MBOMBELA – The Mpumalanga Department of Education has already put plans in place to ensure that the 2015 school year starts without a glitch.
Admission of learners for 2015 started in May 2014 and was concluded at the end of August 2014. Currently, the department is addressing instances where parents were unable to get admission for their kids.
Each district has established admission committees to assist parents in this regard. Paper budgets for the 2015 school year were developed and dispatched to all schools at the end of September 2014.
The last monetary transfers to schools were concluded in October 2014. This money is expected to be used by schools to procure basic material for the enhancement of the teaching and learning process.
The Department – in compliance with the legislative framework – issued the 2015 post provisioning certificates to district directors on September 29, 2014, who commenced the distribution process to public schools on September 30, 2014.
The department for the 2015 academic year will maintain the same pool of educator posts 32 637 for distribution to public schools, with 394 of them distributed to LSEN schools to service 3,753 learners in grade one to 12, at an average teacher: learner ratio of 1:9.59.
The remaining 32 243 educator posts were distributed to public ordinary schools to service the 978,247 learners in grade one to 12 at an average teacher: learner ratio of 1:30.35.
The 32 637 posts thus distributed for the 2015 academic year to service a total public school learner enrolment of 982,206 in grade one to 12, will result in an overall educator: learner ratio for public schools of 1:30.
“These ratios are very favourable in terms of teaching and learning processes, and it is on this basis that the department again for 2015 maintained the same pool of educator posts for distribution to public schools (grade one to 12) as was approved for the 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 academic years,”explained Mr Jasper Zwane, the department’s spokesperson.
