Primary Schooling minister Angie Motshekga has supplied extra data on the introduction of coding and robotics as topics at South African faculties – and why these matters weren’t included in current college topics.
Responding in a current written parliamentary Q&A, Motshekga stated that the coding and robotics curriculum for Grades R-9 has been developed as a stand-alone topic for the next causes:
- There may be not sufficient house within the Pure Science and Expertise curriculums to incorporate sufficient of the brand new content material with out eradicating an excessive amount of content material within the current curriculum;
- Including coding and robotics within the current topics would possibly require decreasing the content material of the opposite topics and would possibly have an effect on the articulation, stream and development of the topic;
- The notional hours are linked to the Annual Educating Plan (ATP), and the brand new content material will interrupt the stream of the content material;
- Academics could fall again to what they’re comfy with, that means that the brand new content material within the curriculum could by no means attain the learners successfully if the federal government provides it;
- Infusing the brand new topics into Life Expertise, Pure Science and Expertise would contain updating three totally different curriculums versus creating one new one;
- The Coding and Robotics curriculum is extra skills-focused than concept centered, that means there’s nonetheless a big want for the idea information contained in Pure Science and Expertise;
- The fourth-industrial revolution wants extra abilities taught to learners and never only a change in focus of topics which can be already supplied – extra time is required to arrange learners.
Motshekga stated that the draft Coding and Robotics curriculum for Grades R-9 has been offered and permitted at Heads of Schooling Committee (HEDCOM) and Council of Schooling Ministers (CEM) and has been submitted to the regulator Umalusi for analysis and high quality assurance.
She stated that the draft Curriculum and Evaluation Coverage Statements (CAPS) shall be piloted in 2021-2024 for Grades R-3 in 200 faculties, and for Grade 7-9 at 1,000 faculties. Full implementation throughout all grades will begin in 2025.
The minister added that the Division of Primary Schooling has secured preliminary funding for the Grades R-3 for an quantity of R77 million.
“A marketing strategy was submitted to the Nationwide Treasury requesting funding for the strengthening of Expertise topic in Grades 4-9 by the mixing of Coding and Robotics. The quantity permitted by Nationwide Treasury for the request was R60 million.”
In November, Motshekga printed a curriculum coverage document for public remark which can introduce plenty of further topics on the nation’s faculties.
Many of those topics are geared toward instantly serving to school-leaving pupils who won’t essentially full Grade 12 or enter college. The proposed topics cowl a variety of fields together with agriculture, artwork and varied expertise topics, together with:
- Agricultural Research;
- Ancillary Well being Care;
- Artwork and Design;
- Civil Expertise;
- Client Research;
- Digital Expertise;
- Electrical Expertise;
- Hospitality Research;
- Wholesale and Retail.
