Government's Programme of Action - Gauteng Online

10 • Programme of Action - Gauteng Provincial GovernmentStrategic Priority 2:Promoting quality education andskills developmentOutcome StatementTo develop well-educated and skilled people to build a productive, socially cohesive and well-governed GautengThe aim is to eliminate disparities in access to the qualityeducation, skills development and invest in the people ofGauteng to build well-educated, skilled, and productivepeople. In this regard, we should adopt a holistic approachto human development and improving people’s qualityof life, making the necessary interventions from cradle tograve.Our strategic priorities are the revival of the educationsystem and to make schools work by going back to basics.We shall ensure that schools become centres of excellence,build a social compact for quality learning and improvethe quality of public schooling system through trainingand skills development. This will include strong focus onearly childhood development, universal access to GradeR and the promotion of Maths, Science, Technologyand Languages as well as improving human resources,massifying skills development and closing the skills gap.Programmes1. Providing quality public schooling and improvingthe efficiency of the public education system is ofutmost importance. In this regard a comprehensiveschool strategy and plan to make schools centres ofexcellence will be developed. The intention is to improvethe quality of schooling for the majority of the childrenof the province and ensure that all children becomeeffective readers and are literate in mathematics so thatthey are able to participate effectively both in furtherlearning and in society as a whole.2. The integrated Early Childhood Developmentprogrammes and taking special care of young peoplewill ensure that children from birth to about nine yearsgrow and thrive, physically, mentally, emotionally,spiritually and socially. In this regard in the next fiveyears we shall invest in our youngest citizens throughthe implementation of the Gauteng ECD strategycoordinated through the ECD Institute and develop acomprehensive provincial programme and curriculumstandards for Grade R and centre-based ECD. Providea comprehensive package of services in a range of sitesin a continuum from ECD centres to communities tohomes so as to increase participation and facilitate thetraining of ECD practitioners through the FET system asa means of improving the quality of ECD. In additionwe shall lay the basis for the further extension of GradeRIn the next five years we shall prioritize foundation phaseliteracy and numeracy as a critical lever for successfulschooling and learning, support outcomes-basededucation and the national new curriculum introducedup to Grade 12. We will create a culture of achievementand improve learner outcomes and prioritize supportfor Grade 10–12 learners, particularly in underperformingschools, this will require the support anddevelopment of educators who teach subjects in whichlearners under-perform. Emphasis will be placed ofincreasing the participation of learners, particularlygirls in mathematics, science and technology as ameans of eliminating gender disparities in educationand access to skills development. The effective useof ICTs and Gauteng Online will be encouraged toimprove learning and teaching.The training of Education Professionals including in theeight accredited FET colleges which have been identifiedto train ECD practitioners will be vigorously pursued,this will be coupled with re-opening of some teacher