Minister of Education, Angie Motshekga was speaking during a community imbizo held in Ivory Park on 11 April in which she launched the Read to Lead programme.
Motshekga said she launched the programme because she hoped it will encourage both pupils and the community to read. She also announced that former Leeds and Bafana Bafana skipper, Lucas Radebe will be the ambassador of the programme. The focus of the campaign is to improve the reading abilities of all South African children whilst the main aim of the campaign is to ensure that all pupils are able to demonstrate age-appropriate levels of reading by 2019.
Among the attendees were officials from the Gauteng Department of Education, principals and teachers from Ivory Park schools, faith-based organisations, parents, councillors from City of Joburg and the regional director of Region A, Abigail Ndlovu.
“As a department, we want to make sure that the public’s education standard is improved, with township schools being our main priority area. [And] bringing a proper monitoring system to ensure that independent schools are properly registered… to avoid the problem of pupils going to so-called fly-by-night schools,” said head of the department, Edward Mosowe.
He said full attention will be given to children with special needs with the opening of 18 more schools. “The other focus area will be the early childhood development centres, which is the foundation that helps to stimulate the young ones’ mental cognitive skills. The skills development will also be another area that will be looked at by our department in an attempt to address the socioeconomic imbalances of the past,” he said.
Mosowe said the department is providing education to over 19 000 pupils in Ivory Park schools. “As a province, we are proud of last year’s matric results with schools from Ivory Park – Eqinsiweni Secondary School, which obtained an 84.9 percent matric pass rate, became our overall winner; and JB Matabane Secondary School with 81.9 percent.”
Speaking on the department’s ambition to lead the way in paperless classrooms, Mosowe said, “While providing this technology, we must make sure that sanitation is also provided to the pupils,” he told those present.
Motshekga congratulated the principals of Ivory Park schools for their good leadership and the Gauteng Education Department led by Panyaza Lesufi.
She promised to launch the Second Chance Matric Support Programme in Ivory Park. She acknowledged her department is faced with pressures of over-crowding at some schools in Gauteng, and the lack of proper infrastructure.
