The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) has appealed to the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to conduct more research on the proposed Grade 9 General Education Certificate.
The General Education Certificate is predicated on the 3-Stream Model which has the academic pathway, the technical vocational pathway and the technical/occupational pathway. The plan aims to send more learners into technical education. #GECNotSchoolLeavingCertificate
— Dep. Basic Education (@DBE_SA) September 27, 2019
It says the department should not be seen to be encouraging learners to leave school without proper support and resources.
In all the speeches, what was communicated was that the General Education
Certificate would facilitate the pathways between schools and colleges at a
level below Grade 12. #GECNotSchoolLeavingCertificate— Dep. Basic Education (@DBE_SA) September 27, 2019
This comes after Minister Angie Motshekga announced at the Sadtu elective conference in Nasrec, on Thursday, that grade 9 learners would receive a school leaving certificate to assist them to acquire technical skills.
Offering a GEC is not an indication of the exit of learners from a learning pathway in schools but provides better decision-making for and access to further learning after Grade 9. #GECNotSchoolLeavingCertificate
— Dep. Basic Education (@DBE_SA) September 27, 2019
Sadtu general secretary Mugwena Maluleke says, “There is a certificate that is proposed by the department of education at grade 9 which people misunderstood it as an exit certificate. It is an endorsement certificate for you to be able to branch into different levels of education like occupational, vocational technical or academic.”
“However, go and make sure that we understand the modality, the policies and how we can address these particular issues because it can end up being a deliberate drop out campaign,” adds Maluleke.
This is being wrongly understood as a termination point rather than an accreditation point for what has been achieved (currently no certification point prior to Grade 12 and half of our kids leave school unaccredited) & a decision point for choosing options academic & vocational
— Mary Metcalfe (@metcalfemary11) September 27, 2019
