Fazda
Honorary Master
This is just one more example that shows that the people running Education in this country have not got the slightest idea as to what is going on in the classroom!!
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_...7338C503191&newslett=1&em=166117a1a20090520ah
By Angelique Serrao
In just two weeks, all Grade 9 pupils across the country will be expected to write national exams - exams that teachers and pupils were not told about.
Previous minister of education Naledi Pandor announced last year that there would be a national exam set for Grade 9 and they would get a General Education Certificate qualification at the end of the year.
Grade 9 is an important educational year as many pupils leave school at this stage as they turn 16.
But teachers say they were informed about this exam only last week - 24 days before the exams are to start on June 1.
Grade 9s have written end-of-year exams in previous years, but the new exams - known as SATs (Standardised Assessment Tasks) - are now being written in the middle of the year. [ MORE ACRONYMS!!!
]
Teachers in Gauteng spoke to The Star this week, saying they couldn't believe they were informed only last week about the SATs; that they were not prepared for the tests; and that once the pupils found out about them, there would be "panic and pandemonium".
A teacher who spoke to The Star on condition of anonymity said teachers felt the department of education "had lost the plot" on this issue.
"As a teacher, I'm not against changes to the Grade 9 CTA assessment programme, but I do object to the short notice period we've been given and the lack of consultation," she said.
'We simply won't be ready'
"I find it very concerning that the people in charge of our national education policy think it's acceptable and feasible to make such big changes at such short notice. I think it's going to be a disaster if they force us to go ahead with the SATs. We simply won't be ready."The maths teacher said many educators teach their subjects in different orders, so there were three large sections in the SATs that pupils had never been taught.
The teacher also said the Gauteng department was making available only one set of copies for each school, so now schools had to make photocopies for every Grade 9 pupil in all eight subjects. This was a huge expense that schools had not budgeted for.
What worried the teacher the most was telling her pupils about the exams so late - especially as they count for a quarter of the year mark.
Education Department spokesperson Dr Granville Whittle said the Grade 9 assessment had been moved to the second term to try to avoid the backlogs that occur at the end of the year.
"This is the first year that we have asked to do this, but we did say that if schools don't complete all the tasks, they can spill over into the third term," Whittle said.
Professor Mary Metcalfe, the head of education at Wits University, said that if it was true that the department had given so little warning for the SATs, then the department "show so little understanding of the context and environment that teachers work in".
Council of South African Students chairperson Wesley Kgang, on hearing about the SAT dates, said the department was "totally mad".
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_...7338C503191&newslett=1&em=166117a1a20090520ah
By Angelique Serrao
In just two weeks, all Grade 9 pupils across the country will be expected to write national exams - exams that teachers and pupils were not told about.
Previous minister of education Naledi Pandor announced last year that there would be a national exam set for Grade 9 and they would get a General Education Certificate qualification at the end of the year.
Grade 9 is an important educational year as many pupils leave school at this stage as they turn 16.
But teachers say they were informed about this exam only last week - 24 days before the exams are to start on June 1.
Grade 9s have written end-of-year exams in previous years, but the new exams - known as SATs (Standardised Assessment Tasks) - are now being written in the middle of the year. [ MORE ACRONYMS!!!
]Teachers in Gauteng spoke to The Star this week, saying they couldn't believe they were informed only last week about the SATs; that they were not prepared for the tests; and that once the pupils found out about them, there would be "panic and pandemonium".
A teacher who spoke to The Star on condition of anonymity said teachers felt the department of education "had lost the plot" on this issue.
"As a teacher, I'm not against changes to the Grade 9 CTA assessment programme, but I do object to the short notice period we've been given and the lack of consultation," she said.
'We simply won't be ready'
"I find it very concerning that the people in charge of our national education policy think it's acceptable and feasible to make such big changes at such short notice. I think it's going to be a disaster if they force us to go ahead with the SATs. We simply won't be ready."The maths teacher said many educators teach their subjects in different orders, so there were three large sections in the SATs that pupils had never been taught.
The teacher also said the Gauteng department was making available only one set of copies for each school, so now schools had to make photocopies for every Grade 9 pupil in all eight subjects. This was a huge expense that schools had not budgeted for.
What worried the teacher the most was telling her pupils about the exams so late - especially as they count for a quarter of the year mark.
Education Department spokesperson Dr Granville Whittle said the Grade 9 assessment had been moved to the second term to try to avoid the backlogs that occur at the end of the year.
"This is the first year that we have asked to do this, but we did say that if schools don't complete all the tasks, they can spill over into the third term," Whittle said.
Professor Mary Metcalfe, the head of education at Wits University, said that if it was true that the department had given so little warning for the SATs, then the department "show so little understanding of the context and environment that teachers work in".
Council of South African Students chairperson Wesley Kgang, on hearing about the SAT dates, said the department was "totally mad".
