Each year, the Department of Education (DBE) releases their plan to achieve the objectives of Chapter 9 in the National Development Plan, which is improving education, training and innovation. The current plan aims to achieve the following outcomes:
- Improved school-readiness of children
- 10-year-old learners enrolled in publicly funded schools read for meaning
- Youths better prepared for the further studies and the world of work beyond grade 9
- Youths leaving the schooling systems more prepared to contribute towards a prosperous and equitable South Africa
- School physical infrastructure and environment that inspires learners to learn and teachers to teach.
The report mentions the future of work and a requirement to equip learners with digital skills. One way they hope to reach this goal is to bring Coding and Robotics into the curriculum by 2023. Teachers will need to be upskilled to teach this subject.
The plan also notes various goals to improve school infrastructure and teacher support, and strategies to measure learning outcomes and monitor trends in mathematics, science and reading international assessments. It mentions the findings of the TIMMS study, which showed that a large proportion of South African children reach grade 5 without basic numeracy proficiency, and further findings that show children are now a grade level behind where they would have been without the interruptions of the pandemic.
The report notes the importance of collaboration between government, the private sector, and communities in achieving quality education outcomes.
