Learners in this town have for the past two weeks been revising the 2018 academic work and have not started with the 2019 curriculum. The DA shadow minister of basic education, Nomsa Marchesi, and Free State MPL, James Letuka, are expected to address the parents and principals on measures they plan to take to rescue the situation. 

This, after the parents and the headmistress at the Koffiefontein Combined School, Susan Nieuwoudt, expressed concerns as to whether learners will be progressed to the next grade based on their Schools Based Assessment (SBA) commonly known as the year mark or whether they will be expected to write exams. The party has in a statement outlined that the purpose of the visit is to come up with amicable solutions that will be escalated to the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, regarding the situation in this mining town.

The Free State Department of Education’s spokesperson, Howard Ndaba, has nonetheless told OFM News that Grade 4 to 11 learners who were affected by the shutdown of schools due to protests last year, must all write examinations.

He said the department has resolved to schedule exams for learners in these grades at the end of the months before any of the 2019 academic work could commence. Ndaba said the SBA mark cannot be used in all grades to progress learners to the next class as it only amounts to a certain percentage in the different grades.

He highlighted that grade 1-3 learners will not write exams because according to their policy their SBA counts to 100 % and they are not compelled to write exams, while it counts 75% in grade 4-6, 60% in grade 7-9, and only 25% for grade 10-11.

The 2019 curriculum for schools in this town is expected to kick off on March 4.

OFM News