The Basic Education Department has responded to mixed reactions surrounding the donation of foldable desks to five primary schools in the Eastern Cape, denying claims that it is outsourcing its responsibilities.

In an interview on Newzroom Afrika, Enoch Rabota, the department's Chief Director for the National Institute of Curriculum and Professional Development, discussed the initiative's rationale and addressed concerns raised by parents and teachers.

Rabota explained that the department is grappling with significant infrastructure backlogs, which include a lack of appropriate furniture and teaching facilities.

"As a country, we are suffering from huge infrastructure backlogs that include lack of furniture for teaching and learning," he said.

Given the current fiscal constraints, the department is exploring various solutions, including private-public partnerships to address these challenges.

"Government has to look at other innovative means through which we can address the huge infrastructure backlog that we are currently facing," Rabota said.

Though not universally well-received, foldable desks were introduced as a solution to the problem of inadequate learning environments.

Rabota acknowledged that "perhaps the solution that is being provided may not be the preferred solution at this point," but emphasised the context of where the department is coming from.

"Considering the fact that we have instances where learners have suffered indignity, where they have had to learn sitting on the floor and writing on their laps, so when this kind of innovation was presented to us, we thought that it’s worth considering."

One major concern raised by parents is the weight of the foldable desks and the burden on young children to carry them to and from school.

Rabota responded to these concerns, explaining that the department was mindful of the practical challenges. However, he stated that the decision to allow students to take the desks home was made in response to security concerns.

"Many of our schools are also experiencing challenges in terms of issues of security, where the level of vandalism, particularly in our schools, is very high," he said.

Rabota highlighted that keeping the desks at school would expose them to theft and damage due to inadequate security infrastructure in rural areas, including a lack of fences and lockable gates

"We have seen instances where things like chairs and desks have been removed from school premises, and when that happens, it really sets us back."

On the subject of teacher shortages, Rabota acknowledged that while there is a sufficient supply of qualified teachers, the issue lies with the state's capacity to employ them.

"The challenges that we are experiencing with the supply and demand of teachers are not in the availability of qualified teachers, but it is in the capacity of the state to employ available teachers," he said.

With increasing student enrollments, Rabota pointed out that the department is unable to expand the post basket to meet the demand, leading to overcrowded classrooms and overburdened teachers. "We have not been able to grow the post basket so that we deal with issues of overcrowding and issues of teacher workload."

As for early childhood development (ECD), which recently transitioned from the Department of Social Development to Basic Education, Rabota noted that professionalising the sector is a key priority.

"Part of what we are doing as basic education is to professionalize the sector, ensuring that we bring into the sector competent and qualified teachers who will be teaching in this sector," he said. Additionally, the department is working on a skills audit to assess the competencies of existing educators, and is considering upskilling them to bridge any gaps.

"We are going to be working with NGOs and organisations in the form of public-private partnership so that together we can ensure that we improve the quality of our ECD sector."

Rabota emphasised that while this transition and the push to professionalise ECD would require significant resources, it is essential to the growth and future of South Africa’s education system. "ECD in itself is a very huge sector that is going to need a lot of resources for it to be fully professionalised," he said.

hope.ntanzi@iol.co.za

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Basic Education Department defends foldable desk donations amid criticism