Minister Angie Motshekga. File picture: Jason Boud
BASIC Education Minister Angie Motshekga confirmed on Sunday during a press briefing that the amended 2021 school calendar must be retained as it was from its very last amendment.
While addressing members of the media, Motshekga said that “the October vacation will not be interfered with”.
The Council of Education Ministers (CEM) further recommended that the lost number of school days should be recovered at district and school level, but with reasonableness.
“The CEM met on Friday to consider inputs from stakeholders, following rounds of consultations regarding the already amended school calendar for the 2021 academic year,” said Motshekga.
She also addressed acts of gender-based violence that were perpetrated against women and children by referring to the murder and mutilation of a fourth-year law student at the University of Fort Hare, Nosicelo Mtebeni.
This week, the Department of Basic Education released the results of the 2021 May/June exams.
“The examination was successfully administered, despite the enormous challenges relating to the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Motshekga.
“The prevalence of examination irregularities of a serious nature, such as imposters, crib notes, and possession of cell phones during the writing, have declined compared to previous years.”
She also voiced her concern about the alarming rate of teenage pregnancies in the country.
“Let us be clear that it is not just a problem of Gauteng, it is a national crisis.
“Most of these teenagers are of school-going age. It is a serious indictment on all of us as a society and we really need to reflect deeply on this crisis and take urgent action to arrest the moral decay,” she said.
Motshekga added that for its part the department and its stakeholders would intensify the implementation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education, which aimed to empower young people with age-appropriate information.