Basic Education Minister, Mrs Angie Motshekga and Deputy Minister, Dr Reginah Mhaule, responded to pertinent questions pertaining to the Basic Education Sector, as part of the Social Services Cluster response, in Parliament on 5 and 6 September 2023. A few of the matters responded to were, amongst others, Mother Tongue-Based Bilingual Education; Systemic testing of Reading; and Infrastructure.
The DBE is in the process of initiating Mother Tongue-Based Bilingual Education (MTBBE), for African languages to be utilised as languages of learning and teaching beyond Grade 3, entering the space previously enjoyed by English and Afrikaans. The DBE is of the firm belief that through the MTBBE, learning outcomes will improve as learners learn best through their home languages. The MTBBE has been piloted by the Eastern Cape Department of Education, wherein IsiXhosa and Sesotho are utilised for learning and teaching up to Grade 9 for all content subjects such as, Mathematics, Natural Science and Technology and Social Sciences, to name a few. The Eastern Cape Province is currently implementing the MTBBE in all districts in the province. The DBE intends to adopt the Eastern Cape model across the remaining provinces.
In respect of assessments, the DBE conducts a series of purposeful systemic assessments to monitor the trends in achievement levels on reading comprehension. These plans have been institutionalised within the Medium-Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) as national, regional and international assessment programmes, administered under the umbrella of a national assessment framework, to monitor the achievement of Reading. Since 2022, the emerging literacy skills have been monitored annually through the Early Learning National Assessment (ELNA). In 2022, the Department conducted its national Systemic Evaluation in Grades 3, 6 and 9 to benchmark and monitor achievement gaps on Reading across different phases in the General Education and Training (GET) Phase. This assessment was done to establish a baseline on reading comprehension, and will be repeated every three years. The Department also participates in the Southern and Eastern Consortium for Monitoring Education Quality (SACMEQ) and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) every five years, to monitor reading achievement against regional and international benchmarks. The last round of PIRLS was released on 16 May 2023, through a National Seminar on Reading Literacy.
The Department also provided preliminary estimates of prioritised infrastructure backlogs reflected in the DBE Maintenance Investment Planner and will, through the Accelerated School Infrastructure Delivery Initiative (ASIDI) and Sanitation Appropriate for Education (SAFE) initiative, continue with the eradication of inappropriate structures and upgrading of classrooms to address overcrowding; upgrading of water supply to meet norms and standards; and upgrading of sanitation to meet norms and standards at identified schools.
The Social Services Cluster consists of Ministers from Basic Education, Health, Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Human Settlements, Social Development, Sport, Arts and Culture and Water and Sanitation for an inter-governmental approach to resolving national challenges to restore the dignity of all South Africans for a quality education and life.