Speaking at a media briefing on 8 March 2019, Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, pointed out that the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is well and truly upon us. To create a sustainable industrialisation and to keep pace with the world, the minister said that South Africa was developing a coding curriculum to be included in GET from Grades R to 9.
"The curriculum will provide learners with an understanding of coding and will develop their skills and competencies to prepare them for the 4IR. The curriculum will ensure that our schooling system produces learners with the foundations for future work, and equip them with skills for the changing world," she enthused.
Motshekga said that her department was grateful to Unisa. "It has generously agreed to partner with the DBE by making available its 24 ICT laboratories throughout the country for the training of 72 000 teachers in Coding."
"The Coding curriculum will develop learners’ ability to solve problems, think critically, and work collaboratively and creatively; function in a digital and information-driven world; apply digital and ICT skills; and to transfer these skills to solve everyday problems. Learners will also become a new generation of creative, innovative thinkers that can use coding to express their ideas; and adopt a culture of being self-directed, life-long learners," concluded the minister.
You can read the Minister’s speech here.
* Compiled by Sharon Farrell, Editor: Internal Communication, Department of Institutional Advancement
Publish date: 2019-03-13 00:00:00.0