Qumbu district Life Orientation teachers and Unisa staff members (on far right: Prof Vuyisile Msila next to Mr Themba Manana. Mrs NE Msengana is wearing a pink jacket)
According to 2012 matric results, Qumbu is one of the worst-performing districts in the Eastern Cape with a 49.1% pass rate. The district’s pass rate dropped substantially by 10.3% compared to its performance in 2011. Some of the factors that contributed to this poor performance were the lack of scholar transport, a school nutrition programme (SNP) and learner teacher support material (LTSM), as well as the high absenteeism rate especially among teachers. As an intervention, Unisa’s Corporate Communication and Marketing Department in collaboration with the Department of Education in Qumbu organised a workshop for Life Orientation (LO) teachers. Around 85 Grade 9 LO teachers attended the event on 24 April 2013 at the Assemblies of God centre in Qumbu.
Prof Vuyisile Msila of Unisa’s College of Education gave a speech at the occasion entitled “Why professional development matters: Impact on self and learners”. Prof Msila urged teachers to continuously develop themselves in order to address the ever-changing needs of the classroom. While acknowledging the fact that in many instances teachers have to improvise with limited resources, Prof Msila believes that professional development is more about the will to succeed. According to Prof Msila, a number of aspects need to change before professional development can take place. Some pivotal objectives may be addressing the need for re-education, instilling a willingness to learn, breaking the teacher’s sense of isolation and most importantly putting the interests of learners first.
Teachers can develop themselves by enrolling for courses such as an Advanced Certificate in Education, an Honour’s Bachelor of Education or a Master’s of Education Degree at Unisa. These qualifications assist teachers to further their knowledge of various education disciplines and to improve learner success. Unisa’s Head: Tuition and Facilitation of Learning in the Eastern Cape, Mrs NE Msengana, spoke about how Unisa operates as an ODL institution and the need for Unisa students to be highly disciplined in order to succeed in their studies. To ease fears regarding E-learning, Mrs Msengana explained that most teachers already own cell phones and are part of the online community through social media platforms such as Facebook. Therefore, in the near future they will need to use their cell phones and other computer technology to communicate with Unisa.
By Achieve Ubisi
