The Basic Education Ministry says the General Education Certificate it plans to issue learners exiting Grade 9 will allow them access to TVET colleges or other institutions to learn technical skills.
Basic Education minister, Angie Motshekga, told delegates at the elective conference of the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) in Johannesburg on Thursday that they are working on formalising Grade 9 as one of the exit points of schooling.
Ministry spokesperson, Elijah Mhlanga, says this is part of enabling learners who want to enter specialist schools to do so.
“That’s how artisans are produced, and we are talking artisans now… and it is also part of the three streams of education that we are talking about – where we are launching focused schools where people can go for Maritime schools, Aviation and even Engineering… so this is part and parcel of that particular project,” says Mhlanga.
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