Eastern Cape orders new R1.6-billion textbooks as Western Cape holds back
CAPE TOWN: The Eastern Cape began ordering Grade 1 to 3 learning materials from the new R1.6 billion Foundation Phase National Catalogue this week, while the Western Cape is holding off until procurement concerns are resolved. The Eastern Cape has started ordering...
Eastern Cape orders new R1.6-billion textbooks as Western Cape holds back
CAPE TOWN: The Eastern Cape began ordering Grade 1 to 3 learning materials from the new R1.6 billion Foundation Phase National Catalogue this week, while the Western Cape is holding off until procurement concerns are resolved.
Latest
Fuel hikes: Relief granted to Western Cape school transport operators
CAPE TOWN: School transport operators in the Western Cape, who protested over rising fuel costs, have been given temporary financial relief, at the 11th hour, with matric exams beginning on Tuesday.
71,000 Western Cape learners at risk amid bus operator fuel hike demands
A one-day school bus operator strike on Tuesday over soaring fuel prices has left thousands of Western Cape learners facing an uncertain route to school. Operations have temporarily resumed pending provincial feedback, with rural families bearing the brunt of further disruptions.
Top teacher urges daily reading to fight illiteracy
BOKSBURG: National Best Teacher Mpho Anaki Mosala says daily reading, classroom reading corners, and regular comprehension checks are among her core tools to help young learners engage deeply with books as South Africa continues to battle weak literacy outcomes.
The R1.6bn procurement saga: Politics, catalogues, and literacy
The messy R1.6bn Foundation Phase catalogue saga reveals how legal flaws, compounded by political clashes and mixed messages, jeopardise 2027 literacy goals — leaving teachers in limbo and learners the potential losers.
Foundation Phase catalogue approved, but hurdles remain
CAPE TOWN: Five months after being suspended, provinces have been given the all-clear to order Grade 1 to 3 materials for 2027 from the new Foundation Phase school catalogue. But what exactly has been approved? …
Principals wrestle with homework in the AI era
POLOKWANE: Artificial intelligence is forcing schools to rethink how homework is set and assessed, with principals at a recent national conference raising concerns about learners using AI to complete work they may not understand.
Across our desk
Westlake principal bound for Antarctica
Tracey Petersen-Brown leads from the front at Westlake Primary School, which has the motto “Dream Big”. Aged 35, she has spent five years as principal of the no-fee school in the south of Cape Town. Next month, the young principal will take a week-long break from daily classroom challenges to fly to Chile and board a ship for a funded Antarctic Expedition alongside global leaders in sustainability and climate awareness. She was invited by MasiSports to join the 2041 Expedition led by polar explorer Robert Swan. Upon her return, she will inject new expertise into her lively, overcrowded school in Ficus Street, which sits adjacent to an eco-sensitive wetland … Read More
Education By Numbers
A study that followed the same group of children from the start of Grade R to the end of Grade 3 in public primary schools in Cape Town found that large gaps existed in literacy between children at poorer schools, which charged no or low fees (up to R850 a year), and mid-fee schools that charged R11,500 a year or more. The children at mid-fee schools outperformed those from poorer schools, with 92% reaching Grade 3 reading benchmarks, according to the study, known as Roots and Shoots. In poorer schools, less than half the children reached these benchmarks.
What we're reading
Mother-tongue learning: Bilingual education expands into Grade 5 as experts warn that implementation and teacher support will be critical – TimesLIVE
Screen-time alert: Major study links high screen time to poorer learning and language outcomes – The Guardian
Online privacy: SAHRC to launch report on October 22 on children’s privacy and safety online – DigWatch
Beyond our border: Three bicycles for 39 volunteers – the uphill battle to fund playful parenting in rural Zambia – The Conversation Africa
Global comparative data: Education at a glance: South Africa – OECD
EdDesk profile ⭐: Bringing specialist education journalism back to South Africa – The Media Online
On the calendar: National Teaching Month in South Africa, incorporating UNESCO’s World Teachers Day on October 5.
“The official (departmental) interventions at schools like Cherry are the same ones that unintentionally undermine teaching and learning in the classroom.”
– Professor Jonathan Jansen. Read the book review