David Maynier, Western Cape Education MEC, announced that the Western Cape districts have been working hard to prepare Grade 12 learners for their upcoming trial and NSC exams.
A statement was released by the Western Cape Education MEC David Maynier which revealed that over 26 000 learners spent their holiday in winter school programmes arranged by the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) and schools across the province.
Maynier stated that the district has been working hard to prepare learners for their trial and National Senior Certificate examinations. A virtual solution for live streaming winter school sessions was developed by the Metro North Education District to help learners prepare for their exams.
The virtual solution allows an expert in the subject material to stream lessons to matriculants in their classrooms at 35 schools, with their teacher present. 6 000 learners were expected to participate, however, 10 062 learners registered for the sessions.
Nearly 5 800 learners registered for the winter school programme in the Metro East Education District, however, attendance exceeded those who registered. Mr. Michaels, the principal at Blackheath High School, fetched and dropped off his learners at their homes, at his own expense, each day to ensure they could attend the revision sessions.
Here is the number of learners who attended the revision sessions at the following districts:
- Metro South – 1 463
- Metro Central – 4 366
- Cape Winelands – 445 at residential camps, 1 718 streamed sessions, and 163 at maths camp.
- Eden and Central Karoo – 204 and 28 schools had 72.7% attendance.
- Overberg – 1 468
- West Coast – 322
Daily motivation sessions were included in the programme and social workers provided psycho-social support to learners during study sessions.
“We thank every one of the teachers and officials who gave of their time over the holidays – their dedication and expertise will stand the Class of 2023 in good stead to pass their exams. And we commend the students who chose to invest in their own futures by attending these revision classes,” said Maynier.
Learners have been making use of the resources available on the WCED’s ePortal to help prepare for their exams. Compared to last year’s winter holiday, usage of the portal has increased by 101%.
The portal has 8 988 free Grade 12 resources to help learners prepare for their exams, which include past papers and marking guidelines, revision guides, and Telematics lessons.
547 staff members also used their holiday to improve their skills at the Cape Teaching & Leadership Institute. The courses covered the following topics:
- Women In and Into Leadership and Management Positions
- Recruitment and Selection Training
- ICT integration
- Advanced Certificate in Teaching (ACT) and the Advanced Diploma in Education: School Leadership and Management (ADE).
“This is exactly the kind of extra effort that we will need to overcome the learning losses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, especially in the Foundation Phase,” stated Maynier.
