On this thought-provoking instalment of The Talking Point with Cathy Mohlahlana, Merle Mansfield, Programme Director of the Zero Dropout Campaign, discusses the teenage pregnancy crisis in South Africa and its contribution to school dropout. More than 4,000 girls between 10 and 19 years old have given birth in the Eastern Cape since the beginning of […]
Tags: SAfm, Merle Mansfield, Stephen Grootes, GEC, General Education Certificate, Department of Basic Education, matric, zdc, basic education
Posted on 13 August 2024 under Zero Dropout in the News.
The Zero Dropout Campaign notes the National Council of Province (NCOP) passing the Basic Education Law Amendment (BELA) Bill this morning. Last Thursday, the NCOP made a hurried attempt to pass this Bill, and in the process almost violated its own procedural requirements. “This piece of legislation will have a profound impact on the education […]
Tags: Parliament, National Assembly, NCOP, GEC, General Education Certificate, matric, BELA Bill, Basic Education Laws Amendment
Posted on 14 May 2024 under Press releases.
Recently, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) published its Annual Performance Plan for the next financial year. Of particular interest to the Zero Dropout Campaign in the plan is the implementation and progress of the new General Education Certificate (GEC) pilot. According to the DBE’s plan, “The GEC recognises formal learning that has occurred by […]
Tags: GEC, DBE, General Education Certificate, NEET, national senior certificate, dropout
Posted on 17 April 2024 under Press releases.
In this SAfm interview with Stephen Grootes, Merle Mansfield, Programme Director of the Zero Dropout Campaign, discusses the protentional implications of the Department of Basic Education’s new General Education Certificate for Grade 9 currently being piloted in schools across South Africa. The General Education Certificate is scheduled for national implementation in 2025, and if so, […]
Tags: GEC, General Education Certificate, Department of Basic Education, matric, zdc, basic education, SAfm, Merle Mansfield, Stephen Grootes
Posted on 16 April 2024 under Zero Dropout in the News.
There has been debate whether the General Education Certificate (GEC) will, despite its intentions, inadvertently formalise the dropout phenomenon in South Africa, which is still at crisis level.
Tags: DBE, General Education Certificate, Department of Basic Education, matric, The Citizen, zdc, NEET, national senior certificate, NSC, dropout, GEC
Posted on 10 April 2024 under Zero Dropout in the News.