To address the gap, the ministry has introduced Grade 0 in public primary schools, especially in rural areas. There are now about 452 primary schools with Grade 0. The World Bank-supported project is working in 340 of those schools. In total, 440 Grade 0 classrooms are being supported.
The project has also developed a syllabus for Grade 00, for children aged three to four, and Grade 0, for children aged five to six. The syllabus follows competency-based education and is supported by a teacher’s guide, learner workbook and storybooks.
Tsabedze-Dlamini said before the syllabus was developed, teachers had no standard curriculum to follow. They used whatever material they could find, including material from the internet, some of which was not age-appropriate.
“You will find a teacher talking about different types of clouds in preschool education,” she said. “They were talking about so many things that are not age-appropriate.”
She said the materials have now been approved by the board that approves syllabi in the country. Validation visits are underway and are expected to be completed by the end of December. Training of teachers is expected to start in January.
“It is very important that we do not just develop and then take it to the teachers,” she said. “We must make sure these teachers are trained on how to use this syllabus, especially at this level, because it is totally different from the way they teach in primary school.”
The project has also developed two assessment tools. The first is the MELQO tool, which measures developmental milestones, school readiness, and physical, social and emotional development. The second is the ENGAGE tool, which assesses the learning environment, including how the teacher interacts with learners and whether learners participate in learning.
Project-Cordinator-Khanyisile-Mokoena-making-her-presentation.
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