KwaZulu-Natal Premier Mr Sihle Zikalala wished all learners, teachers and all stakeholders in the education sector in the province a wonderful, amazing and creative school year full of a positive spirit.
At least 2.8 million learners who have enrolled in over 6000 schooling facilities in the province were expected to turn up for the start of the 2020 academic year which began today, 15 January 2020.
Premier Zikalala has encouraged all parents to inspire all learners going back to school, from Grade R to Matric, to raise the bar and excel in this school year and enjoy their first day back in school after the summer holidays.
"Education is an apex priority for the Provincial Government. It is an engine that propels our growth and development. It is also through education that we can accelerate the mandate to drive economic transformation, fight poverty and inequality", said Zikalala.
"As the province of KwaZulu-Natal, we are more than ready for an academic year which promises positive results at the end of the year. We are inspired by the last year’s matric results which have shown a steady improvement from 66.4% in 2016 to 72.9% in 2017 to 76.2% in 2018 and a resounding 81.3% in 2019 - a remarkable improvement of 5.1% from 2018", said Premier Sihle Zikalala.
The Premier firmly believes that going back to school is a reason for celebration as it means a new step towards a brighter future.
As part of the KZN Provincial Government’s commitment to ensure a smooth start of the new school year, Premier Zikalala and his Provincial Executive Committee crisscrossed the length and breath of the province to monitor whether schools are adequately prepared for the start of this academic year and ensure that both teachers and learners will commence learning and teaching from day one.
Basic functionality is the ability of the school to realise its educational and social goals and it focusses on establishing a disciplined and purposeful school environment and dealing with absence, lateness and truancy.
Twelve teams, consisting of members of the legislature and departmental officials, visited 60 schools, armed with checklists to monitor educator attendance, learner attendance, delivery of learner support material, school nutrition, start of lessons and involvement of the school governing body.
All schools in the province are expected to begin learning and teaching in earnest on Wednesday as a prelude to achieving the Province’s goal to achieve even more better results this year.
The KZN Provincial Government is also pleased with the education department’s in-depth plan of action of the province’s state of readiness to ensure that all schools in the province open smoothly on Wednesday and start providing quality teaching and learning from day one.
KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala visited Gamula JS School and Zombizwe High in Jozini in the Umkhanyakude District Municipality.
For more information, contact:
Provincial Government Spokesperson
Lennox Mabaso
082 884 2403
OR
Bongani Mthethwa
KZN Premier Media Liaison
083 253 0748