As part of preparations for these exams, the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has implemented several programmes to ensure that learners are well prepared.
“The GDE’s main intervention has been the Secondary School Improvement Programme (SSIP), which has offered additional tuition on Saturdays and during school holidays to about 65 000 Grade 12 learners in 385 priority schools,” says Barbara Creecy, MEC for education.
She adds that these are schools that they believe will need help to achieve the provincial target of an 80 per cent pass rate.
“SSIP offers support in 10 subjects such as mathematics, mathematical literacy, physical science, life sciences, accounting, economics, business studies, history, geography and English (first additional language),” she says.
While SSIP targets priority schools, the GDE also offers support to other schools where it sets up similar supplementary tuition programmes.
“Teachers are using the specialised lesson plans developed for SSIP and learners are using worksheets and resources, which have been developed by experts for SSIP.”
