed by two input presentations on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Learning.
The third session for the morning featured two presentations on Skilling the Education Workforce and improving teacher quality. Session 3 also included three presentations on the sub-theme: Utilizing Digital learning to contribute to Teacher Development. A panel discussion on Entrepreneurship Education followed this.
The DBE also launched the Spotlight Report on Basic Education Completion and Foundational Learning, providing evidence-based insights and analysis of foundational learning in South Africa, during the Lekgotla.
The report calls for urgent action to increase access for all children and boost primary pupils’ reading, writing and mathematics skills.
This is one of four country reports produced in partnership with UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report, the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) and the African Union as part of the Spotlight report series on African foundational learning.
The Report offers a diagnosis of the current state of South Africa’s foundational education, focusing on the curriculum and presenting concrete actions to improve basic skills, teacher support mechanisms and learning assessments.
INSIDE EDUCATION
