The teaching of Life Orientation (LO) should be sustained to equip young people with critical thinking and analytical skills to enhance the holistic development of learners, according to the Education Specialist for Life Orientation, Ms Martha Bernard-Phera.

Life Orientation is part and parcel of the key fundamental subjects that are required towards the attainment of the National Senior Certificate (NSC). Life Orientation is compulsory for all learners in Further Education and Training (FET). It is a unique subject in that it applies a holistic approach to the personal, social, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, motor and physical growth and development of learners. This encourages the development of a balanced and confident learner who can contribute to a just and democratic society, a productive economy and an improved quality of life for all. The subject contains the following six topics in Grades 10 to 12, namely: Development of the self in society; Social and environmental responsibility; Democracy and human rights; Careers and career choices; Study skills; and Physical education.

Ms Bernard-Phera further stated that, for the FET Phase, the five tasks were assessed via the process of School Based Assessments (SBAs). “These tasks consist of a Source Based Task, Project, Physical Education, Controlled Test and Final Exam. For Grade 12 the final task is a Common Assessment Task (also called the LO CAT) that is set by the DBE and moderated by Umalusi. This task is marked at school level by subject teachers. Since all tasks are School Based Assessments, learners tend to perform relatively well. However, the final task in Grade 12 is LO CAT, which is of a higher standard and at times poses challenges to learners who are struggling with critical thinking, problem solving and application skills. It can be argued that LO is the study of the self in relation to others and to society. It addresses skills, knowledge, and values about the self, the environment, responsible citizenship, a healthy and productive life, social engagement, recreation and physical activity, careers and career choices. These include opportunities to engage in the development and practice of a variety of life skills to solve problems, to make informed decisions and choices and to take appropriate actions to live meaningfully and successfully in a rapidly changing society. It not only focuses on knowledge, but also emphasises the importance of the application of skills and values in real-life situations, participation in physical activity, community organisations and many other initiatives.

“Life Orientation is an essential part of the curriculum which seeks to teach learners life skills they need in mitigating the challenges of everyday life. To cope with the increasing pace and change of modern life, learners need new life skills such as the ability to deal with Gender-Based Violence, unemployment, stress and other social ills that plague our modern-day societies. To ensure that the curriculum remains relevant and meaningful to the learners, content on Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) was recently infused into the current LO topics and piloted across the nine provinces. A distinction must be drawn between Sex Education and Sexuality Education. Sexuality Education deals with the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes that learners require to make informed decisions regarding their sexuality, reproductive health, career goals, rights and responsibilities. The focus of Sexuality Education is to provide all learners with age-appropriate information to delay sexual debut, to focus on their career goals and to protect themselves against STIs, HIV/Aids and unwanted pregnancies. Sexuality Education is therefore a values-based programme that encapsulates core messages which are based on human rights,” explained Ms Bernard-Phera.