The Department of Education in partnership with Kagiso Trust will be implementing the Beyers Naudé Schools Development Programme (BNSDP) in Riba Cross area in Sekhukhune district over the next five years with the aim of helping to improve the province’s matric pass rate.
It was learnt that the two partners have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to implement the programme in about 255 schools in the area for a period of five years before rolling it out to other districts. According to the trust’s Chief Executive Officer, Mankodi Moitse, the programme would contribute towards improving the learning outcomes for learners in the province. It will be guided by the province’s specific needs and contextualised for the environment of the schools in the district.
“The programme was first piloted in Limpopo in 2004 in partnership with the department. Then it was rolled out in the Free State which achieved exceptional results and continued to show a high matric pass rate of 87,5% in the previous academic year. We have signed a MoU with the department and we will start with programme implementation and roll-out over the next five years. In our bid to provide sustainable educational development solutions in districts and communities, we have spent a lot of time building and refining the BNSDP which we can now confidently say is at a point where it can be replicated beyond the areas where we started,” Moitse explained.
She further said the model is meant to be replicated by provinces, adding that their contribution to development is to build the intervention models. She emphasised that they aim to focus on Riba Cross district as the pilot district, adding that the province can replicate the whole model to ensure that all districts are covered. Their goal is to implement a comprehensive programme that will address some of the challenges that the schools are facing and improve teaching and learning outcomes.
Schools in the Free State are using the same programme and through the results they have seen there, Moitse indicated that programmes of this nature are long-term investments and not quick fixes. The programme will be guided by the needs in Limpopo and will be contextualised for the environment of the schools in the district, she said.
BNSDP is grounded in values of shared responsibility and accountability as well as the importance of involvement of parents and the community in the improvement of learner education and performance, Moitse explained. She reiterated that when Premier Stan Mathabatha and Education MEC, Ishmael Kgetjepe engaged with Kagiso Trust on the programme, it signalled a very positive re-engagement partnership. Based on the needs analysis that was conducted with 460 schools, they are targeting 255 schools which will be phased out in 3 to 5 years.
Moitse concluded by saying they hope that the implementation of the comprehensive programme in the second province would prove that the model is dynamic and adaptable. She called on all the provinces to work with this systemic intervention model, adapt the programme and replicate the success they have achieved in the Free State.
Story: ENDY SENYATSI
>>endy@observer.co.za
