Page 357 - Demo

Department: EducationCoding and Robotics To foster digital literacy, the department intends to implement a comprehensive Grade R-9 Coding and Robotics Curriculum Framework, aimed at equipping learners with a diverse range of skills and competencies. This initiative is designed to produce digitally literate students who are prepared for success in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and beyond. The Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) for Coding and Robotics received approval in February 2024, and the department is responsible for preparing principals and teachers for its full-scale implementation. Furthermore, in the 2025 academic year, all Foundation Phase teachers will receive training in preparation for the full-scale deployment in 2026. Coding and Robotics CAPS papers will be printed and sent to every Foundation Phase school. Three Streams Model This is one of the key contributions of the department towards ensuring that youth leave the system better prepared for further studies and the world of work beyond Grade 9. The department continues piloting the Three Streams Model with 17 identified schools piloting the technical occupational subjects in Grade 8. These will be further implemented in Grade 9 in 2025. This implies that the number of learners implementing vocationally oriented subjects in the pilot programme will increase. This underscores the department's dedication to enhancing educational quality, vocational skills, and expertise in occupational subjects going forward. Pro-poor intervention and support programmes Government has provided means for the continued delivery of pro-poor intervention programmes in support of poverty alleviation through the provision of %u201cSchool Nutrition Programme%u201d and %u201cNo Fee School Policy%u201d to provide learners with access to quality education without any financial barriers. National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) will provide a balanced nutritious meal to 1 594 531 deserving learners from quintiles 1 - 3, in public ordinary and selected special schools (as gazetted), from a total grant budget allocation of R1.828 billion, of which transfers exclusively set aside for school feeding accounts for R1.785 billion in 2025/26. This thus, benefits 4 813 participating schools from impoverished communities. One of the policy advancements made by the sector is the continued expansion of the breakfast programme, which sees the programme being ready to provide all learners across qualifying quintile categories (i.e. primary, combined and secondary schools) with an additional fortified cereal at the start of each school day. Norms and Standards for school funding (no fee schools%u2019 subsidy) is adequately supported as part of continued effort to addressing the funding disparities in %u201cper learner funding%u201d for public ordinary schools. This ensured 100 per cent funding across all quintile schools for the next medium-term period. Therefore, a total of 4 962 schools, which account for 1 601 758 learners in schools (as gazetted) will now be funded on par to the national recommended subsidy for no fee schools. Supply of classroom resources remains a top priority in improving the quality of teaching and learning in a classroom. As such, funding for the procurement of core learning material such as textbooks, stationery and other classroom resources like school furniture is set aside and ringfenced in the budget for these specific projects. This funding part of the provision made under norms which allows for adequate resourcing of the required classroom material including replenishment thereof. Curriculum and Exams The department will continue to maintain its intervention strategies and programmes whislt endevour employing to improve the matric pass rate from the previous outcomes, with 87 per cent NSC pass rate being targeted in 2025. To progressively move closer to attaining the envisioned pass mark, the department will maintain the working intervention programmes that were employed in past years, as these have contributed positively towards the improved learner outcomes. The primary intervention 336