DA spokesperson on basic education Baxolile ‘Bax’ Nodada has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to fire Angie Motshekga from her position.
This after the party’s recent motion of no confidence in Ramaphosa’s cabinet.
The final straw for the minister of education, according to Nodada in a statement, should have been in 2018 upon the start of Ramaphosa’s tenure.
He said: “A study that year found that South African teachers could not pass simple mathematics and English tests, with some scoring as low as 10% for English first additional language and 5% for maths.
“If that was not a testament to minister Motshekga’s poor performance, then her empty promises of eradicating pit toilets, made that very same year and which she failed to deliver on, should very much give Ramaphosa good reasons to fire her.”
Nodada has five reasons for which Motshekga should be fired, and one of them relates to the case of Michael Komape, who drowned in a pit toilet in 2014.
According to Nodada, Motshekga has failed to eradicate and ensure safe sanitation in schools. He said Komape was not the first child to die under such circumstances, adding that Motshekga has also failed to address the issue of learner drop-outs.
He said: “Last year, 897 163 learners registered to write the NSC [national senior certificate] examination. The grade 10 enrolment in 2019 was however 1 045 424. This means that at least 148 261 learners dropped out of the system and did not complete matric.
“Currently, there are no adequate tracking mechanisms as well as retention strategies to ensure that these learners either stay in school or register at a TVET [Technical and Vocational Education and Training] colleges.
“Many learners drop out without having the skills to adequately contribute to the economy”.
He also accused the minister of failing to address the poor quality of education and poor education outcomes.
“In South Africa, many teachers cannot pass the very same tests they teach. Students experienced constant disruption to their education for the last two years. These have undoubtedly impacted the quality of their reading and writing. Learners are up to two years behind in these skills.
“Systemic testing is the best way to measure these impacts, however, the minister only intends on fully implementing systemic tests in 2024.”
He said these tests have already been implemented in the Western Cape, thereby proving a significant decline in language and mathematics.
“These subjects form the foundations of learning and urgent interventions need to be implemented in order to ensure learners do not fall even further behind.
“Her stalling of implementing such a test is concerning. It is also unclear how the minister will implement the systemic testing,” he added.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here.
