Nomsa Marchesi

Dear MyPE While the Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the arrest of a suspect in connection to the leaked Matric Physics and Mathematics examination papers, there are still questions that we urgently need clarity on to ensure the credibility of what is left of the exams and to ensure that it does not happen again. The following points need clarifying: When can we expect a full report? How many papers were leaked? Did the Department distribute the replacement papers for learners … [Read more...] about Matric Exam Leaks – More Questions Than Answers

Dear MyPE The Democratic Alliance (DA) calls on the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga and the Director-General of the Department of Basic Education, Hubert Mweli, to urgently appear before the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, to account for the latest incident of leaked matric exam papers. It has emerged that Physical Science Paper 2 exam was leaked and seen by students before the commencement of the exam yesterday morning. This latest leak is damaging and has … [Read more...] about Motshekga and DBE must account to Parliament after another Matric exam leak

Dear MyPE The Democratic Alliance (DA) calls on the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to provide a progress update on the investigation into the leaked Mathematics Matric exam paper. In particular, regarding the source of the leak. It is vital that we know where this leak originated from to prevent this from happening again. It will also give assurance to both parents and learners that the DBE is on top of this situation. Preliminary investigations have revealed that further … [Read more...] about DBE must provide update on source of Matric exam leak

Dear MyPE The Democratic Alliance (DA) calls on the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to provide urgent plans on the work it is doing to reverse the alarming trend of decreases in Matric enrollment in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subjects. In a presentation before Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, the Department revealed that enrollment for STEM subjects decreased as follows from 2016 to 2020: Mathematics decreased by 40 385 Physical … [Read more...] about Major decline in Matric STEM subject enrollment

Dear MyPE The Democratic Alliance (DA) calls on the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga to address the nation on the state of readiness of schools as the majority of the remaining Grades are set to return back to school on Monday, 24 August 2020. The reopening of schools is an unnerving time for South Africa’s parents, many of whom are scared about schools’ ability to ensure the health and safety of their children. The Minister will make a presentation on school readiness in … [Read more...] about Calls on Minister Motshekga to urgently address the nation on the readiness of schools

Dear MyPE The Democratic Alliance (DA) has taken note of the ongoing debate surrounding the Comprehensive Sexual Education (CSE) curriculum. In light of the controversies, the DA wrote to the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education on Tuesday to request an urgent meeting with all relevant stakeholders in order to give the Department of Basic Education (DBE) an opportunity to give a full briefing on what the CSE curriculum will entail. We have reached out to the DBE who … [Read more...] about Calls for “Sex-ed” briefing

Dear MyPE The deadline for written submissions to the Essential Services Commission (ESC) to ensure that children are kept safe and supervised during strike action is this Friday, 6 July 2018. The ESC is investigating whether or not there should be a minimum staff presence at schools during education strikes. They want to hear from parents, educators and anyone in the school community about what happens when a strike occurs. All the information needed for a written submission can be … [Read more...] about Deadline for submissions to keep children safe during strikes close on Friday

Dear MyPE The South African Human Rights Commission's (SAHRC) has agreed to the DA's request that they investigate the Eastern Cape Department of Education for their failure to deliver top-up textbooks to more than 50 % of schools in the province. On 21 February 2017, the DA wrote to the SAHRC to request an investigation into the Department of Education in the Eastern Cape, after a presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education revealed that an astounding 42 % of top-up … [Read more...] about SAHRC agrees to investigate EC textbook delivery failures