Are there too many school days in South Africa?
A listener recently examined the number of school days in South Africa and found that the Department of Basic Education scheduled 200 school days last year, increasing to 203 this year.
School governing bodies cost scholar transport schemes in the Western Cape millions. Picture: Eyewitness News
Lester Kiewit interviews Basil Manuel of the National Professional Teachers' Organisation of South Africa (Naptosa).
Listen below.
Are our children spending too much time in school?
A listener recently examined the number of school days in South Africa and found that the Department of Basic Education scheduled 200 school days last year, increasing to 203 this year.
This aligns with countries like Brazil and Zimbabwe but exceeds the number of school days in the UK, France, Botswana, the USA, and Australia.
Conversely, it’s still fewer days than in China, Russia, and India.
Manuel says this has been an 'eternal debate', questioning whether we truly benefit from a full 200 days of school.
Speaking on behalf of Naptosa, he notes concerns that the Department mandates marking schedules long before the school year concludes, resulting in exams being pushed earlier and leaving little for students to engage with for the rest of the year.
"At the end of the year, in fact, our children are going off more than two weeks before the official end of the school year."
- Basil Manuel, National Professional Teachers' Organisation of South Africa
Manuel argues that the curriculum is overloaded, with some content not being essential.
He believes more flexibility would allow for greater opportunities for social learning, as many important soft skills are being neglected.
"We are okay with the 200 days, but if they're not productive days, then we are simply punishing certain people to be at work and at school."
- Basil Manuel, National Professional Teachers' Organisation of South Africa
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.