Sunday, September 14, 2014

Teachers Cannot Teach Children to Read in South Africa

Zuma speaks of improved education facilities and training in South Africa. The Democratic Alliance seem to think that teachers are not sufficiently trained to teach children to read. Rural schools have the most drop outs. Teachers text on their cell phone during lessons leaving the children to their own devices.

Here is the article published on the Guardian LV -

The Democratic Alliance (DA) official opposition party in South Africa issued a report saying that their teachers cannot teach children to read. According to the report, teacher training is not sufficient to ensure that children are taught to read. The act of instilling awareness of the importance of reading is absent.

Dr. Nick Taylor, CEO of the National Education Evaluation and Development Unit, presented his findings at an education conference and maintained that teachers were not specializing in English, the dominant medium of instruction. Teachers are not receiving adequate training to teach in English. Taylor admitted that, although a framework is in place, it lacks proper standards for teacher training. Taylor emphasized that no attempt has been made to control the standards at different universities in South Africa.

Annette Lovemore of the DA said that teachers who receive four years of training and are still not able to teach students to read should not be allowed. There is a total lack of competency by teachers who do not encourage students to read and infuse the desire for knowledge. It appears that teachers are poorly trained and cannot develop the additional skills required to educate the learners effectively.

The DA has raised the problem of education standards in South Africa and urgently seeks a response from the government regarding improving the fundamental right of children to learn to read. The President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, told a different story about the education standards implemented over the past 20 years. Zuma stated that steady progress has been made in the development of education. Zuma commented on the improvement in matric results over recent years, the provision of support by government and the need to increase teaching in mathematics and science.

At a meeting in Pretoria, Zuma said the African National Congress (ANC) has built modern school facilities with the aim of delivering a competent learning environment. Zuma stated that investment into the future of education is needed, and further educational facilities need to be developed. Zuma issued a call for teachers and principals to get further training in order to manage schools properly.

Read the rest of the article on this link.

http://guardianlv.com/2014/09/teachers-cannot-teach-children-to-read-in-south-africa/

There is another interesting article on European Knights Projects regarding South African schools -