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Dawn of a new era for educators

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The Department of Basic Education (BDE) and Unisa have launched a partnership on teacher development centres. The deal will enable Unisa to have access to all fully equipped teaching centres of the DBE in order to extend ICT services and support to Unisa students and DBE stakeholders. The launch was held at the Matthew Goniwe School of Leadership and Governance (MGSLG) in Benoni on 25 November 2016.

Hubert Mweli (Director General: Department of Basic Education), Enver Surty, (Deputy Minister: Basic Education), and Prof Veronica McKay (Executive Dean: College of Education, Unisa)

Professor Veronica McKay, the Executive Dean of the College of Education, delivered a welcoming address on behalf of the VC of Unisa. She said that the university was proud to be part of a project that aimed to place teaching at the cutting edge of technology and produce quality teachers who meet the changing demands brought by technological advancements.

“The University of South Africa deliberately chooses to be a part of the solution, and not the problem. Moreover, we are deeply committed to our vision of being the African university shaping futures in the service of humanity. Surely shaping futures must begin from the cradle, and there can be no doubt whatsoever that teachers play a crucial role in this process.  That being acknowledged, then we must equally acknowledge that the professional development and the continued professional development of our teachers are paramount,” she said.

McKay said Unisa and the DBE had both contributed financially to the refurbishment of 34 DBE teacher development centres. The DBE had contributed R36 million toward the project while Unisa funded the balance. She added that the project would have massive dividends for Unisa students.

“The aim of the project is to give our teaching students, both in-service and full-time, from Grade R to PhD levels, access to technology that will foster continuing professional development. The centres will be equipped with Wi-Fi and will have video-conferencing facilities that will enable synchronous teaching and learning.” she explained.

According to the Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Education and Development (ISPFTED), the DBE and the provincial education departments (PEDs) will establish district teacher development centres (DTDCs), to serve as hubs for the continuing professional development of teachers in all districts across South Africa. Currently, 147 such centres have been established across the country, each serving an average of 300 schools. Unisa has resourced 34 teacher centres and few are expected to be added, which will improve the education department’s and Unisa’s reach to both student teachers and practising teachers.

Enver Surty, the Deputy Minister of Basic Education, hailed the partnership as a significant milestone that will go a long way to address the quality of education and broaden access. “ICT is a critical and important platform. The Department of Basic Education is committed to the digitisation of teaching and learning and this will ensure access to education without limit,” he said.

He said the facilities serve as a massive investment, which shows government’s efforts to tackle education as an apex priority. He said the project will ensure access to remote areas and ease the burden of costs of students who used to travel in a quest to access ICT.

The launch was  graced by the presence of high-ranking officials from both Vodacom and the Department of Higher Education and Training, who were also  instrumental on the success of the project.

*By Percy Mthombeni

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Publish date: 2016-12-01 00:00:00.0

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