“The pandemic has highlighted the digital divide and the need to intensify efforts to ensure connectivity and equitable access to data to equip learners with knowledge and skills for a changing world,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said during the recent Virtual Basic Education Sector Lekgotla. Schools must therefore teach skills that will support the growth of the economy and enable financial inclusion and relook critical subject areas such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), and the curriculum in general. 

“Approximately 200 schools will be piloting the draft Coding and Robotics curriculum from Grades R to 3 and approximately 1,000 schools will be piloting the Grade 7 curriculum during 2021. A total of 110 project schools have been selected in nine provinces, as well as the release of subject advisors to participate in the briefing and planning process. European Union funding has been made available for the project,” said Mr Thabang Hlakula, Director for the Quality Learning and Teaching (QLTC) Directorate. He further explained that, “The programme is designed in such a manner that all types of schools are provided with an opportunity to participate in the programme. Participating schools include mainstream (50 schools), special (4 schools), full-service (4 schools), multi-grade rural (40 schools) for the programme to be as equitable as possible. Criteria for the selection of these schools included security, internet connectivity and good management. It was further recommended that some of the selected schools could be used as hubs or host schools”. 

The Coding and Robotics team has embarked on an awareness and advocacy roadshow across all nine provinces to evaluate the state of readiness for implementation. The programme will be introduced incrementally with Grades R, 3 and 7 being introduced in 2021; Grade 4 and 6 in 2022; Grade 8 in 2022; and Grade 9 in 2023. A roadshow was conducted in the KwaZulu-Natal Province from 1 to 5 March 2021, with the team visiting six districts: Amajuba; Thukela; King Cetshwayo; Zululand; UMkhanyakude; and Pinetown. The response from the province, districts and school principals was overwhelming with a total number of 120 school principals and 57 districts and provincial officials attending meetings. 

The pilot will resume for Grades R, 3 and 7 during May 2021. “It is exciting to note the level of preparedness from the province, districts and schools. The province has established Steering Committees at provincial and district levels, with the committees being headed by senior departmental officials. The purpose of the committees is to oversee, monitor and support the project, with regular meetings being scheduled to update the system. The Coding and Robotics team will be meeting with all participating districts and school principals across all nine Provincial Education Departments” Mr Hlakula concluded.