Unisa online - Conference on Positive Discipline in Education

The conference logo Prof Ignatius Gous from the Department of Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies

When MEC Angie Motshekga assumed office as MEC for Education in Gauteng, she asked heads of schools to identify the most pressing problems they faced. "The principals were almost unanimous in pointing to a lack of discipline," she told delegates at the first Conference on Positive Discipline in Education, which took place between 28 February and 3 March 2009 in the ZK Matthews hall at Unisa. The conference was a joint effort between the Gauteng Department of Education and Unisa. The Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Unisa, Prof Barney Pityana, opened the conference by referring to the moral basis of discipline, and the importance thereof for education and society. Prof Ignatius Gous from the Department of Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, and also chair of the School Governing Body of Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool, said the idea of the conference originated from meetings between the school and the MEC about some disciplinary matters in the school. He explained that discipline rests upon three legs: the contribution of parents, educators and learners. If any one of these is lacking, it spoils the broth. For this reason, the logo of the conference was the three-legged pot. A plant growing from the pot sumbolises the growth that is to take place when positive discipline creates a safe and nurturing environment. In such circumstances, the growth will transcend the safe sphere and venture towards meaningful goals. Mrs Angie Motshekga, receiving a pot filled with biltong and sweets

Prof Gous continued with seven statements to guide the deliberations:

• Declare a decade devoted to education, where it is afforded high priority and is ring-fenced from party political abuse. In Gauteng, we have the Blue IQ project where we open new avenues of transport and celebrate the origin of humankind at Maropeng. What we need now is a TRUE IQ project, which focuses on the future of our children and our country.
• We need to identify educational and industry experts to address these challenges .
• We need to develop and package training programmes to be delivered to schools, parents and learners.
• We need to mobilise, train and send out peer-to-peer teams to present these programmes.
• We need an Educational Court, like the small-claims court, to focus on educational and disciplinary matters. This will provide speedy and visible handling of all disciplinary matters.
• We need to balance the rights of learners and the responsibilities of learners. Learners want to do what they are called to do, that is, learn. They need simple but effective codes of conduct in the classroom and on school premises.
• We need to involve the expertise of parents, industry and the community in school matters.

The conference was of a unique, but special nature. The first two days, Saturday 28 February and Sunday 1 March 2009, took the form of a public conference and was attended by more than 500 invited delegates (including heads of schools, chairs of School Governing Bodies, learners, representatives of Educational District offices, academics, union representatives, private schools, the press and industry). The other two days, Monday 2 and Tuesday 3 March 2009, took the form of an academic conference aimed mainly at education specialists. The papers presented on these two days will be collated and published in accredited academic journals.

The aim of this conference was to provide the launching pad for a long-term programme that will address this very important area of education. It is hoped that by bringing together all the stakeholders in education today, and by pooling our knowledge, experiences and visions, we can ensure that the future leaders of tomorrow are well prepared, disciplined and educated.