Extra time allocated for improving Foundation Phase Curriculum

Western Cape pupils will receive extra time to catch up on the hours of maths and reading they lost during the Covid-19 pandemic.

 The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) announced that in the second half of the school year, which started on Tuesday, pupils in Grades 1 to 3 will be given extra time for the two subjects every week.

 Education MEC David Maynier said. "These are the grades that were most severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and we must do everything we possibly can to ensure that our youngest students are not disadvantaged in later grades,"

According to the Systemic tests for 2019 and 2021 Grade 3 pass rate in Maths dropped by 13.8 percentage points and the pass rate in Language dropped by 8 percentage points between 2019 and 2021.

An extra two hours of reading lessons every week and an extra hour of Maths will be provided after adjusting the amount of time allocated to Life Skills. This will result in an additional 60 learning hours

Minister Maynier has confirmed that the length of the School day will not be increased.

Done by Lizeka Tsotetsi