EIKENHOF – ELETHU Themba Combined School welcomed Productivity SA, in partnership with Imfundo-SA at the launch of National Productivity Education Awards (NPEA) 2014 on Tuesday April 15.
The purpose of NPEA annual awards is to encourage productivity improvement in schools. The NPEA intends to recognise all stakeholders in participant schools who contribute to the overall success of that school. Learner improvement is one of the key indicators of productivity improvement.
The desired outcome of the NPEA is effective and efficient public schools that achieve the Department’s educational objectives, such as Quality of Learning and Teaching (QLTC). Productivity SA has been tasked with running the NPEA and entries are open to all schools countrywide.
At the ceremony held at the school, the Principal of Elethu Themba Combined, Mrs Mosala, said an intervention such as the National Productivity Education Awards is crucial for early learner development. “We really appreciate and hope this invention will increase learner’s performance and make them fit into the outside world. We also welcome the tables donated to our school,” she noted.
Meanwhile the Executive Manager, Productivity Organisational Solutions (POS), and Productivity SA acting CEO Mrs Lalane Janse van Rensburg encouraged “all to practice the notion of doing better today what I did yesterday and even better tomorrow”.
Previously POS and Infundo-SA partnered and the partnership resulted in educators being trained on Productivity Concepts, including waste elimination and provision of the Imfundo Smart project.
Imfundo‘s Lebona Moshanyana, appealed to all stakeholders and parents to take ownership of these interventions to ensure that tomorrow we have schools that are productive, efficient and we are proud of as citizens. “The NPEA looks at the entire schooling, not only teachers or learners. We are intending to improve the odds of an African child, to have a better future. In the US they have a concept ‘No child left behind’ and we need to ask ourselves when we die, what legacy are we going to leave for our children,” explained Mr Moshanyana.
The NPEA process not only aims to award performing schools, but also to provide feedback to schools in terms of areas of improvement and give them the opportunity to participate in upcoming years.
It is the intention of the initiative to ensure 100 per cent alignment to the Department of Education’s (DOE) objectives. The awards have seven categories and they will be evaluated on the following elements:
• 21st Century skills (only ICT component to be considered)
• Institutional values
• Leadership (Institutional Leadership and Curriculum Leadership)
• Results oriented performance
• Educators competence
• Stakeholder engagement
• Implementation of improvement (before and after]
• Monitoring and evaluation
• Sustainability, social and environmental impact
