Basic Education Budget Vote Speech by Angie Motshekga

I thank you for the privilege to present our Budget Vote speech. This indeed affords the National Department of Basic Education a platform formerly to account for activities of 2011/12. We will also present the Department’s policy priorities and strategic response to key government tasks as outlined by President Jacob Zuma in the 2012 State of the Nation Address. Minister Blade Nzimande did remind this House during the Budget Vote Debate for Higher Education that: “Education now constitutes more than 21 per cent of Government’s total allocated expenditure for the 2012/13 financial year”.

Lowering the bar?

LOWERING THE BAR? Matric results continue to be a source of heated debate. One of the issues currently doing the rounds is the pass mark. Prominent academics such as Professor Jonathan Jansen (a sage man but also one who revels in controversy) and Dr Ramphele Mamphele have weighed in on the fray. Professor Jansen, Vice-Chancellor [...]

From the perspective of an angry teacher

From the perspective of an angry teacher

I am sitting in a sparsely-furnished office at a local township school, engaged in a conversation with the Head of Department for the Humanities, to join me for a scheduled “one-on-one”. My eyes dart around. Files and books and papers here, flip charts and pictures there. Okay, no surprises here. Except the famed picture on the wall depicting Mbuyisa Makhubu carrying the dying Hector Peterson, with the crying Antoinette Sithole alongside him.

Using digital tools in the classroom

Chalkboards, paper workbooks and manual marking could become obsolete in the next few decades if predictions are anything to go by. This is an exciting prospect for teachers who have embraced technological advances. Conversely, many educators still remain apprehensive about these drastic changes. No matter what your thoughts are on this topic, the digital revolution [...]

Are children who play violent computer games more aggressive than others who don’t?

Are children who play violent computer games more aggressive than others who don’t? André van der Westhuizen   Are children who play violent computer games more aggressive than others who don’t?  The answer to the question is – yes. Children who play violent computer games tend to be more aggressive than children who don’t play [...]

Thumbs up for competency tests for principals

Media Statement The Governing Body Foundation 28 March 2012   The Governing Body Foundation has come out in support of proposed competency testing and performance agreements for school principals.  This comes in the wake of the weekend decision of SADTU, the largest teacher union in the country, to reject the measures announced by the Minister [...]

Growth of online education

As the world moves online, so too does education. In the modern world, information is freely and widely available to everyone with a basic computer and a modem, or even a cellphone. However, quantity of information rarely equates to quality. As ever more raw data becomes available, people are required to sort, filter, correct and [...]

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